It was a crisp 35-degree morning at Churchill Downs where Winchell Thoroughbreds' Louisiana Derby (Grade 2) runner-up Disarm worked five furlongs in 1:00 with jockey Joel Rosario aboard for Steve Asmussen.
Disarm, a son of the former Asmussen-trained Champion Gun Runner, began about one length behind his stablemate Gigante and completed fractions of :13.20, :25.40, :36.60 and :48.40. He galloped out six furlongs in 1:13.20, according to Churchill Downs Clocker John Nichols.
This was Disarm's first work since finishing third in the Lexington Stakes (G3), which awarded him six points and boosted his total to 46 points, just enough to qualify for the Kentucky Derby.
ANGEL OF EMPIRE/HIT SHOW/JACE'S ROAD, VERIFYING – It was a routine morning at trainer Brad Cox's Barn 22 with all four of his Kentucky Derby contenders having routine gallops.
Albaugh Family Stable's Angel of Empire was the first of Cox's quartet of Kentucky Derby contenders to train at 5:30 a.m.
Cox is forced to train all four of his Derby contenders at separate times because groom Darwin Aguilar is in charge of Angel of Empire, Hit Show and Longines Kentucky Oaks runner Wet Paint.
Gary and Mary West's Hit Show, West Point Thoroughbreds and Albaugh Family Stable's Jace's Road and Westerberg, Mrs. John Magnier, Jonathan Poulin, Derrick Smith and Michael B. Tabor's Verifying all trained at 7:30 a.m.
Cox routinely oversees his Keeneland operation Mondays and is expected to be back at Churchill Downs Tuesday.
CONFIDENCE GAME – Don't Tell My Wife Stables and Ocean Reef Racing's Confidence Game galloped a mile and a quarter under exercise rider Alex Cano before 7 o'clock.
Winner of the Rebel (G2) in his most recent start and a two-time winner at Churchill Downs, Confidence Game worked a mile here out of the gate in 1:38.20 on April 14 and is scheduled for his final pre-Derby work this weekend.
Trained by Keith Desormeaux, Confidence Game will be ridden in the Derby by James Graham.
CONTINUAR – Lion Race Horse Co. Ltd.'s Continuar (JPN) warmed up in the mile chute during the first morning harrow break and then galloped 1 ½ miles under Kazunari Yoshida before completing his morning activity with a paddock schooling session.
Third in the UAE Derby (G2) in his most recent start, Continuar is trained by Yoshito Yahagi and will be ridden in the Derby by Ryusei Sakai. Yahagi is scheduled to arrive in Louisville next Monday.
DERMA SOTOGAKE – Hiroyuki Asanuma's Derma Sotogake (JPN), runaway winner of the UAE Derby (GII) in his most recent start, warmed up in the mile chute during the first harrow break of the morning and then galloped 2 miles under Masatoshi Segawa before cooling down in the mile chute and returning to the Quarantine Barn.
Trainer Hidetaka Otonashi is scheduled to arrive in Louisville on May 2 to saddle his first Derby starter. Christophe Lemaire, who was aboard for the UAE Derby victory, has the mount in the Run for the Roses.
FORTE/KINGSBARNS/MAJOR DUDE/TAPIT TRICE – Trainer Todd Pletcher's quartet of Derby hopefuls all galloped 1 3/8 miles during the special Derby/Oaks training window this morning from 7:30-7:45.
Repole Stable and St. Elias Stable's Forte, who will be ridden in the Derby by Irad Ortiz Jr., was partnered by Hector Ramos. Whisper Hill Farm and Gainesway Stable's Tapit Trice, who will be ridden in the Derby by Luis Saez, was partnered by Amelia Green.
Elder Flores was aboard Spendthrift Farm's Kingsbarns, whose Derby rider remains to be determined. Spendthrift's Major Dude, who is No. 23 on the Road to the Kentucky Derby leaderboard and in need of three defections by entry time next Monday to get in the starting gate, was ridden this morning by Joel Osorio.
DISARM – Winchell Thoroughbreds' Disarm continued his major preparation for this year's $3 million Kentucky Derby presented by Woodford Reserve (GI) with a swift five-furlong move in 1:00 with jockey Joel Rosario in the irons.
“I thought he worked really well this morning coming out of the Lexington,” Rosario said. “He was well within himself the entire work. He looks a lot like his sire (Gun Runner). He's built bigger than he is but looking at him they have a lot of the same traits.”
Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen was on the scene and watched the work from the grandstand.
“He's a very durable horse and I think the best is yet to come from him,” Asmussen said. “He's a horse we missed a little time with over the winter and we're behind schedule. The one opportunity for a points race was the Louisiana Derby. He ran solid but needed more points to get in it. He's a horse we definitely didn't want to miss this opportunity with. We were looking for a little sense of direction in his work this morning. I think he's not given us everything to this point and there's more in the tank. I like how he accelerated to the wire and got over the racetrack nicely.”
Disarm broke his maiden at second asking Aug. 6 at Saratoga but did not resurface until Feb. 19 when he finished second to Two Eagles River in a one-mile allowance contest at Oaklawn.
Asmussen and Winchell finished second in last year's Kentucky Derby with Epicenter.
MAGE – OGMA Investments, Ramiro Restrepo, Sterling Racing and CMNWLTH's Florida Derby (G1) runner-up Mage arrived at Churchill Downs Monday morning after an overnight van ride from Gulfstream Park.
Trained by Gustavo Delgado, Made worked six furlongs at Gulfstream on Saturday in 1:14.78.
ROCKET CAN – Frank Fletcher Racing Operations' Rocket Can came out of his Sunday morning workout in good order, Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott said Monday. The colt went 5 furlongs in 1:01 with regular exercise rider Guelser Cardona aboard.
“He looked great,” Mott said. “He just walked the shedrow this morning. He'll be back on the track on Tuesday, and probably won't work until next week.”
The colt started his 3-year-old season by winning the Holy Bull Stakes (G3) at Gulfstream Park, then finished second in the Fountain of Youth (G2) at Gulfstream, before finishing fourth in the Arkansas Derby (G1) at Oaklawn Park this month.
SUN THUNDER – Trainer Kenny McPeek sent Sun Thunder, the fourth-place finisher in the Blue Grass Stakes (G1) at Keeneland, to the Churchill Downs track on Monday with exercise rider Martin Vargas.
“He galloped a mile-and-a-quarter, pretty routine, basic stuff,” McPeek said. “He'll work on Wednesday.”
Owned by R.T. Racing Stable and Cypress Creek Equine, the Into Mischief colt, out of the Medaglia D'Oro mare Greenfield D'Oro, has a 1-1-1 record from six career starts, while earning $247,000.
WILD ON ICE – Frank Sumpter's Wild On Ice jogged in the mile chute for about 10 minutes before galloping two miles under exercise rider Oscar Rojero.
Wild On Ice worked five furlongs in 1:00 here on April 17 and trainer Joel Marr has the Texas-bred's final Derby work scheduled for Thursday with jockey Ken Tohill slated to be aboard.
SHAPING UP: THE KENTUCKY DERBY – Here are the horses (with jockeys and trainers) that are qualified for the Kentucky Derby and those on the also-eligible list (in alphabetical order with AEs listed last in preference order):
Angel of Empire (jockey Flavien Prat, trainer Brad Cox); Confidence Game (James Graham, Keith Desormeaux); Continuar (JPN) (Ryusei Sakai, Yoshito Yahagi); Derma Sotogake (JPN) (Christophe Lemaire, Hidetaka Otonashi); Disarm (Joel Rosario, Steve Asmussen); Forte (Irad Ortiz Jr., Todd Pletcher); Hit Show (Manny Franco, Brad Cox); Jace's Road (Florent Geroux, Brad Cox); Kingsbarns (TBA, Todd Pletcher); Lord Miles (Paco Lopez, Saffie Joseph Jr.); Mage (TBA, Gustavo Delgado); Practical Move (Ramon Vazquez, Tim Yakteen); Raise Cain (Javier Castellano, Ben Colebrook); Reincarnate (John Velazquez, Tim Yakteen); Rocket Can (Junior Alvarado, Bill Mott); Sun Thunder (Brian Hernandez Jr., Kenny McPeek); Tapit Trice (Luis Saez, Todd Pletcher); Two Phil's (Jareth Loveberry, Larry Rivelli); Verifying (Tyler Gaffalione, Brad Cox); and Wild On Ice (Ken Tohill, Joel Marr).
Also-Eligible: Skinner (Victor Espinioza, John Shirreffs); Cyclone Mischief (TBA, Dale Romans); Major Dude (TBA, Todd Pletcher); and Mandarin Hero (JPN) (TBA, Terunobu Fujita).
The post Kentucky Derby Update: Disarm ‘Well Within Himself’ During Crisp Monday Breeze At Churchill Downs appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.
