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Churchill: 17 Oaks, Derby Hopefuls Log Final Breezes

On a cool Kentucky morning, a total of 17 Kentucky Derby and Kentucky Oaks horses put in their final timed workouts before next weekend's editions of the $3 million Derby and $1.25 million Oaks.

The fastest move of the morning was a half-mile drill in :46.20 by Keepmeinmind, with Dynamic One, one of four Derby workers for Todd Pletcher, having the second-fastest clocking of the 108 at the distance in :47.80.

Other Derby workers for Pletcher were Bourbonic (half-mile in :49.60) and Known Agenda and Sainthood (five furlongs together in 1:01.

Other Derby workers were Caddo River (five furlongs in 1:00.60), Helium (half-mile in :49.80), Soup and Sandwich (half-mile in :50), Hozier (six furlongs in 1:16) and Starrininmydreams (five furlongs in 1:00.20).

Headlining the Kentucky Oaks workers were the Brad Cox-trained duo of Travel Column and Coach, both of whom covered five furlongs in 1:00.40.

Other Oaks workers were Search Results (five furlongs in 1:02.60), Malathaat (half-mile in :48.40), Will's Secret (half-mile in :48.20), Ava's Grace (half-mile in :49.20) and Competitive Speed (five furlongs in 1:02.40).

Working at 5:30 at Keeneland was Hidden Stash, who covered five furlongs in 1:00.60.

Scheduled to work at Churchill Downs Saturday morning for the Derby are Essential Quality, Mandaloun, Highly Motivated, Super Stock and King Fury. Scheduled to work for the Oaks are Crazy Beautiful and Millefeuille.

Other works involving Kentucky Derby hopefuls are scheduled on three fronts Saturday. Slated to work at Santa Anita are Rock Your World and Hot Rod Charlie; at San Luis Rey will be Get Her Number, and, at Keeneland, Like the King.

Maracuja is scheduled for her final Oaks work at Belmont Park.

BOURBONIC, DYNAMIC ONE, KNOWN AGENDA, SAINTHOOD – Trainer Todd Pletcher, seeking his third Kentucky Derby victory, put the final touches on his quartet of Derby 147 hopefuls with works Friday morning.

At 7:30, Pletcher worked St. Elias Stable's Known Agenda and WinStar Farm and CHC Inc.'s Sainthood in company through five furlongs in 1:01 while Repole Stable, Phipps Stable and St. Elias Stable's Dynamic One worked a half-mile in :47.80 in company with the graded stakes-placed Prime Factor.

Florida Derby (G1) winner Known Agenda, with jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. aboard, worked inside of Jeff Ruby Steaks (G3) runner-up Sainthood and Amelia Green through fractions of :12.60, :24.40, :36.20 and galloped out six furlongs in 1:14.20 and seven-eighths in 1:27.20. The five-eighths time was the 17th fastest of 50 at the distance.

“Known Agenda is not the most aggressive work horse,” Pletcher said. “He is not an Always Dreaming (the 2017 Kentucky Derby winner) that will work in :59. He has had two good works here (1:00.40 last Friday) and I liked the way Sainthood worked with him.”

Dynamic One, with jockey Jose Ortiz in the boot, posted fractions of :24.40 and :36.20 en route to a :47.80 half-mile that was the second fastest of 108 at the distance. He galloped out five furlongs in 1:00.60 and six furlongs in 1:13.20.

“He finished full of energy with his ears pricked,” Pletcher said.

The final Pletcher runner to work was Calumet Farm's Bourbonic who covered a half-mile on his own in :49.60 under exercise rider Hector Ramos.

Fractions on the work were :12.80, :24.40 and out five furlongs in 1:02.40. The work was the 71st fastest of 108 at the distance.

“He has been pretty aggressive in his gallops so we worked him by himself today,” Pletcher said. “It was a good steady work with a strong gallop out.

“It was a very good morning with excellent breezes going the way we hoped they would. That was the final piece of major work and now they will have routine gallops with some gate and paddock schooling.”

CADDO RIVER, ESSENTIAL QUALITY, MANDALOUN – Shortleaf Stable's Caddo River completed his major preparation prior to the Kentucky Derby with a five-furlong drill in 1:00.60.

With Florent Geroux in the saddle, Caddo River worked in company with Warrant. Caddo River started two lengths behind his stablemate and clipped through fractions of :12.20, :23.80 and :47.60. Caddo River galloped out six furlongs in 1:14.

“He's a really solid horse and we saw that with a good effort in the Arkansas Derby,” trainer Brad Cox said. “He has a lot of speed as we've seen in his previous races.”

Cox's other two Derby contenders, Mandaloun and likely favorite Essential Quality, are scheduled to work at 5:15 a.m. Saturday.

Geroux will work Mandaloun, who he will ride in the Derby, while Essential Quality's regular exercise rider Edvin Vargas will likely be up for the work. Luis Saez has the call for the Derby.

DREAM SHAKE – Exline-Border Racing, SAF Racing and Richard Hausman's Dream Shake will bypass the Kentucky Derby in favor of the $500,000 Pat Day Mile presented by LG&E and KU (G2), per trainer Peter Eurton.

GET HER NUMBER – Gary Barber's Get Her Number is scheduled to work for trainer Peter Miller at San Luis Rey Saturday morning.

HELIUM, SOUP AND SANDWICH – D J Stable's Helium and Live Oak Plantation's homebred Soup and Sandwich completed their final Derby preparations Friday morning for trainer Mark Casse. Helium, a son of Ironicus, hit the track at 5:25 under Julien Leparoux and went four furlongs in company with fellow 3-year-old Laker Mamba in :49.80, while galloping out five furlongs in 1:03. Soup and Sandwich, under jockey Tyler Gaffalione, was on the track at 7:30 during the designated 15-minute training period for Derby and Oaks horses and worked four furlongs in company with 4-year-old graded stakes winner Peace Achieved in :50, while galloping out 5 furlongs in 1:03.60.

“Very happy with both of them,” Casse's assistant David Carroll said. “I thought Helium's work was good; he's a very smooth-moving horse. He's the better work horse of the two and he went absolutely beautiful; in hand the whole way, just waiting for Julien to ask him. He just stretched his legs but that's all we were looking for.

“Soup and Sandwich was a little rank going to the pole but he's a horse that likes to train. We only jogged him two miles the other day so he was a little fresh. He was anxious to get going but once he broke off he was very smooth the whole way, switched leads, galloped out nicely, and came home great; you couldn't ask for anything better.

“These were the works we wanted for the final pieces of works. Both horses are in great shape so hopefully we have a good week and we have a good draw.”

HIDDEN STASH – BBN Racing's Hidden Stash worked five furlongs in company in 1:00.60 and galloped out six furlongs in 1:13.80 over a fast track shortly after the track opened at Keeneland Friday morning.

“We decided to work this morning and beat the rain that is forecast and he worked great,” trainer Vicki Oliver said.

With exercise rider Darragh Sweeney aboard, Hidden Stash started three lengths in back of Esperer (FR), a 3-year-old maiden, and finished four lengths in front.

“He is going to jog and stand in the gate tomorrow and walk Sunday,” said Oliver, who was aboard Hidden Stash's workmate. “He will gallop Monday and Tuesday and ship to Churchill after he trains Tuesday morning.”

HIGHLY MOTIVATED – Klaravich Stables' Highly Motivated came out onto the track under Peter Roman at 6:07 and galloped about 1 ½ miles. The son of Into Mischief was second, beaten a neck, by champion Essentially Quality in the Blue Grass (G2) at Keeneland in what was his two-turn debut for trainer Chad Brown.

“I'm probably going to work him five-eighths tomorrow,” Brown said. “He's a horse that carries a lot of conditioning on him. He's a big, strong heavy guy that can handle a pretty solid work tomorrow. I was proud of him in the Blue Grass and I think it's a race he can build off of.”

HOT ROD CHARLIE – Roadrunner Racing, Boat Racing and Strauss Bros Racing's Hot Rod Charlie is scheduled to work Saturday morning at Santa Anita and ship to Churchill Downs on Sunday for trainer Doug O'Neill.

HOZIER, MEDINA SPIRIT – Rebel Stakes (G2) runner-up Hozier worked six furlongs in 1:16 under jockey Rafael Bejarano.

Working on his own after 9 o'clock, the Bob Baffert trainee produced fractions of :12.80, :25.20, :37.80, 1:03.20 and galloped out seven furlongs in 1:29.

Stablemate Medina Spirit, owned by Zedan Racing Stables, worked six furlongs in 1:12.20 Thursday morning at Santa Anita and arrived at Churchill Downs Friday afternoon.

LIKE THE KING – M Racing Group's Like the King is scheduled to work at Keeneland at 7:30 Saturday morning for trainer Wesley Ward.

KEEPMEINMIND – Spendthrift Farm, Cypress Creek and Arnold Bennewith's Keepmeinmind blitzed a half-mile in :46.20, the fastest of 108 at the distance over a fast track Friday morning at Churchill Downs.

With jockey David Cohen aboard, Keepmeinmind posted fractions of :22.80, :34.40 and galloped out five furlongs in :59.20 while working in company with Shasta Star.

“I am very happy with both of them,” said trainer Robertino Diodoro whose Ava's Grace worked for the Kentucky Oaks just prior to Keepmeinmind's breeze. “He worked really good today and he loves the track here, too.”

While Diodoro was watching the work from the backstretch, connections at Spendthrift were watching the work on Twitter.

“I just got a text from them, 'very sharp',” Diodoro said.

Keepmeinmind, winner of the Kentucky Jockey Club (G2) here last fall, is No. 22 on the Road to the Kentucky Derby leaderboard and would need two defections to make the field of 20.

“It is a tough spot,” Diodoro said. “If we don't get in, we will train here for the Preakness.”

KING FURY – Fern Circle Stables and Three Chimneys Farm's King Fury galloped 1 ½ miles with exercise rider Lalo Jose Quiroz during the time reserved for Kentucky Derby and Oaks horses, trainer Kenny McPeek said.

“He fully galloped, we shortened (Kentucky Oaks probable Crazy Beautiful's) gallop a little.”

The colt, winner of the Lexington at Keeneland in his most recent start, is expected to complete his final workout on Saturday. The possibility of rain in the weather forecast for Saturday doesn't concern McPeek.

“Rain shouldn't bother him,” McPeek said. “They (King Fury and Crazy Beautiful) both like the mud, so I think they'll be fine. We can push it back to Sunday, if we need to. Now we just need to get in.”

King Fury is at No. 21 on the Derby points leaderboard, and will need a shakeup of the top 20 to make the field when drawn Tuesday.

MIDNIGHT BOURBON, SUPER STOCK – Winchell Thoroughbreds' Midnight Bourbon and Erv Woolsey's and Keith Asmussen's Super Stock had another leisurely morning for trainer Steve Asmussen, with the former looking visually impressive while galloping 1 ¼ miles, while the latter went 1 3/8 miles. Midnight Bourbon will have his final Derby work Monday, while Super Stock figures to beat any potential rain with an early move Saturday.

O BESOS – Bernard Racing, Tagg Team Racing, West Point Thoroughbreds and Terry L. Stephens' O Besos walked trainer Greg Foley's Barn 11 shedrow Friday morning

He's expected to go back to the track early Saturday.

ROCK YOUR WORLD – Hronis Racing and David Talla's Rock Your World is scheduled to work Saturday morning at Santa Anita for trainer John Sadler and ship to Churchill Downs on Sunday.

STARRININMYDREAMS – Stewart Racing and WinStar Farm's third-place Lexington Stakes (G3) finisher Starrininmydreams worked a swift five furlongs in 1:00.40 through splits of :12.60, :24.80 with a six-furlong gallop out in 1:14.20.

He's currently No. 23 on the Road to the Kentucky Derby preference list.

SHAPING UP: THE KENTUCKY DERBY – Likely starters in the 147th running of the $3 million Kentucky Derby presented by Woodford Reserve (Grade I) for 3-year-olds at 1 1/4 miles on Saturday, May 1 in order of preference (with possible jockey and trainer): Essential Quality (Luis Saez, Brad Cox); Hot Rod Charlie (Flavien Prat, Doug O'Neill); Super Stock (Ricardo Santana Jr., Steve Asmussen); Like the King (Drayden Van Dyke, Wesley Ward); Known Agenda (Irad Ortiz Jr., Todd Pletcher); Rock Your World (Joel Rosario, John Sadler); Bourbonic (Kendrick Carmouche, Todd Pletcher); Medina Spirit (John Velazquez, Bob Baffert); Midnight Bourbon (Mike Smith, Steve Asmussen); Mandaloun (Florent Geroux, Brad Cox); Caddo River (TBA, Brad Cox); Highly Motivated (Javier Castellano, Chad Brown); Helium (Julien Leparoux, Mark Casse); Soup and Sandwich (Tyler Gaffalione, Mark Casse); Dynamic One (Jose Ortiz, Todd Pletcher); Sainthood (TBA, Todd Pletcher); Hidden Stash (Rafael Bejarano, Vicki Oliver); O Besos (Marcelino Pedroza, Greg Foley); Get Her Number (TBA, Peter Miller).

Possible starters within the Top 20 on the preference list: Hozier (TBA, Bob Baffert).

Next up in order of preference: King Fury (Brian Hernandez Jr., Kenny McPeek); Keepmeinmind (David Cohen, Robertino Diodoro); Starrininmydreams (TBA, Dallas Stewart).

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Taking Stock: Breeders Robertson, Gonzalez Elevate Dialed In’s Profile

Somewhere on the grounds of OBS on Tuesday, the two unacquainted men who bred Dialed In's (Mineshaft) only two Grade l winners to date–Gl Kentucky Derby-bound Get Her Number and Super Stock–quite likely passed each other unaware of the other in that random way of the universe that plays with degrees of separation.

I assume this because I was on the phone with Phil Robertson, who co-bred Get Her Number with his wife Brenda, when Pedro “Pete” Gonzalez, the co-breeder of Super Stock with his grandson P.J. Gonzalez, phoned me. I was finishing up my call with Robertson, who was three hips away from selling a 2-year-old, and immediately returned the Gonzalez call when I hung up with Robertson.

The first thing I noticed when Gonzalez started speaking was a distinct background voice that had also been present in my call with Robertson. For all I know, they could have been standing within feet of each other when speaking to me about why they sent their respective mares to Darby Dan's Dialed In in 2017.

Of course, there was every reason to send a mare to Dialed In that spring because the stallion, who'd stood his first four seasons for $7,500, had dramatically defeated Lane's End's Union Rags (Dixie Union) for the champion freshman sire title on the last day of the year, in the very same race at that–the $100,000 Gin Talking S. at Laurel. Dialed In's Ms Locust Point won the race, earning $60,000, while Union Rags's daughter Aiden's Rag Doll finished fifth. The margin separating the two stallions had been only $35,194 before the race. It was a victory for David versus Goliath, because Union Rags had been syndicated for more than $12 million and stood for a $35,000 fee.

Breeders came in droves to Dialed In in 2017 despite the doubling of his fee to $15,000, and among the 231 mares bred to the stallion that year were Robertson's homebred Bernstein (Storm Cat) mare Fancier, the dam of Get Her Number, and Gonzalez's homebred Super Girlie, the daughter of Closing Argument (Successful Appeal) who produced Super Stock.

Robertson and Gonzalez are small breeders with a lot in common–the former owns 15 mares while the latter has seven–and both have small farms, Robertson's in Versailles, Gonzalez's in Ocala. Roberston is retired from the construction business and shuttles between his lake home in Granbury, Texas, and the Kentucky farm, while Gonzalez, who's also retired from the construction business, drives back and forth from his base in Miami to Ocala to check on his stock. Both men are passionate about breeding and are also exceedingly polite, and if they'd bumped into each other at OBS, I have no doubt that they'd have had a heck of a conversation about horses, construction, and the thrill of having bred a horse slated for the Derby, by the same stallion as it turns out.

Dialed In

With two potential Derby starters, Dialed In joins Into Mischief, the hottest and most expensive sire in the country at a fee of $225,000, as the only two stallions with multiple runners intended for the Classic at this writing. However, Dialed In's two colts are Grade l winners whereas Into Mischief's three–Mandaloun, Highly Motivated, and Soup and Sandwich–have only one Grade ll win amongst them in graded company.

This is a terrifically complimentary comparison for the Darby Dan horse, who started as the favorite in the 2011 Derby after winning the Gl Florida Derby, a fixture that's turning out to be the premier sire-making race in the country with such alumni as Nyquist (Uncle Mo), Constitution (Tapit), Quality Road (Elusive Quality), Scat Daddy (Johannesburg), Empire Maker (Unbridled), and Harlan's Holiday (Harlan) in the recent past.

Altogether, Dialed In won three of seven starts and earned $941,936. He'd been bred by the partnership of W.S. Farish, Madeleine Pickens (previously married to Allen Paulson), and Skara Glen Stables, and he was purchased for $475,000 as a yearling at Fasig-Tipton Saratoga by Robert LaPenta's Whitehorse Stable, which has a penchant for A.P. Indy-line horses. Dialed In is from the immediate family of Paulson's champion filly Eliza (his second dam) and Gl Santa Anita Derby winner Dinard, and he was trained by Nick Zito in a come-from-behind style that's frequently associated with the best of Zito runners. It's not, however, the preferred front-running style that's popular with breeders and stud farms, and after Dialed In's eighth-place finish in the Derby and only two more combined starts after that in 2011 and 2012, the horse was somewhat forgotten and wasn't among the most sought-after stallion prospects for 2013, allowing Doug Cauthen and Darby Dan's Robert Hammond to secure him for stud duty to stand at John Phillips's historic nursery at a fee of $7,500.

A good-looking stallion standing 16.1 hands with plenty of substance to him, Dialed In has since defied the odds, much like Into Mischief in his early years when his stud fee once touched $7,500 before his first-crop runners took off. Dialed In started off hot, too, getting multiple Grade ll winner and Grade l-placed Gunnevera, who's earned $5.5 million, and five other black-type winners from his first crop. By the time Robertson and Gonzalez had contracted to send their mares to the stallion In in the spring of 2017, Gunnevera was well on the Classics trail. He finished seventh in the Derby but subsequently showed he handled a mile and a quarter when placing in the Gl Travers S., the Breeders' Cup Classic, and the Dubai World Cup, a good sign for Get Her Number and Super Stock in the Derby.

Gunnevera is one of 15 black-type winners for his sire through five crops (not including 2-year-olds of 2021), and his accomplishments from two to five helped Dialed In win the freshman sire championship and see a bump in his fee from $15,000 in 2017 to $25,000 in 2018 and 2019. However, by 2020 the stallion was down to $20,000, and this year he's serving mares for $15,000, which illustrates the difficulties stallions face with their second, third, and fourth crops as mare books get watered down after the first year at stud. This is particularly acute for horses standing for cheaper fees. Note that to date Dialed In has only three black-type winners from his second crop and just one from his third crop.

During these lean years, Dialed In nevertheless showed he could get quality runners, even if they weren't black-type winners. For instance, the 4-year-old Finnick the Fierce placed in a Grade ll race at two and last year was third in the Gl Arkansas Derby, the same race that Super Stock won two weeks ago for Steve Asmussen with Get Her Number a fast-closing fourth. Last year, Get Her Number, trained by Peter Miller, won the Gl American Pharoah S. at Santa Anita, becoming his sire's first top-level winner.

Grade l Breeders

Phil and Brenda Robertson have raced some good horses, including graded winners Reigning Court and Savorthetime with Asmussen, and they've bred some others, such as Group 2 winner Sander Camillo, a Dixie Union filly they'd sold as a yearling for $160,000 in 2005 that later sold to Godolphin as a broodmare prospect for the equivalent of $6.9 million at Tattersalls in 2007.

Phil Robertson didn't want to sell Get Her Number, which he did last year with Ciaran Dunne's Wavertree at OBS April for $45,000 to trainer Peter Miller. “He was always a good-looking colt. The sale was postponed to June last year with Covid,” Roberston said, “and with Covid and how uncertain things were with the economy, I just figured it was the right thing to do financially.”

The colt's dam, Fancier, had been bred and raised by the Robertsons and was a winner of three races from 10 starts, but “she was a mare that was hard to get pregnant. She wouldn't cycle right.” Her second dam was the Group 1-placed Irish River (Fr) mare Shy Princess, a half-sister to Gl Breeders' Cup Mile winner Opening Verse, and though her extended family was deep, her immediate family was light and her foals catalogued with two “blank dams,” a commercial kiss of death. On the advice of his veterinarian, Robertson had sold her in foal to Astern for $1,300 at Keeneland November the year before her son won his Grade l race.

Robertson said he'd sent the mare to Dialed In because “she was a tall, lighter mare with a lot of leg, and he was shorter and stockier. He had more substance, and she needed that.”

Pete Gonzalez sent his homebred mare Super Girlie, the dam of Super Stock and a winner of seven races from 39 starts and $121,728, to Dialed In mainly for pedigree reasons. “My mare mixes well with A.P. Indy and Storm Cat, which is how Dialed In is bred, and he has Mr. Prospector in the pedigree, and she's got Mr. Prospector, and I wanted to inbreed to Mr. Prospector. I love speed, and with A.P. Indy there is distance, but I wanted to get more speed for distance.”

Gonzalez and his grandson also bred Super Stock's Gl-placed half-sister Boujie Girl (Flashback), who Peter Miller purchased from the OBS April sale for $65,000 three years ago. Earlier, in 2012, Miller had purchased the Gl La Brea S. winner Heir Kitty (Wildcat Heir) from OBS April for $32,000, and Heir Kitty was produced from a half-sister to Super Girlie and was also bred by Pete Gonzalez, in partnership with Jorge Herrera.

Gonzalez sold Super Stock as a yearling at Keeneland September through Taylor Made for $70,000 to Keith Asmussen and Erv Woolsey. “He was a really nice yearling. My farm manager in Ocala, Ivan Gardea, prepped him early, and then I sent the colt to Ramiro Salazar at Phoenix Farm in Midway to get him ready for the sale. We thought he'd bring more,” Gonzalez said.

Super Girlie, who is based at Salazar's Phoenix Farm, has a yearling by Mendelssohn (Scat Daddy) and is in foal to Authentic (Into Mischief).

Gonzalez, a Cuban-American, has been breeding horses for 25 years and attributes his success to his wife, Georgelina. “I thank her for it all, and for always supporting me,” he said. “You know, when Super Stock won the Arkansas Derby, I became the first Cuban-American to breed the winner of that race. How do I know? I did the research.”

If Super Stock wins the Kentucky Derby, Gonzalez will have more research to do. If Get Her Number upsets the Classic, the Robertsons will get just compensation in historical prestige for culling his dam. And if either wins, Dialed In's profile will be elevated to a whole new level than the high plane it's on now, thanks to Robertson and Gonzalez.

Sid Fernando is president and CEO of Werk Thoroughbred Consultants, Inc., originator of the Werk Nick Rating and eNicks.

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Chief Steward Barbara Borden Goes On The Record About ‘Life-Changing’ Derby Disqualification

Nearly two years after the historic disqualification of Maximum Security in the 145th Kentucky Derby, chief state steward Barbara Borden has gone on record with the Courier-Journal to discuss the career-defining 22 minutes during which she and her fellow stewards made their decision.

Viewing the Run for the Roses from five different camera angles, Borden, Brooks “Butch” Becraft, and Tyler Picklesimer determined that Maximum Security caused an issue near the quarter pole when he impeded the path of War of Will, who then bumped into Long Range Toddy. For the first time in the race's storied history, it was announced that the horse first across the wire would be disqualified due to interference. Borden and her fellow stewards placed Maximum Security 17th, behind Long Range Toddy, the last horse his action bothered. Preparing to make the race official, Borden turned to Becraft and Picklesimer before pressing the button.

“I said, 'This is a big thing and it's probably going to be life-changing,'” Borden told the Courier-Journal. “That was kind of dramatic at the time, I thought, but with some of the events that occurred afterward, it really wasn't an overstatement.”

The aftershocks of the stewards' decision were far-reaching. A call from Maximum Security's owners less than 30 seconds after the race went official was a prelude to the coming legal challenge. Immediately, Churchill Downs took precautions for Borden's safety; a security guard escorted her to her car after the races, but Borden remembers him backing away as she started it, as if the car might explode.

As the weeks after the Derby wore on, Borden said she received hate mail both at Churchill Downs and at her home. Churchill placed a security guard on her for the remainder of the Spring Meet.

Eventually, the stewards' decision was upheld in court due to a Kentucky law that states the stewards are responsible for “all findings of fact as to all matters occurring during and incident to the running of a race,” and “findings of fact and determination shall be final and not subject to appeal.”

“I knew when I took this job that it was going to be stressful at times,” Borden told the Courier-Journal. “It was a little more than I expected, the fallout, but it didn't deter me at all from wanting to come back. The first time we walked back in this (stewards) room after that happened was several days later. It was a little weird to walk in here, but it didn't deter me at all. We did our job. As much as we didn't come in here looking to do that that day, we did our jobs and we were proud of that.”

Derby Notes: Improving O Besos Shows Strong Gallop Out In Final Breeze

Bernard Racing LLC, Tagg Team Racing, West Point Thoroughbreds and Terry L. Stephens' O Besos was the lone Derby contender to breeze Thursday at Churchill Downs where he cruised a half-mile in :48.

With jockey Marcelino Pedroza in the saddle, O Besos began his work at the three-furlong pole and worked through early fractions of :12 and :36.20. Pedroza shook the reins at the Orb colt at the wire where he picked up his tempo through a five-furlong gallop out of 1:00 and continued six furlongs in 1:12.60.

O Besos will have a scheduled walk day Friday when at least 16 Derby and Oaks contenders are scheduled to have their final works. They are: Ava's Grace (Oaks), Bourbonic (Derby), Coach (Oaks), Competitive Speed (Oaks), Dynamic One (Derby), Helium (Derby), Highly Motivated (Derby), Keepmeinmind (Derby), Known Agenda (Derby), Malathaat (Oaks), Sainthood (Derby), Search Results (Oaks), Soup and Sandwich (Derby), Starrininmydreams (Derby), Travel Column (Oaks), Will's Secret (Oaks).

The National Weather Service is calling for a 90 percent change of precipitation Saturday morning in Louisville and Lexington. At Keeneland, Derby contenders Hidden Stash and Like the King could move their works to Friday, according to their respective trainers.

At Santa Anita, Zedan Racing Stable's Medina Sprit worked six furlongs in 1:12.20 and is slated to arrive at Churchill Downs Friday at 1 p.m.

BOURBONIC, DYNAMIC ONE, KNOWN AGENDA, SAINTHOOD – Friday will be the work day for trainer Todd Pletcher's Kentucky Derby quartet.

“The forecast keeps changing, but it is looking dicey for Saturday,” Pletcher said after his runners galloped 1 3/8 miles over a fast track Thursday morning. “Twenty-four hours won't make a difference.”

Pletcher plans to work three of the Derby horses at 7:30: St. Elias Stable's Known Agenda with jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. aboard, Repole Stable, Phipps Stable and St. Elias Stable's Dynamic One with jockey Jose Ortiz aboard, and WinStar Farm and CHC Inc.'s Sainthood with exercise rider Amelia Green aboard.

Calumet Farm's Bourbonic likely would work at 9 o'clock with exercise rider Hector Ramos aboard.

Ramos was aboard Known Agenda this morning at 7:30 and 20 minutes later on Bourbonic while Green partnered Sainthood at 7:30 and Carlos Perez Quevedo was on Dynamic One at 7:30.

HELIUM, SOUP AND SANDWICH – D J Stable's Helium and Live Oak Plantation's homebred Soup and Sandwich stretched their legs Thursday morning on the eve of their planned final Derby preparations. Helium, with Paolo Levi aboard, and Soup and Sandwich, with Gilbert Hernandez, both galloped 1 ½ miles for trainer Mark Casse.

“They'll both breeze tomorrow; Helium will go around 5:25 and Soup and Sandwich will go at 7:30,” Casse's assistant David Carroll said. “They'll just go an easy half-mile. They both had their major works last week and came out of it extremely well. Tomorrow will just be a maintenance move. Normally we'd go Saturday but with the forecast we'll back it up a day and play it on the safe side.”

Helium, who is undefeated in three starts, and Soup and Sandwich, who is 2-for-3, are both lightly raced and full of potential, though that's where the similarities end.

“They are two different types of horses to train,” Carroll said. “Helium is a really beautiful mover and gets over the ground and trains into the bridle while Soup and Sandwich has his own way of going, but when he breezes, he's all business.”

HIGHLY MOTIVATED – Klaravich Stables' Highly Motivated came out onto the track under Peter Roman shortly after 7:30 and galloped then walked to the starting gate during the 15-minutre training window for Derby and Kentucky Oaks horses.

Trainer Chad Brown was pleased with what he saw and will keep an eye on the weather for the Blue Grass (G2) runner-up's final work.

“It went fine and it was good to get that out of the way,” Brown said. “I'm just trying to figure out now when I'm going to try and breeze. I'm going to watch the weather; I'd prefer to work him Saturday morning before the rain comes. I was speaking to the track superintendent and looking for a little guidance on that.”

HOZIER – Rebel Stakes (G2) runner-up Hozier galloped a mile and a half at 9:15 under exercise rider Joel Osorio for trainer Bob Baffert.

Hozier is No. 21 on the Road to the Kentucky Derby leaderboard.

KEEPMEINMIND – Spendthrift Farm, Cypress Creek and Arnold Bennewith's Keepmeinmind galloped a mile and a half a little before 6 o'clock with Walter Davila aboard for trainer Robertino Diodoro.

Winner of the Kentucky Jockey Club (G2) here last fall, Keepmeinmind is scheduled to work shortly before 6 o'clock Friday morning.

“David Cohen is flying in tonight to work Ava's Grace (for the Oaks) and Keepmeinmind and then fly back to ride that afternoon at Oaklawn Park,” said Sean Williams, assistant to Diodoro. “We put Walter on him this morning to get a feel for him in case something happens and David doesn't get in.”

Keepmeinmind is No. 23 on the Road to the Kentucky Derby leaderboard

KING FURY – Fern Circle Stables and Three Chimney's Farm's King Fury galloped 1 ½ miles during the reserved time for Kentucky Derby and Oaks horses. The winner of the Lexington Stakes (G3) at Keeneland in his most recent start is expected to have his final workout on Saturday, according to Greg Geier, assistant to trainer Kenny McPeek. He's at No. 21 on the Derby points leaderboard and needs a defection to make the field of 20.

MIDNIGHT BOURBON, SUPER STOCK – Winchell Thoroughbreds' Midnight Bourbon and Erv Woolsey's and Keith Asmussen's Super Stock each had an easy Thursday morning as they readied for their final Derby works in the coming days for trainer Steve Asmussen.

“Midnight Bourbon stood in the starting gate and galloped a mile and Super Stock backed up to the wire and galloped a mile and a quarter,” Asmussen's longtime assistant Scott Blasi said.

Blasi indicated that Super Stock will work Saturday, followed by Midnight Bourbon on Monday

O BESOS –Bernard Racing, Tagg Team Racing, West Point Thoroughbreds and Terry L. Stephens' O Besos worked a half-mile in :48 early Thursday morning at Churchill Downs.

“We're really pleased with how the overall work went and how strong he galloped out,” trainer Greg Foley said. “Our horse has shown improvement in every start so far. We think leading up to the Derby he's going to keep showing that improvement and run a big effort. He'll be ready to make a run at the field at the top of the stretch.

“We had some distance questions when we ran in the Louisiana Derby but he was the only horse in the field that day who was making up any ground.”

O Besos will have a scheduled walk day Friday.

STARRININMYDREAMS – Stewart Racing and WinStar Farm's third-place Lexington Stakes (G3) finisher Starrininmydreams is scheduled to work early Friday morning, according to trainer Dallas Stewart.

SHAPING UP: THE KENTUCKY DERBY – Likely starters in the 147th running of the $3 million Kentucky Derby presented by Woodford Reserve (Grade I) for 3-year-olds at 1 1/4 miles on Saturday, May 1 in order of preference (with possible jockey and trainer): Essential Quality (Luis Saez, Brad Cox); Hot Rod Charlie (Flavien Prat, Doug O'Neill); Super Stock (Ricardo Santana Jr., Steve Asmussen); Like the King (Drayden Van Dyke, Wesley Ward); Known Agenda (Irad Ortiz, Todd Pletcher); Rock Your World (Joel Rosario, John Sadler); Bourbonic (Kendrick Carmouche, Todd Pletcher); Medina Spirit (John Velazquez, Bob Baffert); Midnight Bourbon (Mike Smith, Steve Asmussen); Mandaloun (Florent Geroux, Brad Cox); Caddo River (TBA, Brad Cox); Highly Motivated (Javier Castellano, Chad Brown); Helium (Julien Leparoux, Mark Casse); Soup and Sandwich (Tyler Gaffalione, Mark Casse); Dynamic One (Jose Ortiz, Todd Pletcher); Sainthood (TBA, Todd Pletcher); Hidden Stash (Rafael Bejarano, Vicki Oliver); O Besos (Marcelino Pedroza, Greg Foley); Get Her Number (TBA, Peter Miller).

Possible starters within the Top 20 on the preference list: Dream Shake (TBA, Peter Eurton).

Next up in order of preference: Hozier (TBA, Bob Baffert); King Fury (Brian Hernandez Jr., Kenny McPeek); Keepmeinmind (David Cohen, Robertino Diodoro); Starrininmydreams (TBA, Dallas Stewart).

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