Tag: Triple Crown

Frank Fletcher Racing Operation's Rocket Can completed his penultimate workout prior to the $3-million Kentucky Derby (G1) on May 6 when he cruised five furlongs in 1:01 Sunday morning at Churchill Downs.

Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott was aboard his trusty pony while watching Rocket Can break off six lengths behind stablemate Game Warden. Rocket Can completed early splits of :12.20 and :36.60 with regular exercise rider Guelser Cardona in the saddle. He finished even with his stablemate at the wire and galloped out several lengths in front through six furlongs in 1:14.20.

“It was a nice steady work,” Mott said of the Into Mischief colt, who was bred by Woodford Thoroughbreds. “He worked fast last week and I was just looking for a good, steady work this week. He galloped out well and stayed within himself.”

Rocket Can, the winner of the Holy Bull (G3) Feb. 24 and runner-up in the Fountain of Youth (G3) March 4, will enter the Derby following a fourth-place finish in the Arkansas Derby (G1) April 1.

“It maybe was a little bit of a wide trip in the Arkansas Derby,” Mott said. “The one thing that race told me is he still has more to give in the tank. I don't think he's quite learned to give it his all. That's what you get this time of year with 3-year-olds, but they can improve quickly. He's got a lot of route pedigree on his bottom side being by Tapit. We added blinkers in today's work and will for the race. Hopefully, that will help him go past horses when he runs up beside them.”

Less than one minute before Rocket Can began his work, Albaugh Family Stable and Castleton Lyons' Florida Derby (GI) third-place finisher Cyclone Mischief completed five furlongs in 1:01 with exercise rider Tammy Fox in the saddle. Cyclone Mischief needs three defections to make the Derby field.

“I hope we can get him in the Derby,” trainer Dale Romans said. “I thought he worked great this morning.”

Cyclone Mischief completed splits of :12.20, :24.20, and :36.20. He galloped out six furlongs in 1:14, according to Churchill Downs clocker John Nichols.

While it was a busy morning for Rocket Can and Cyclone Mischief, Kentucky Derby favorite Forte had an easy morning in Barn 39 where he walked the shedrow. This is the first time trainer Todd Pletcher has been stabled in Barn 39 where 1988 Kentucky Derby winner Winning Colors was stabled.

As of Sunday morning there are 13 Kentucky Derby contenders within the Top 20 field that are stabled at Churchill Downs: Angel of Empire (Barn 22), Confidence Game (24), Continuar (JPN) (Q1), Derma Sotogake (JPN) (Q1), Disarm (38), Forte (39), Hit Show (22), Kingsbarns (39), Rocket Can (19), Sun Thunder (6), Tapit Trice (39), Verifying (22), and Wild On Ice (43).

The next arrivals are scheduled to be Blazing Sevens, who will van from Keeneland on Monday afternoon and Mage, who will van from Gulfstream Park on Sunday afternoon and arrive Monday.

The post Kentucky Derby Update: Rocket Can Turns In ‘Nice, Steady Work’ At Churchill Downs appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Reincarnate continued his preparations for the Kentucky Derby (G1) when working five furlongs in company on Saturday at Santa Anita for trainer Tim Yakteen.

Hitting the main track right after the 6:30 a.m. (PT) renovation break, Reincarnate completed the work in 1:01.0. It was his second work since a third-place finish in the Arkansas Derby (G1) at Oaklawn Park on April 1.

“He worked great. Looked really good this morning,” Yakteen said of the son of Good Magic.

Reincarnate won the Sham (G3) on Jan. 8 at Santa Anita and was third in the Rebel (G3) at Oaklawn Park prior to the Arkansas Derby. He will be ridden in the Kentucky Derby by John Velaquez, who was aboard for both the Rebel and Arkansas Derby.

Set to join Reincarnate in the Kentucky Derby starting gate May 6 at Churchill Downs is stablemate Practical Move, winner of the  Santa Anita Derby (G1) April 8. Practical Move worked on Friday, drilling four furlongs in :47 while in company with Kangaroo Court. Yakteen reported Saturday morning Practical Move and Kangaroo Court, along with multiple stakes winner Johannes who also worked Friday, were all in good order Saturday and on track to run at Churchill Downs.

“Everyone was good this morning. Fingers crossed,” Yakteen said.

Johannes, winner of the Baffle and Pasadena Stakes on turf in his two most recent starts, is set to run in the American Turf (G2) for 3-year-olds on the Kentucky Derby undercard. Kangaroo Court is scheduled to run in the Pat Day Mile (G2) at Churchill Downs on the same day. He will be joined in the Pat Day Mile by stablemate Fort Bragg, who will cut back in distance following a fifth-place finish in the Florida Derby (G1) on April 1. Fort Bragg also worked on Saturday when drilling five furlongs in :59.40. It was the fourth fastest of 43 works at the distance.

Reincarnate, Practical Move, Kangaroo Court and Johannes will all work back on Friday at Santa Anita, Yakteen said. They are scheduled to ship to Churchill Downs the following day.

The post Reincarnate Works In Company For Kentucky Derby appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Curlin Florida Derby (G1) runner-up Mage breezed six furlongs in 1:14.78 Saturday morning at Gulfstream Park while prepping for a scheduled start in the May 6 Kentucky Derby (G1).

The lightly raced son of Good Magic, trained by Gustavo Delgado and owned by OGMA Investments LLC, Ramiro Restrepo, Sterling Racing LLC, and CMNWLTH, galloped out a mile.

“He worked good. We liked what we saw. Everything is going to plan, Thank God,” said assistant trainer Gustavo Delgado Jr.

A jockey has yet to be named to ride Mage in the Derby.

Mage, a $290,000 purchase at the 2022 Fasig-Tipton Midlantic 2-Year-Olds-in-Training sale, is scheduled to ship Sunday to Churchill Downs to finish his preparation for a run in the Kentucky Derby.

“We just want him to get to know the track. We don't expect to do very much there, fitness-wise,” the younger Delgado said. “He should be ready after this work. Every day is crucial. We'll take it day by day, but we like the position we're in right now.”

Making only his third career start in the Florida Derby, Mage made a sweeping move from 12th to take the lead at the top of the stretch to get the jump on heavily favored Forte, but the Todd Pletcher trainee kicked into overdrive in stretch to pull out the victory by a length.

Mage turned in an eye-catching debut at Gulfstream Jan. 28 while romping to a 3¾-length victory in a seven-furlong maiden special weight race. He subsequently showed a lot of grit while finishing fourth behind Forte in the Fountain of Youth (G2), in which he experienced gate trouble, bumping and a wide trip.

Mage, who collected 40 points for his runner-up Florida Derby finish and 10 points for his game effort in the Fountain of Youth, sits 16th on the Kentucky Derby leaderboard, assuring the Kentucky-bred colt a stall in the starting gate for the first leg of the 2023 Triple Crown at Churchill Downs.

The post Florida Derby Runner-Up Mage Breezes At Gulfstream For Kentucky Derby, To Ship To Churchill Downs Sunday appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Following are the horses (with jockeys and trainers) that are qualified for the Kentucky Derby (G1) and those on the also-eligible list (in alphabetical order with AEs listed last in preference order):

Angel of Empire (jockey Flavien Prat, trainer Brad Cox); Blazing Sevens (TBA, Chad Brown); Confidence Game (James Graham, Keith Desormeaux); Continuar (JPN) (Ryusel Sakai, Yoshito Yahagi); Derma Sotogake (JPN) (Christophe Lemaire, Hidetaka Otonashi); Disarm (Joel Rosario, Steve Asmussen); Forte (Irad Ortiz Jr., Todd Pletcher); Hit Show (Manny Franco, Brad Cox); Kingsbarns (TBA, Todd Pletcher); Lord Miles (Paco Lopez, Saffie Joseph Jr.); Mage (TBA, Gustavo Delgado); Practical Move (Ramon Vazquez, Tim Yakteen); Raise Cain (Javier Castellano, Ben Colebrook); Reincarnate (John Velazquez, Tim Yakteen); Rocket Can (Junior Alvarado, Bill Mott); Sun Thunder (Brian Hernandez Jr., Kenny McPeek); Tapit Trice (Luis Saez, Todd Pletcher); Two Phil's (Jareth Loveberry, Larry Rivelli); Verifying (Tyler Gaffalione, Brad Cox); and Wild On Ice (Ken Tohill, Joel Marr).

Also-Eligible: Jace's Road (Florent Geroux, Brad Cox); Skinner (Victor Espinioza, John Shirreffs); Cyclone Mischief (TBA, Dale Romans); Major Dude (TBA, Todd Pletcher); and Mandarin Hero (JPN) (TBA, Terunobu Fujita).

For a detailed look at the horses that could fill the Kentucky Derby starting gate on May 6, check out Paulick Report's The Derby Bubble Presented by Kentucky-Breds: The Waiting Game Begins.

Following are the fillies (with trainers) that are qualified for the Longines Kentucky Oaks (G1) and those on the also-eligible list (in alphabetical order with AEs listed last in preference order):

Affirmative Lady (John Velazquez, Graham Motion); And Tell Me Nolies (Ramon Vazquez, Peter Miller); Botanical (Chris Landeros, Brad Cox); Defining Purpose (Brian Hernandez Jr., Kenny McPeek); Dorth Vader (TBA, Mike Yates); Flying Connection (TBA, Todd Fincher); Gambling Girl (TBA, Todd Pletcher); Mimi Kakushi (TBA, Salem bin Ghadayer); Pretty Mischievous (Tyler Gaffalione, Brendan Walsh); Promisher America (TBA, Ray Handal); Shidabhuti (TBA, Chad Brown); Southlawn (Rey Gutierrez, Norm Casse); The Alys Look (Luis Saez, Brad Cox); and Wet Paint (Flavien Prat, Brad Cox).

Also-Eligible: Wonder Wheel (Mark Casse); Taxed (Randy Morse); Julia Shining (Todd Pletcher); Hoosier Philly (Tom Amoss); and Punchbowl (Brad Cox).

The post Shaping Up: Horses Qualified For Kentucky Derby, Kentucky Oaks, And Also-Eligibles appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post