Authentic Puts in Final Derby Tune-Up

Spendthrift Farm, MyRaceHorse Stable, Madaket Stables and Starlight Racing’s Authentic (Into Mischief) completed his final work ahead of Saturday’s GI Kentucky Derby, covering six furlongs in 1:12.40 (1/9) at Del Mar Sunday morning.

“Authentic is really doing well. I see him turning the corner,” trainer Bob Baffert said. “Both of my horses [Authentic and Thousand Words], I think they’re live. We just need some luck, you never know what is going to happen with that many horses in there.”

Authentic, second behind Honor A.P. (Honor Code) in the June 6 GI Runhappy Santa Anita Derby, is coming off a narrow victory in the July 18 GI TVG.com Haskell S. at Monmouth Park. He is scheduled to arrive at Churchill Downs Monday on a flight from Southern California.

Jim Bakke and Gerald Isbister’s Attachment Rate (Hard Spun) tuned up for the Derby with a five-furlong work in 1:01.20 (17/47) at Churchill Downs Sunday. The chestnut colt is coming off a runner-up effort behind Art Collector (Bernardini) in the Aug. 9 Runhappy Ellis Park Derby.

“I thought his race at Ellis made him worthy of trying the Derby,” trainer Dale Romans said. “This was his second work back from that race and we wanted to put a nice five-eighths move in him. He ran well over the winter in both the Gotham and the Unbridled. He hung in there pretty well to finish second behind Art Collector at Ellis.”

Attachment Rate was third in the Mar. 7 GIII Gotham S. and second in the Unbrided S. at Gulfstream Park Apr. 25. He was fourth in the May 23 GIII Matt Winn S. and fifth in the July 11 GII Toyota Blue Grass S.

Jim and Donna Daniell’s Rushie (Liam’s Map) will skip the Derby in favor of Saturday’s GII Pat Day Mile, while trainer Todd Pletcher confirmed Sunday that Bob LaPenta and Bortolazzo Stable’s Money Moves (Candy Ride {Arg}) will start in the Run for the Roses. The bay colt opened his career with a pair of wins at Gulfstream Park this past spring and missed by just a neck when stretched to nine furlongs in a Saratoga optional claimer July 25. He worked five furlongs at Saratoga Friday in 1:00.14 (10/17).

“The horse ran well last time and he’s been training sharply,” Pletcher said. “I felt like this is an opportunity that you don’t get very often, so we’re taking a shot.”

The expected field for the Derby is: Tiz the Law (Constitution); Authentic; Art Collector; Honor A. P.; Ny Traffic (Cross Traffic); King Guillermo (Uncle Mo); Thousand Words (Pioneerof the Nile); Max Player (Honor Code); Enforceable (Tapit); Major Fed (Ghostzapper); Storm the Court (Court Vision); Attachment Rate; Sole Volante  (Karakontie {Jpn}); Finnick the Fierce (Dialed In); Winning Impression (Paynter); Necker Island (Hard Spun); Money Moves (Candy Ride {Arg}).

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Max Player Works ‘Really Well,’ Covers Swift Five Furlongs In Company At Churchill Downs

George Hall and SportBLX Thoroughbred's $1 million Travers Stakes (Grade I) third-place finisher Max Player recorded a swift five-furlong move in :59.60 Monday morning at Churchill Downs in preparation for the $3 million Kentucky Derby presented by Woodford Reserve (GI) on Saturday, Sept. 5.

Max Player, who was recently transferred to the care of Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen from New York-based conditioner Linda Rice, worked at 7:30 a.m. (all times Eastern) during the exclusive 15-minute training window for Kentucky Derby and Oaks contenders. Max Player, who breezed with jockey Florent Geroux up, began his work two lengths behind stablemate Allege and worked through fractions of :23.80 and :35.80. Max Player finished even with his workmate at the wire and continued to gallop out in front through six furlongs in 1:12.60.

“He worked really well behind his workmate,” said Geroux, who was filling in Monday for Max Player's Derby rider Ricardo Santana Jr. “I think he will like the 1 ¼-mile distance in the Derby. I was working the horse this morning because Ricardo is still at Saratoga. Steve has given me many great opportunities in my career so I always try to help when he needs me. I will be on (trainer) Bob Baffert's horse Thousand Words in the Derby.”

Also training during the special training window was Victoria's Ranch's King Guillermo, who galloped 1 ½ miles under exercise rider Edgar Medina for trainer Juan Avila. The son of Uncle Mo is scheduled to have his final move before the Kentucky Derby on Saturday morning.

Raymond Daniels and Wayne Scherr's former $100,000 claim Necker Island returned to the track following his walk day on Sunday with an easy jog under exercise rider Hillary Hartman. Necker Island, trained by Chris Hartman, is tentatively scheduled to work on Saturday with jockey Miguel Mena aboard.

Prior to the Kentucky Derby and Oaks training window, Lloyd Madison Farm's Major Fed galloped 1 ½ miles at 5:15 a.m. under exercise rider Margarito Fierro. Trained by Greg Foley, the $300,000 Indiana Derby (GIII) runner-up is scheduled to have his final work on Friday or Saturday. Approximately 45 minutes following Major Fed's gallop, West Point Thoroughbreds and Pearl Racing's $600,000 Arkansas Derby (GI) third-place finisher Winning Impression had a light 1 ½-mile gallop with trainer Dallas Stewart's exercise rider Emerson Chavez in the saddle.

Jim Bakke and Gerald Isbister's $200,000 Ellis Park Derby runner-up Attachment Rate had a scheduled walk day following his half-mile move in :48.60 Sunday morning.

On the Longines Kentucky Oaks front, Mark and Nancy Stanley's graded stakes placed Tempers Rising galloped 1 ½ miles at 6:30 a.m. under Chavez. Also making an appearance Monday morning at Churchill Downs was Flurry Racing Stables, Qatar Racing Limited and Big Aut Farms' $200,000 Indiana Oaks (GIII) winner Shedaresthedevil, who jogged with exercise rider Edvin Vargas up for trainer Brad Cox. Her stablemate, Juddmonte Farms' $600,000 Alabama Stakes (GI) runner-up Bonny South, galloped 1 ½ miles under exercise rider Gustavo Abrego.

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Ellis Park Derby’s Attachment Rate, Necker Island Hope To Run For Roses

Second and third in Sunday's Ellis Park Derby, connections of Attachment Rate and Necker Island are hoping to run the 3-year-old colts in this year's rescheduled edition of the Grade 1 Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs on Sept. 5.

Attachment Rate was defeated 3 1/4 lengths by Art Collector at Ellis, and his top four finishes in the G3 Matt Winn and G3 Gotham have earned the son of Hard Spun a total of 35 points toward the Run for the Roses. That places the Dale Romans trainee 18th on the leaderboard, ensuring him a spot in the starting gate.

“(The Ellis Park Derby,) that's the best race he's run for us so far, I think,” Romans told Horse Racing Nation. “With that being said, we should probably try the Derby.”

A further 5 1/4 lengths back at the wire, Necker Island has earned just 14 points toward the Kentucky Derby. That places him 28th on the points leaderboard, but with a number of defections expected this son of Hard Spun should make the main body of the field. Necker Island was a $100,000 claim in June at Churchill Downs, and is owned by Wayne Scherr and Raymond Daniels.

“If there's any way that there would be an open spot, he will be there for sure,” trainer Chris Hartman told Horse Racing Nation. “I think he'll probably be able to run a mile and a quarter. Class would be the other thing. I don't know. I know Wayne would love to run him in the race and it's going to have to have a lot of things unfold for him to get in there. You never can tell, I guess.”

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Art Collector Records Front-Running Win In Runhappy Ellis Park Derby

Art Collector, Bruce Lunsford's homebred colt by Bernardini, rolled to his fourth consecutive win for trainer Tommy Drury on Sunday, winning the $200,000 Runhappy Ellis Park Derby at Ellis Park in Henderson, Ky.

Under confident handling from Brian Hernandez Jr., Art Collector covered 1 1/8 miles in 1:48.02, winning by about three lengths. Attachment Rate, who was wide much of the way, finished second for trainer Dale Romans and jockey Joe Talamo. Necker Island finished third, with Rowdy Yates fourth, Grade 3 Indiana Derby winner Shared Sense fifth and G3 Ohio Derby winner Dean Martini sixth in the field of 12 3-year-olds.

Art Collector set fractions of :23.33, :46.74, 1:10.70, and 1:35.25. Truculent, who pressured Art Collector for much of the way, finished last.

The race offered qualifying points (50-20-10-5) to the top four finishers for the Sept. 5 Kentucky Derby.

“He's done nothing wrong this year, he's answered every question,” Drury said on TVG after the race.

Art Collector came into the Ellis Park Derby off a 3 1/2-length win over the filly Swiss Skydiver in the G2 Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland on July 11, coming from just off the pace. He won two allowance races before that at Churchill Downs, one of them in wire-to-wire fashion.

“I never really sent him, he broke sharp like he always does,” Hernandez said on TVG. “If I needed do I thought I could run them off their feet. It was impressive. He was drawing away pretty easily. Like Tommy said, we wanted to use this race as a building block, a foundation.”

From the Distorted Humor mare, Distorted Legacy, Art Collector began his career racing on turf for trainer Joe Sharp. He finished sixth in his first dirt race at Churchill Downs last November, then came from off the pace to finish 7 1/2 lengths in front in a Nov. 30 allowance race. A post-race drug test turned up positive for the prohibited substance levamisole and Art Collector was disqualified from that win.

Lunsford subsequently moved the horse to Drury, who is based at the Skylight training center near Louisville.

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