Repole Stable and St. Elias Stable's 'TDN Rising Star' Forte (Violence) returned to training Friday morning for his last local work before shipping to Louisville to begin final preparations for the GI Kentucky Derby.
Working in company with Bright Future, a 4-year-old son of Curlin, the Derby favorite went a half-mile in :50.28 at Palm Beach Downs for trainer Todd Pletcher, according to Mike Welsch of DRF.
“With Forte we were just looking for a nice, easy first work back. He ran in the Florida Derby 13 days ago and he's getting ready to ship on Sunday to Churchill, so we just wanted to let him stretch his legs a little bit and not do too much,” Pletcher said. “It looked like he was just kind of in an open gallop out there, doing really well.”
Work of the Day from #PalmBeachDowns—Forte (Outside) and Bright Future worked 4 Furlongs in 50.23 on April 14th, 2023, for trainer @PletcherRacing. pic.twitter.com/Uoi8Ea2gXA
— XBTV (@WatchXBTV) April 14, 2023
Also breezing together for Pletcher Friday and bound for Louisville were Spendthrift Farm-owned pair Kingsbarns (Uncle Mo) and Major Dude (Bolt d'Oro) who were timed in :49.49 seconds for four furlongs, according to DRF. Kingsbarns is assured a place in the Derby starting gate with 100 qualifying points after his victory in the GII Louisiana Derby, good for eighth overall. Second in the GIII Jeff Ruby Steaks, Major Dude–who is ranked 23rd–is on the bubble with 40 points.
“We were looking for a little more from Major Dude and Kingsbarns. I thought they both went really well [with] good enthusiasm and energy in their gallop-outs and seemed to be moving well so, overall, very pleased,” Pletcher said. “I thought they all went according to plan.”
Friday's works were a relief for Hall of Fame trainer after heavy rains swept through South Florida this week and threatened to disrupt their schedules.
“They've been doing well, they've been eating well, they've been galloping nicely. I was happy to get the works in on the day we scheduled,” he said. “We've had a lot of rain so I wasn't positive that was going to happen, but the track dried out nicely and we had good conditions for it.”
Pletcher also reported that Whisper Hill Farm and Gainesway Stable's 'TDN Rising Star' Tapit Trice (Tapit) exited his Apr. 8 victory in the GI Toyota Blue Grass S. at Keeneland in good order and will join his stablemates in Louisville over the weekend. The gray colt is ranked fourth in the Derby leaderboard with 150 points.
“Tapit Trice came back super, really good energy. He's been galloping the last few days at Keeneland,” Pletcher said. “He'll ship over to Churchill after training on Sunday. Knock on wood, so far so good.”
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Three weeks remain until the Grade 1, $3 million Kentucky Derby presented by Woodford Reserve and trainer Keith Desormeaux has ramped up his work pattern for Don't Tell My Wife Stables and Ocean Reef Racing's G2 Rebel Stakes winner Confidence Game, who had a unique one-mile breeze in 1:38.20 from the starting gate on Friday morning at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky.
Confidence Game, with jockey James Graham aboard, began his training session by breaking inside of his unraced 3-year-old stablemate. Around the far-turn, after Confidence Game completed five furlongs in 1:00.20, fellow stablemate Giant Awakening was waiting for him around the 5 ½-furlong pole. The duo then stayed together around the track with Confidence Game finishing his work around the sixteenth pole and galloped out about 1 ¼ miles to the wire.
“At first when I looked at the final time, I was a little disappointed,” Desormeaux said. “Then I got back to the barn and went through the splits and I had a renewed sense of confidence – for a lack of a better term. He really started to pick it up late in the work even when he went fast early during the work. … The gate works at Churchill are timed when the doors open so if you take into account that during a race there is a little bit of a run-up before the timer starts, he worked really well. I was definitely looking to get a lot out of the work and I think we accomplished that. He needed it.”
Confidence Game completed splits of :24.60, :36, :47.80, 1:00.20, 1:13 and 1:25.60. He galloped out 1 ¼ miles in 2:05.80.
Confidence Game will enter the Derby off a 10-week layoff from the Rebel. Desormeaux originally thought about running in Saturday's Lexington (G3) at Keeneland but opted to train up to the Derby.
Desormeaux said Confidence Game would likely work back next Saturday.
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1st-Keeneland, $100,000, Msw, 4-14, 3yo/up, 6f, 1:09.94, ft, 2 3/4 lengths.
SWEET CHERRY PIE (c, 3, Twirling Candy–Sweet Cat {MGSP, $232,950}, by Kitten's Joy) clearly had no qualms about facing older horses in just his second start off a troubled fourth-place debut at Gulfstream Park six weeks ago, checking in behind the highly regarded winner Scotland (Good Magic). Cutting back a furlong off his Florida debut at seven-eighths, the Kentucky-bred showed early speed right out of the gate and raced closest to the rail as he battled with Cape Trafalgar (Lord Nelson) for the early lead up the backstretch, with Nasty Habit (Violence) and the 4-5 favored Global Stage (Street Sense) up close and pressing the two early leaders. The winner took the lead around the bend and posted the half-mile in :45.78 as he straightened out for the drive, and despite not swapping leads down the lane, pulled away to the handy 2 1/4-length victory over the favorite at odds of 4-1. Sweet Cherry Pie's dam, Sweet Cat, sold for $45,000 in 2019 while carrying him just yards from the Keeneland winner's circle and he is her last reported foal. Sales History: $32,000 Wlg '20 KEENOV; $175,000 Ylg '21 KEESEP. Lifetime Record: 2-1-0-0, $62,475. Click for the Equibase.com chart or VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.
O-BBN Racing, LLC; B-Theta Holding I, Inc (KY); T-George R. Arnold, II.
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