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Mandaloun, Helium Breeze At Churchill Downs; Pletcher Squad Due To Arrive Sunday

With three weeks remaining until the first Saturday in May, the preparation for the 147^th running of the $3 million Kentucky Derby presented by Woodford Reserve (Grade 1) continued to heat up at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky., where Juddmonte Farm's Mandaloun cruised five furlongs in :58.80 and D J Stable's Helium clipped five-eighths of a mile in :59.20 over a fast track Saturday morning.

Mandaloun, the winner of the $400,000 risen Star at Fair Grounds, worked alongside Grade 2 winner Bonny South through opening fractions of :23.40 and :46.60 before galloping out six furlongs in 1:11.40 and seven furlongs in 1:25.60, according to Churchill Downs clocker John Nichols.

“I thought they both worked great,” trainer Brad Cox said. “They both worked fast but looked like they were doing it really easy.”

Following Mandaloun's work at 5:30 a.m. (all times Eastern), Cox darted to the Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport to catch his flight to Hot Springs, Ark., where he will saddle Caddo River in Saturday's $1 million Arkansas Derby (G1).

Two hours later at 7:30 a.m., $400,000 Tampa Bay Derby (G2) winner Helium worked alongside of stablemate Ghost of the Mambo through fractions of :11.80, :23.20 and :35.40 before galloping out six furlongs in 1:12. Jockey Julien Leparoux was aboard Helium while Declan Carroll rode the workmate.

“Everything went as smoothly as we could've drew it up,” trainer Mark Casse's local assistant David Carroll said. “He came in from Florida on Wednesday and has been doing very well since.”

Helium arrived with stablemate and fellow Kentucky Derby runner Soup and Sandwich, who is scheduled to breeze Sunday morning, according to Carroll. Owned by Live Oak Plantation, Soup and Sandwich – runner-up last out in the Florida Derby (G2) – galloped about 1 ½ miles at 5:30 a.m. Saturday.

Godolphin's early Kentucky Derby favorite Essential Quality galloped at 6:30 a.m. Saturday. He's scheduled to work two times prior to the Derby.

Other Derby contenders that trained Saturday morning at Churchill Downs were Winchell Thoroughbreds' Midnight Bourbon, who galloped at 5:50 a.m. and Bernard Racing, Tagg Team Racing and West Point Thoroughbreds' O Besos, who galloped at 5:30 a.m.

UPCOMING ARRIVALS – Several contenders from trainer Todd Pletcher's squad are scheduled to arrive at Churchill Downs on Sunday including Derby contenders Known Agenda (Florida Derby winner) and Sainthood along with Oaks runner Malathaat, according to senior director of the stable area Steve Hargrave.

Sainthood and Malathaat are both scheduled to van approximately 75 miles from Keeneland to Churchill Downs at 11 a.m. Sunday. Known Agenda is slated to arrive later in the afternoon from South Florida. Pletcher's New York-based runners Bourbonic and Dynamic One are tentatively scheduled to arrive Monday.

Pletcher will be stabled in Barn 42 at Churchill Downs.

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Mandaloun, Helium Record Churchill Breezes

'TDN Rising Star' and GII Risen Star S. hero Mandaloun (Into Mischief) and D J Stable's Helium (Ironicus), upset winner of the GII Tampa Bay Derby, each tuned up for their upcoming starts in the GI Kentucky Derby May 1 with Saturday morning drills over the Churchill Downs main track.

Working in the company of his fellow graded-stakes winning Juddmonte colorbearer Bonny South (Munnings), Mandaloun went five furlongs in :58.80 in splits of :23.40 and :46.60 before galloping out three-quarters of a mile in 1:11.40 and seven-eighths in 1:25.60, according to Churchill clocker John Nichols.

“I thought they both worked great,” said trainer Brad Cox, who made a bee-line to nearby Muhammad Ali International Airport for a flight to Hot Springs to saddle 'Rising Star' Caddo River (Hard Spun) in the GI Arkansas Derby later in the day. “They both worked fast but looked like they were doing it really easy.”

Helium, who overcame a torrid trip from a high draw to cause a 15-1 upset in the Tampa Bay Derby Mar. 6, went five-eighths of a mile in :59.20, with his Kentucky Derby rider Julien Leparoux at the controls. Helium was timed in :11.80, :23.20 and :35.40 and was up six furlongs in 1:12 flat while working alongside his maiden stablemate Ghost of the Mambo (Ghostzapper).

“Everything went as smoothly as we could've drew it up,” said David Carroll, assistant to trainer Mark Casse. “He came in from Florida on Wednesday and has been doing very well since.”

Joining Helium on the trip up was fellow Derby hopeful Soup and Sandwich (Into Mischief). The GI Curlin Florida Derby runner-up is scheduled to breeze Sunday beneath the Twin Spires.

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Sun Path To Ship North, Chase Oaks Points In Oaklawn’s Honeybee

Juddmonte Farms' two-time winner Sun Path was installed as the 5-2 morning line favorite in the field of eight 3-year-old fillies signed on to compete in Saturday's $300,000 Honeybee (Grade 3) at Oaklawn.

The Honeybee is the featured race on Oaklawn's 10-race program. The 1 1/16-mile event is carded as Race 9 with a post time of 6:10 p.m. The Top 4 finishers will be awarded points on a 50-20-10-5 scale for the April 30, $1.25 million Longines Kentucky Oaks.

Trained by two-time Kentucky Oaks-winning conditioner Brad Cox, Sun Path was an emphatic 12-length winner of a Dec. 18 allowance event at Fair Grounds. The Munnings filly attempted stakes company in the $150,000 Silverbulletday but settled for a fourth-place finish after a wide trip throughout the race. Joe Talamo has the call from post No. 4.

Sun Path is the half-sister Bonny South, winner of the G2 Fair Grounds Oaks and second in the G1 Alabama last year.

Another filly likely to garner attention at the betting windows is Willis Horton's $200,000 Martha Washington Stakes winner Will's Secret. Trained by Dallas Stewart and ridden by Jon Court, Will's Secret bested five rivals in the Jan. 30 Martha Washington by 5 ¼ lengths at odds of 8-1. The homebred daughter of Willis' prized stallion Will Take Charge, Will's Secret drew post 2 for Saturday's Honeybee.

The complete field from the rail out (with jockey, trainer and morning line odds): Tabor Hall (David Cohen, Kenny McPeek, 10-1); Will's Secret (Court, Stewart, 7-2); Willful Woman (Ricardo Santana Jr., Steve Asmussen, 6-1); Sun Path (Talamo, Cox, 5-2); Pauline's Pearl (Francisco Arietta, Asmussen, 8-1); Absolute Anna (Ramon Vazquez, Jerry Hollendorfer, 15-1); Oliviaofthedesert (David Cabrera, McPeek, 7-2); Coach (Florent Geroux, Cox, 4-1).

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Juddmonte’s Full Sister To Bonny South On Path To Stakes Company After Fair Grounds Win

Juddmonte Farms Inc's 2-year-old filly Sun Path pressed the early pace of Rock Star Parking, took full command on the turn, and drew off to win a first-level Friday allowance under a hand ride for trainer Brad Cox and jockey Florent Geroux. The margin of victory was 12 ¾ lengths for the .20-1 favorite and she stopped the timer in 1:42.95 for one mile and 70 yards over a fast track.

“It was a short field, but I thought she ran well,” Cox said. “It was her first time around two turns and she continued the education process. It went really well. She's a good filly.”

By Munnings out of the Tapit mare Touch the Star, Sun Path is a full sister to 2020 Fair Grounds Oaks (Grade 2) winner Bonny South.

“At this stage of the game, she's better,” Cox said of Sun Path. “She showed more this summer than Bonny (South) showed as a 2-year-old. She's got a long way to go to catch up to Bonny's accomplishments, but at this stage of the game, there's more talent and speed there and she does things maybe a touch easier.”

According to Cox, the locally run $150,000 Silverbulletday on Saturday, Jan. 16 is “in play,” but he'll likely give her a little more time between starts.

“We will also look at the Martha Washington (Jan. 30 at Oaklawn Park) or we might just wait for the Rachel Alexandra (G2) (Feb.13 at Fair Grounds). We will just see how well she bounces out of this race, how it shapes up, how it plays out and let her tell us.”

One race earlier on the card for Cox and Geroux, Godolphin LLC's Divine Comedy put herself on the map with an impressive maiden score, wiring a field of eight foes by 5 ¼ widening lengths while eased under the wire.

“She appreciated the two turns,” Cox said of the 2-year-old daughter of Into Mischief. “First time out (sixth at Churchill Downs in a 6 ½-furlong sprint on September 17) she ran well but we knew she needed more ground. She had a little minor setback, nothing we had to send her out for, and it took a little time for her to get over that. She had a fantastic breeze here last week, we expected her to run big and she responded well.”

Cox also reported that Juddmonte Farms Inc's Mandaloun, an impressive winner of consecutive races in Kentucky, is being pointed for the $200,000 Lecomte (G3) at 1 1/16 miles on January 16. The Into Mischief colt is scheduled to breeze a local half mile on Saturday morning.

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