Art Collector Jockey Hernandez Helping Put Spotlight On Second Stride Aftercare Program

Three-year-olds are horse racing's glamour division, and taking center stage on Sunday's 10-race program at Ellis Park in Henderson, Ky., is the $200,000 Runhappy Ellis Park Derby and its leading Kentucky Derby contender Art Collector.

But during that 1 1/8-mile race, Art Collector jockey Brian Hernandez Jr. will be bringing attention to horses far from the limelight: retired racehorses and industry efforts toward rehoming them after they're through at the track. In that regard, Hernandez will be wearing the name Second Stride on his white riding pants in the Ellis Park Derby, the first and pending another pandemic the only Kentucky Derby qualifying race ever to be held at the western Kentucky track.

Trainer Tommy Drury, who is 3 for 3 since receiving Art Collector early this year from owner Bruce Lunsford, is on the advisory board for Second Stride, the accredited thoroughbred rescue and aftercare facility in Prospect and Pleasureville outside of Louisville. Drury, Lunsford and Hernandez hope to gain recognition for Second Stride and the concerted effort by horse racing to find safe homes for its retirees, including retraining many for second careers.

For every Art Collector, there are thousands of horses who don't have a future breeding career. Founded by horsewoman Kim Smith, Second Stride is among 160 facilities across North America accredited by the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance to offer adoption, rehab and equine-assisted programs as well has sanctuary. There are nine TAA accredited programs in Kentucky, all but Second Stride located close to Lexington. Indiana is home to one accredited organization, Friends of Ferdinand in Indianapolis.

“It's such a good program and a much-needed program,” Drury said. “As trainer, we'd be lost without Second Stride. They find these horses good homes. Kim and her staff do such a great job. This is just kind of saying thanks for everything they've done for us.”

Staff by volunteers, Second Stride provides professional rehabilitation, retraining and placement of retired thoroughbred racehorses, adopting out an average of 100 horses a year, including 83 the first seven months of 2020. The program specializes in giving retired thoroughbreds the training they need to succeed in a second and sometimes third profession, such as with horses no longer being bred. The organization is one of the few aftercare facilities that will take male horses that haven't been gelded.

“We transition them to whatever each individual horse wants to do,” said Smith while watching Art Collector train earlier in the week at the Skylight training center in Oldham County. “As Tommy tries to get into their brain when they're here, we try to get into their brain and figure out what their next mission is going to be. We've placed horses in everything from polo, jumping, dressage to family horses. It's amazing to find out what these horses can do, the thoroughbred, and how versatile they are. Barrel horses, we've had some police work — especially a mounted unit that likes the big black horses.”

To have Hernandez displaying Second Stride on his leg, Smith said, “For us, it's just humbling that they would consider us. It's mind-blowing the national coverage just to get aftercare out there, and all the horsemen are doing for the horses. Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance has been life-changing for our program and for the horses, with the sponsorship we get and also the mentoring and the education they provide our program in how to exceed. To have these hometown heroes being at Ellis is just going to be amazing. Tommy helped us set the foundation of the program and Brian Hernandez and his family come to our events and support us. So it's awesome. We're just proud of Tommy and Brian and the horse. It's super exciting.”

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Art Collector Heads Churchill Workers

Bruce Lundsford’s Art Collector (Bernardini), winner of the GII Toyota Blue Grass S. in his latest start, worked over a muddy Churchill Downs track Saturday morning. Trained by Tom Drury, the colt carved out fractions of :12.80 and :24.60 before galloping out five furlongs in 1:01.20 and six panels in 1:14.80.

“It’s so nice to have a horse who is versatile and can really run over any surface,” said Drury. “He did everything very easily this morning and it was really just a perfect work. We are still taking things one day at a time. We just have to get there and we’re keeping our fingers crossed.”

Drury indicated the colt remains on course to make his next start in Sunday’s Runhappy Ellis Park Derby ahead of a tilt at the Sept. 5 GI Kentucky Derby. Also targeting Ellis’ Derby next weekend, Jackie Rojas, Wayne Scherr and Raymond Daniels’ Necker Island (Hard Spun) covered four furlongs in :47.80.

Other possible Kentucky Derby contenders that recorded breezes Saturday were John Oxley’s GIII Lecomte S. winner Enforceable (Tapit) (five furlongs in 1:02.60) and Lloyd Madison Farm’s GIII Indiana Derby runner-up Major Fed (Ghostzapper) (four furlongs in :50.20).

“I was very happy with how [Enforceable] worked this morning,” said 21-year-old Declan Carroll, whose father, David, oversees trainer Mark Casse’s Churchill Downs string. “He did everything in stride. I was just the pilot.”

Highlighting the fairer set Saturday morning, Peter Callahan’s Swiss Skydiver (Daredevil) worked five furlongs in 1:01 in preparation for the Aug. 15 GI Alabama S. at Saratoga. The chestnut, who was runner-up behind Art Collector in the Blue Grass last month, carved out intermediate fractions of :13.40, :26.40 and :38.20 before rounding out the move in 1:14.20 for six furlongs, according to Churchill Downs clocker John Nichols.

“She worked really good and handled the muddy surface well,” Brian Hernandez Jr., who was aboard for the work. “She’s a very talented filly as we saw in the Blue Grass how well she handled running against the boys. She cruised along out there this morning.”

Trained by Kenny McPeek, Swiss Skydiver, who is automatically qualified for the Sept. 4 GI Kentucky Oaks with 350 points, annexed the GII Gulfstream Park Oaks, GIII Fantasy S. and GII Santa Anita Oaks earlier this spring.

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Art Collector Breezes Half-Mile At Churchill In Ellis Park Derby Prep

On a soggy Saturday morning at Churchill Downs, several likely contenders for the $3-million Kentucky Derby (Grade I) and $1.25 million Kentucky Oaks (GI) recorded published workouts over the “muddy” going, including Bruce Lunsford's Blue Grass Stakes (GII) winner Art Collector (four furlongs in :48.80) and Peter Callahan's multiple graded stakes-winning filly Swiss Skydiver (five furlongs, 1:01).

Other possible Kentucky Derby contenders that recorded breezes on Saturday were John Oxley's $200,000 Lecomte (GIII) hero Enforceable (five furlongs, 1:02.60); Lloyd Madison Farm's $300,000 Indiana Derby (GIII) runner-up Major Fed (four furlongs, :50.20); and Jackie Rojas, Wayne Scherr and Raymond Daniels' likely $200,000 Ellis Park Derby contender Necker Island (four furlongs, :47.80).

It was a busy morning for jockey Brian Hernandez Jr., who worked both Swiss Skydiver and Art Collector. Hernandez got the leg up on Swiss Skydiver around 5:30 a.m. (all times Eastern) and the filly worked through fractions of :13.40, :26.40 and :38.20. She finished her workout with a six-furlong gallop out in 1:14.20, according to Churchill Downs clocker John Nichols.

“She worked really good and handled the muddy surface well,” Hernandez said. “She's a very talented filly as we saw in the Blue Grass how well she handled running against the boys. She cruised along out there this morning.”

Trainer Kenny McPeek reported that Swiss Skydiver would ship to Saratoga and run in the $600,000 Alabama (GI) on Saturday, Aug. 15. Although a moot point in the case of Swiss Skydiver, who is automatically qualified for the Kentucky Oaks with 350 points, the Alabama will offer the Top 4 finishers points on a 100-40-20-10 scale for the Sept. 4 event.

About two hours later, Hernandez jumped aboard $600,000 Blue Grass Stakes hero Art Collector, who clipped through opening fractions of :12.80 and :24.60 for his half-mile drill. The son of Bernardini galloped out five furlongs in 1:01.20 and six furlongs in 1:14.80.

“It's so nice to have a horse who is versatile and can really run over any surface,” trainer Tommy Drury said. “He did everything very easily this morning and it was really just a perfect work. We are still taking things one day at a time. We just have to get there and we're keeping our fingers crossed.”

Drury reported the plan is to still point to next Sunday's Ellis Park Derby as Art Collector's final prep for the first Saturday in September.

One of the first horses to record a workout this morning at Churchill Downs was Enforceable. Sporting blinkers, which he's worn since breaking his maiden last August, the striking gray son of Tapit worked in company on the outside of 3-year-old maiden Ghost Fighter. Enforceable, under jockey Declan Carroll, started about two lengths behind his stablemate and worked through fractions of :12.80, :25.60 and :38.40. Enforceable finished about a half-length to the good at the wire but continued in front through a six-furlong gallop out of 1:15.80 and finished his work with a seven-furlong time of 1:29.60.

“I was very happy with how he worked this morning,” said 21-year-old Carroll, whose father, David, oversees trainer Mark Casse's Churchill Downs string. “He did everything in stride. I was just the pilot.”

Casse was not in town for the work but reported via text following watching a short video of his stretch run, “I really like what I'm seeing.”

About five minutes after Enforceable completed his work, Major Fed recorded his first published move since running second in the July 8 Indiana Derby. Under exercise rider Lindsey Hebert, Major Fed swiftly began his breeze at the three-eighths pole with opening fractions of :12.60 and :37.60. The son of Ghostzapper continued his work around the clubhouse turn and completed a six-furlong gallop out in 1:03.60.

“We gave him a little time off following the Indiana Derby but he's been training pretty steady for a couple of weeks now,” trainer Greg Foley said. “This was his first work back and he handled things very well. It wasn't one of those works where he needed to do much and he looked really comfortable out there.”

Major Fed, who sat No. 16 on the Road to the Kentucky Derby Leaderboard with 38 points prior to Saturday's action in the $100,000 Shared Belief (GII) at Del Mar, will forgo running in the Ellis Park Derby and point straight to the Kentucky Derby.

Currently No. 32 on the leaderboard, Indiana Derby fourth-place finisher and former $100,000 claim Necker Island worked at 7:30 a.m. under Joe Johnson for trainer Chris Hartman.

Indiana Derby winner Shared Sense is scheduled to work Sunday at Churchill Downs. The Brad Cox-trained colt has 20 points on the Road to the Kentucky Derby and is a likely entrant to next Sunday's Ellis Park Derby.

Arkansas Derby (GI) runner-up King Guillermo continued his training Saturday at Churchill Downs. The colt had an easy gallop around 5:30 a.m.

There are four races remaining on the Road to the Kentucky Derby: Saturday's Shared Belief (50-20-10-5); Aug. 8 Travers (100-40-20-10); Aug. 9 Ellis Park Derby (50-20-10-5); and Aug. 15 Pegasus (20-8-4-2). On the Road to the Kentucky Oaks, there are three remaining races: Saturday's Monmouth Oaks (50-20-10-5); Aug. 9 Audubon Oaks (10-4-2-1); and Aug. 15 Alabama (100-40-20-10). For the latest leaderboard updates and more information, visit www.kentuckyderby.com.

 

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Art Collector Preps for Runhappy Ellis Park Derby

Bruce Lunsford’s Art Collector (Bernardini), who entered the GI Kentucky Derby discussion with a solid victory in the GII Toyota Blue Grass S. at Keeneland July 11, went an easy four furlongs in :49 flat Saturday morning at Churchill Downs. The homebred colt is slated for a final prep in the $200,000 Runhappy Ellis Park Derby Aug. 9. Brian Hernandez, Jr. was in the irons.

“He’s fit; we weren’t looking for much today,” trainer Tom Drury, Jr., said. “Just a little maintenance half-mile, let him stretch his legs a little. Brian said he couldn’t have been happier, kind of had his ears thrown up. Just cruised along. I think [Churchill clocker] Big John [Nichols] had him galloping out in 1:01 and change. It was really nice, just what I wanted. I think he got off the first eighth-mile in 13 [seconds] and just kind of picked it up from there. He’s on the same schedule he’s been on. He’ll come back and work next Friday or Saturday and that should pretty much set us up for the race.”

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