2.08.2001	Photo By: Benoit & Associates
		Peter Abruzzo and Barry Thiriot's U S S Tinosa, shown winning the restricted Sham Stakes at Santa Anita Park on Feb. 8, drilled an easy half-mile on Mar. 24 in :48 1/5 at Golden Gate Fields for trainer Jerry Holldendorfer. The gray or roan son of Foxhound is scheduled to make his next start in the Santa Anita Derby (GI) on Apr. 6 in Arcadia, Calif.

Came Home Breezes; Mayakovsky Possible For Santa Anita Derby
By, Jill Byrne

Many Kentucky Derby (GI) hopefuls have been out stretching their legs in preparation for the next round of important Visa Triple Crown prep races that take place Apr. 6th and Apr. 13th.

In Northern and Southern California, Santa Anita Derby (GI) contenders were working aggressively. Came Home seems to have rebounded well from a slight temperature and body stiffness, with a strong five furlong move at Santa Anita on Mar. 22. Undefeated this year, the son of Gone West covered five-eighths of a mile in 1:00 3/5 and galloped out another furlong in :13. While Came Home will be the likely favorite in the Santa Anita Derby (GI), his strongest opponent could be Michael B. Tabor's Mayakovsky.

Fresh off a front-running score in the Gotham Stakes (GIII), Mayakovsky fired off another "bullet" work, covering five furlongs in :58 3/5 at Santa Anita, a surface the colt obviously relishes. Trainer Patrick Biancone said he must finalize plans with Demi O'Byrne and Michael Tabor, but may run his charge in the Santa Anita Derby (GI) as opposed to shipping back across the country for Aqueduct's Wood Memorial (GII) on Apr. 13. Likely to join the Santa Anita Derby field are two Northern California colts , U S S Tinosa and Cappuchino. Both horses are trained by Jerry Hollendorfer at Golden Gate Fields, where they worked this week.

U S S Tinosa, second to Came Home in the San Felipe Stakes (GII) on Mar. 17 after previously winning the restricted Sham Stakes, worked an easy half-mile On Mar. 24 in :48 1/5. The son of Foxhound is very consistent and will be the only runner in the race to have been successful at the nine furlong distance of the Santa Anita Derby. Cappuchino, a well-bred colt by Capote, worked five furlongs well in hand on Mar. 23 in 1:01 flat, also at Golden Gate Fields just outside of San Franciscio, Calif.

Back at Santa Anita, trainer Bob Baffert was trying a new tactic with Danthebluegrassman in hopes of improving his charge's staying power. "I was trying to see if he'd relax behind these horses but he was too keen," Baffert told Daily Racing Form following the Mar. 25 move. Danthebluegrassman, by Pioneering, travelled behind Bay Head King and Skip to the Stone early in the work and was pulling hard. He then flattened out badly in the stretch, finishing the seven-furlong drill in 1:25 4/5. The time was not slow, but the way the horse resented being held back makes me think Baffert will let the colt run free, near the pace, as Danthebluegrassman has done so far in all his races.

The David La Croix-trained Fonz's, who is likely to make his next start in the Apr. 13 Toyota Blue Grass Stakes (GI) at Keeneland rather than the Apr. 6 Santa Anita Derby drilled seven furlongs on Mar. 23rd in 1:26.2 at Santa Anita Park. The Blue Grass will be the second start of the year for the gelded son of Out Of Place, who should really take to longer distances. His drill on Mar. 23 was just average, as Fonz's started out easy and finished up well but he still appears to be playing catch up to the other major contenders on the West Coast.

The possible sleeper in the Santa Anita Derby could be Easy Grades. He was a deceptively good second to Came Home in the San Rafael Stakes (GII) and has been training very well of late. He worked a mile in 1:39 flat on Mar. 25, the fastest of four recorded drills at that distance.

Repent Fires A Bullet At Gulfstream; Buddha On The Muscle At Payson Park

In Florida, Repent was back at work at Gulfstream Park with a strong five furlong breeze in 1:00 flat on Mar. 23. One of the top current choices for the Kentucky Derby, the nearly black son of Louis Quatorze will try to keep his unbeaten string intact in the Illinois Derby (GII) on April 6. Changeintheweather is the only notable opponent scheduled to face Repent at Sportsman's, and he, too, was out for a good five furlong work on Mar. 25 at Gulfstream Park.

David Bell, who trains the son of Gone West for Josephine Abercrombie's Pin Oak Stable, was pleased with the move, which was caught in 1:00 2/5. Pin Oak may be represented the same day in the Aventura Stakes at Gulfstream with Tampa Bay Derby (GIII) winner Equality, who is trained by Graham Motion.

Ken McPeek had his other stable star, Harlan's Holiday, out for an easy five furlong move on Mar. 27 under jockey Edgar Prado. Gulfstream Park clockers caught the Florida Derby (GI) winner in 1:03 2/5. The son of Harlan is headed to the Toyota Blue Grass stakes at Keeneland Apr. 13.

There were a pair of notable workouts just north of Gulfstream Park at Payson Park, where Florida Derby runner up Blue Burner, and Buddha, an impressive allowance winner on the Florida Derby undercard were in action.

Blue Burner went an easy three furlongs on Mar. 25th in :39 2/5. Though trainer Bill Mott has yet to declare where the Kinsman Stable campaigner will run next, but it appears as though the trainer may be leaning toward the Apr. 13 Wood Memorial for Blue Burner.

Also looking to a possible start in the Wood Memorial at Aqueduct on Apr. 13th is Gary and Mary West's Buddha, a flashy son of Unbridled's Song. He worked a "bullet" five furlongs on Mar. 26 in 1:03 flat at Payson park, much to the delight of trainer Jim Bond, who told the Thoroughbred Times, "He's been doing awesome up here and he hasn't missed a step." Asked where he was planning on running the colt for his stakes debut, Bond responded, "The Wood is the most appetizing to me." Bond is from New York and is based in the Empire State for a majority of the year.

Jill Byrne serves as an analyst for TVG's award-winning "The Works" program, which focuses on the morning workout activity of horses preparing for the Kentucky Derby (GI) and Breeders' Cup. Additionally, she is a handicapper for the Churchill Downs Simulcast Network (CDSN) and is a knowledgeable, hands-on horsewoman who assisted her husband, trainer Patrick Byrne, in the development of Eclipse champions Favorite Trick and Countess Diana. She is the daughter of noted show horse rider and Thoroughbred trainer Peter Howe and first started riding show horses in her native Virginia at age three; she got on her first Thoroughbred when she was 11. She went to the University of Virginia where she studied political science and has worked directly with Dosage guru Steven Roman identifying top quality horses through a race analysis system he developed. Jill and Patrick have a daughter, Devon, and reside in Louisville.

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