Tag: julien leparoux

Derby Works: Leparoux Pleased With Helium, Pletcher Quartet Tunes Up

On a busy Friday morning at Churchill Downs, Kentucky Derby contenders Bourbonic (five furlongs, 1:01.60), Dynamic One (five furlongs, 1:01), Helium (five furlongs, 1:01.80), Known Agenda (five furlongs, 1:00.40) and Sainthood (five furlongs, 1:00.40) all recorded published workouts in preparation for the 147th running of the “Run for the Roses” on Saturday, May 1.

All five horses worked at 7:30 a.m. and D J Stable's $400,000 Tampa Bay Derby (G2) winner Helium was the first of the quintet to work. He breezed on the inside of stablemate Peace Achieved through fractions of :25.60, :37.60 and :49.80. He galloped out six furlongs in 1:14.60. Peace Achieved completed his five-furlong move in 1:02.

“The most important thing about the work is (jockey) Julien (Leparoux) was happy,” said trainer Mark Casse, who slated to arrive next week in Kentucky.

Helium, an undefeated son of Ironicus, will be ridden by Leparoux in the Derby.

Trainer Todd Pletcher arrived two weeks early in Kentucky and was on-site to watch his Derby contenders work Friday morning. Pletcher's first duo of St. Elias Stable's $750,000 Florida Derby (G1) winner Known Agenda and WinStar Farm and CHC INC's $250,000 Jeff Ruby Steaks (G3) runner-up Sainthood worked through fractions of :12.60, :24.40 and :36.40. They galloped out together through six furlongs in 1:13.40. Jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. was aboard Known Agenda while exercise rider Amelia Green rode Sainthood.

“Because of the spacing of their last two races, I wanted a more serious work out of them,” Pletcher said. “I thought both horses got over the surface well and that's what was most important about getting them up here early to work over it. All four of these horses have probably been workmates at one point and I paired these two together because of that spacing of their last race.”

The next Pletcher duo to work was Calumet Farm's Bourbonic and Repole Stable, Phipps Stable and St. Elias Stable's Dynamic One. The one-two finishers of the $750,000 Wood Memorial (GII), respectively, began their work together through an opening quarter-mile fraction of :24.40 and half-mile time of :48.60. Dyanmic One finished in front of Bourbonic at the wire and continued to gallop out ahead through a six-furlong time of 1:13.20. Bourbonic completed a six-furlong gallop out in 1:14.60.

“I thought it would be good to work both of these horses together after coming out of the same race,” Pletcher said. “I'd say we were definitely surprised at winning the Wood. (Bourbonic) has always trained a little bit light but we always thought that the further the distance, the better it would be for him. He likes to drop back and make one run.”

Pletcher will be the special guest on “Inside Churchill Downs” Friday at 6:30 p.m. on ESPN 680/105.7. The one-hour radio show, hosted by Churchill Downs Racetrack's Darren Rogers and Kevin Kerstein, along with TwinSpires.com handicapper Scott Shapiro, begins at 6 p.m. and those outside the Louisville area can listen live on www.espnlouisville.com.

Saturday will start the exclusive 7:30-7:45 a.m. training period for Kentucky Derby and Longines Kentucky Oaks contenders. Training hours will move back to a start time of 5:15 a.m. and the track will close at 10 a.m. Saturday's Kentucky Derby workers are Essential Quality and Mandaloun at 5:15 a.m. and Soup and Sandwich at 7:30 a.m. Fans are invited to watch the workouts for free at Churchill Downs. For more information, visit www.KentuckyDerby.com.

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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 147th 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.

The post Mandaloun, Helium Record Churchill Breezes appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Julien Leparoux To Ride Helium In Kentucky Derby

Jockey Julien Leparoux will be aboard Tampa Bay Derby winner Helium in the Kentucky Derby on May 1, the Daily Racing Form reported Monday. Jose Ferrer rode the colt to victory at Tampa.

Trained by Mark Casse, the 3-year-old son of Ironicus is undefeated in three career starts, including two over the synthetic main track at Woodbine Racecourse last year. Helium provided a 15-1 upset in the Tampa Bay Derby, his first start of 2021, when defeated Hidden Stash (who returned to run fourth in the Blue Grass Stakes) by three quarters of a length.

Helium will ship to Kentucky this week, Casse said.

Out of the Thunder Gulch mare Thundering Emilia, Helium was a $55,000 purchase at the Fasig-Tipton Kentucky Fall Yearling Sale. He is raced by D. J. Stable.

Read more at the Daily Racing Form.

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