The gray colt was accompanied to the track by trainer Jena Antonucci on horseback and was put through his paces by Javier Castellano. Arcangelo galloped out a full half-mile after completing his move and was clocked in 1:26 1/5 for seven furlongs, 1:39 for the mile and out nine panels in 1:53.

“It was a little more serious work,” said Castellano, who faces a decision whether to stick with Arcangelo or return to Mage (Good Magic), aboard whom he won his first GI Kentucky Derby. “I usually hold him together. Today, I let him stretch out a little bit. I like the way he did it today–good fractions and a good move. The best thing for him is galloping out–he reaches out longer.

The reinsman continued, “In the turn, I asked a little bit and he took off. I just dropped my hands and let him roll. The boss wanted me to put on a good show today. I had been holding and keeping him fresh, but we are in a stage to make it serious because we are facing the best 3-year-olds in the country. You have to put a good foundation in and I think he does.”

According to Antonucci, Arcangelo wanted to do more after nearly linking up with another breezer on his gallop out.

“He swapped leads and went to go again,” said Antonucci, with a laugh. “That's a good quality for a horse to have. We finally got him pulled up over the three-eighths pole. He was kind of pleased with himself.

“He's happy and he loves it and he's enjoying it,” Antonucci added. “What better gift could I have?”

⁦@BelmontStakes⁩ winner Arcangelo (Arrogate) walking Saturday morning at trainer Jena Antonucci's barn after his morning exercise and bath. ⁦@theTDN⁩ pic.twitter.com/P99T2WWaib

— Mike Kane (@MKane49) August 5, 2023

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“We just want to get him a little bit more locked in,” he said.

Pletcher described the small blinker is a French cup with some holes in it.

Under jockey Irad Ortiz, Jr., Forte, who worked in company with MGSW Emmanuel, breezed a half-mile on the main track in :50. Emmanuel remains on target for the Aug. 12 GI Fourstardave H.

Pletcher said he was happy with Forte's work.

“I thought he went really well,” he said.  “He was enjoying himself out there.”

It was Forte's second breeze this summer at Saratoga after covering a half-mile in :48.90 July 14.

“I feel like he lost focus a little bit in the [GI] Florida Derby in the middle of the turn and in the [GI] Belmont. It might have cost him the Belmont,” Pletcher said.

He continued, “Irad and I had a conversation after that work about possibly trying some blinkers on him. We galloped him in them one day this week and it seemed like that went fine. Irad felt like he was a little more focused on what he was asking him to do rather than what the horse next to him was doing. If we were going to try an equipment change, we felt like the Jim Dandy would be the race to do it in and not wait until the Travers if we felt we needed to make a change.”

Forte has won six of eight career starts and was the 2-year-old male champion last year after compiling consecutive Grade I victories in the Hopeful, the Breeders' Futurity and the Breeders' Cup Juvenile.

He opened his 2023 campaign with a 4 1/2-length victory in the GI Fountain of Youth. In the Florida Derby he made a huge rally in the stretch to overtake Mage (Good Magic) and win by one length. Forte, the morning-line favorite, was scratched from the Kentucky Derby the morning of the race because of a bruised foot. He was second in the Belmont, 1 1/2 lengths behind Arcangelo (Arrogate).

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Juddmonte's racing manager Barry Mahon said, “I think Ralph [Beckett] is happy with him, he worked well on Saturday morning and will probably work again tomorrow [Wednesday]. I haven't heard any negatives, so we're still on track at the minute anyway.

“Taking on Baaeed (GB) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) would have been very scary obviously, but I think the connections are doing the right thing with him–going a mile and a quarter makes more sense than turning up in France for a mile and a half on heavy ground for his last start.

“The Arc will still be a very tough race, as it always is. We've done it before with Workforce and we're hoping lightning can strike twice.”

Westover started his season with a narrow victory in the G3 Classic Trial S. at Sandown in April and then ran an encouraging third in the G1 Cazoo Derby on June 4, both under Rob Hornby. For his last two starts he has been ridden by Colin Keane–in the G1 Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby on June 25, and the King George.

“It's actually something we haven't even talked about,” Mahon added, of a rider decision for Westover. “We'll probably have to start discussing it next week and see what the family would like to do.”

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Immediately following his stunning 80-1 upset beneath the Twin Spires, connections fully intended on pressing on to the Preakness, but it was announced May 12 that the colt would bypass the second jewel of the Triple Crown and would be trained up to the GI Belmont S. June 11.

“Skipping the Preakness was still one of the toughest decisions I had to make as a trainer,” said trainer Eric Reed, who stood alongside owner Rick Dawson for the work. “I just don't think he would've been mentally ready to run against those horses again.”

Reed indicated that Rich Strike would head to New York as soon as next week, but has elected to keep the colt in Barn 17 on the Churchill backstretch until May 31. Tentative plans call for Rich Strike to breeze again Monday, May 30.

“He does so well here I just didn't want to change anything yet,” Reed said. “He'll get eight or nine days at Belmont to gallop and get used to the surface.”

Rich Strike breezes 4 furlongs in :47.20 on Preakness Day in preparation for the @BelmontStakes! pic.twitter.com/mKDm273lnd

— Kentucky Derby (@KentuckyDerby) May 21, 2022

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The 4-year-old breezed five furlongs in 1:00.36 at Palm Beach Downs for Todd Pletcher, third-fastest of 14 horses at the distance Saturday.

“Just another super work this morning,” said the Hall of Famer of the 3-year-old Eclipse finalist. “Looked awesome, finished up really strong, galloped out great. Looks good here [Saturday] afternoon. We're very, very happy with him. I had him in a minute and 2/5, had him shading :23 the last quarter. He galloped out seven-eighths in 1:26 2/5 and just looked great doing it.”

Saturday's work was Life Is Good's sixth work since his front-running 5 3/4-length score in the Nov. 6 GI Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile at Del Mar.

Earning a Rising Star badge following his 9 1/2-length victory for Bob Baffert in his sole start of 2020, he won his next two to kick off his sophomore season in the GIII Sham S. and GII San Felipe S. Runner-up to Jackie's Warrior (Maclean's Music) in his first start for Pletcher in the Aug. 28 GI H. Allen Jerkens Memorial S., the bay galloped in the GII Kelso H. before airing on Breeders' Cup Day.

“I love the way he's settled in here. He's been really training well, but also a little more relaxed,” Pletcher said. “I think he likes the environment at Palm Beach Downs. We kind of take him out when he's the only horse on the racetrack, so he's enjoying that.”

He added, “His works, he couldn't work any better, but he's always been such an exceptional work horse that I guess anything other than exceptional would be concerning. He seems to be every bit as good or better than he was going into the Breeders' Cup.”

Also slated to run on the Pegasus card, Robert and Lawana Low's Colonel Liam (Liam's Map), who prepares to defend his title in the GI Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational, exited his five-furlong breeze in 1:00.23 at Palm Beach Downs Friday in fine form. Friday's move was the fastest of 11 horses.

“I am very pleased,” he said. “It looks like he's coming up to it in good order. One more breeze to go, but all systems go.”

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“I was very happy with the breeze,” said trainer Doug O'Neill. “I got him in 1:01 and out [six furlongs] in 1:13 and change.”

The winner of the GII Louisiana Derby Mar. 20, the dark bay most recently finished third at 5-1 odds in the May 1 Kentucky Derby.

Prat, winner of last week's GI Preakness S. with Rombauer (Twirling Candy), is expected to be reunited with Hot Rod Charlie for the 1 1/2-mile Classic.

“He looked great,” added O'Neill. “If all goes well, he'll breeze again here Friday and get on a plane [to New York] on Saturday.”

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A research team led by Dr. Robert Colborne created a horse trailer that allowed them to study how a horse's body moves to compensate for trailer movement. They found that a horse's legs play a key role in dampening road vibrations from the trailer floor and helping a horse maintain his balance.

The study trailer had fitted force plates that allowed researchers to measure precisely how a horse moves in response to braking, turning, acceleration, and constant speed horses experience on a typical trailer trip. Two study horses were taken on a 56-mile trip that took 58 minutes to complete; it covered both city and country roads.

They discovered that in total, the horse's bodies moved over 228  and 320 feet vertically during the trip. Though these values seem large, the horse's movement was still less than the vertical movement of the trailer floor. This indicates that horse's use their legs as springs to dampen trailer vibrations.

The horses also adjusted their bodies horizontally to deal with braking. The team found that the horses moved 745 and 797 feet horizontally over the course of the trip. The horses swayed over 11 inches back and forth and side to side during the trip.

It is expected that as horses become more seasoned travelers that their energy expenditure to stay upright and maintain balance would decrease.

Read more here.  

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“There really wasn't an excuse in the Louisiana Derby,” Cox said. “I hate to use the cliché of drawing a line through the race, but that is what we are doing. At the half-mile pole, he really didn't continue to put himself into the race and was out of gas. We had high hopes, obviously, that he would run better in that race. We talked it over with the folks from Juddmonte and if he continues to train well, we are going to pursue the Derby.”

Moments before Mandaloun's work, Cox's top GI Longines Kentucky Oaks contender Travel Column (Frosted) breezed a half-mile in :48.60. She began the work with a :24.60 quarter-mile time and galloped out five furlongs in 1:02.

Other stars that recorded works Saturday morning at Churchill Downs included 2020 GI Preakness S. winner Swiss Skydiver (Daredevil), who worked a half-mile in :48 under jockey Robby Albarado and undefeated GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf hero Aunt Pearl (Ire) (Lope de Vega {Ire)), who worked a half-mile in :48.60 under Geroux.

On the West Coast, Louisiana Derby winner Hot Rod Charlie (Oxbow) worked four furlongs Saturday morning in :49.40 under Flavien Prat, while Derby-bound GII Rebel S. winner Concert Tour (Street Sense) went six furlongs in a bullet 1:12.80 for Bob Baffert.

“He went the last eighth in :11 and change,” trainer Doug O'Neill said of Hot Rod Charlie. “I'm very happy.”

Of the 145 recorded workouts, including 25 on the training track, 21 were for runners conditioned by O'Neill. Baffert also sent Rebel runner-up Hozier (Pioneerof the Nile) four furlongs in a bullet :46.60 as the colt prepares for next Saturday's GI Arkansas Derby. It was the fastest of 67 drills at the distance and almost three seconds quicker than the average time of :49.26

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Hot Rod Charlie worked five furlongs at Santa Anita Saturday in a bullet :59.40, fastest of 64 drills at the distance. A narrow winner in his fourth career start at Santa Anita on October, Hot Rod Charlie closed to finish second-at whopping odds of 94-1–behind likely 2020 2-year-old male Eclipse champion Essential Quality (Tapit) in the GI Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Nov. 6.

“Hot Rod Charlie is doing great and we’re pointing him to the [GIII] Bob Lewis S.,” said O’Neill, referring to the Robert B. Lewis S. at a mile and a sixteenth Jan.  30.

The Lewis, first run in 1935 as the Santa Catalina S., offers 10 Kentucky Derby qualifying points to the winner, four to the runner-up, two to the third-place finisher and one to the fourth.

A son of O’Neill’s former pupil Nyquist, Wipe the Slate also worked Saturday, covering five furlongs in 1:01.20. Wearing blinkers for the first time, Wipe the Slate scored an impressive maiden win Dec. 26 at Santa Anita after finishing second in his debut to undefeated Sham S. winner and ‘TDN Rising Star’ Life Is Good (Into Mischief) at Del Mar Nov. 22.

“Wipe the Slate is doing super, but I’m not sure where he’s going to blend in after that win,” O’Neill said. “It’s been two weeks, so we really haven’t pointed him to the next spot.

Also a son of the 2015 champion juvenile colt, Team Merchants won at second asking at Saratoga Sept. 7 after being fractious in the gate.

“Team Merchants had a little injury, so he’s at the farm until he’s 100%,” O’Neill added, alluding to principal owner J. Paul Reddam’s Ocean Breeze Ranch in Bonsall.

Reddam Racing owned both of O’Neill’s Derby winners and the team also combined to take the Lewis with Great Hunter in 2007 and I’ll Have Another in 2012.

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A part of the XBTV team, Siegel is widely-regarded as the West Coast's most astute veteran handicapper. His column will be accessible at santaanita.com or xpressbet.com every race day morning as a PDF document that can viewed, printed, or downloaded. The Santa Anita Workout Report will highlight recent drills from “In Today” runners and will include commentary, digitally-timed interior fractions, graded analysis and links to the video of the workouts that are housed in the extensive xbtv.com library.

“This new analytic tool will describe and evaluate each listed drill with the written word but, more importantly, it will easily allow the reader to view many of the actual workouts and form his or her own opinions,“ said Siegel, who was the first to publish workout reports back in the 1970s after co-founding Handicapper's Report. “The Santa Anita Workout Report should be an invaluable reference source for the serious player.”

The daily morning tab at Santa Anita often contains a hundred or more officially-timed workouts, especially on weekends. “Because of the sheer volume, it is difficult to record them all,” said Siegel, “but, truthfully, some workouts are benign, simply for maintenance, and are of little consequence to the handicapping process. The XBTV team focuses on those runners that hold the most interest to the horseplayer, such as maidens, horses returning from layoffs, those in gate drills, and stakes performers.”

The Santa Anita Workout Report, along with Siegel's popular Daily Analysis & Wagering Strategies, will be posted no later than 6 a.m. PDT each racing day and often times the evening before to allow horse players sufficient time to incorporate the information into their handicapping.

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