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Buddha Tours Churchill Strip; Mayakovsky Won't Run
May 1, 2002
By Derby Notes Team
Kentucky Derby Headlines:
BLUE BURNER - Kinsman Stable's Blue Burner and exercise rider Judy
Nicks galloped a mile and a quarter at 7:15 this morning as part of the
plan to bring him up to Saturday's 128th Kentucky Derby. Trainer Bill
Mott oversaw the exercise.
"He's doing good," Mott said. "I'll probably paddock him either
this afternoon or tomorrow. The weather will help me decide that."
Mott stated that the call to start the French Deputy colt in
America's most famous race was strictly his, not that of his famous
owner, George Steinbrenner. "No, he (Steinbrenner) isn't that way at
all," the conditioner said. "I've had horses for him for four or five
years and he pretty much leaves me alone. I wouldn't be here with him if
I didn't think he had a shot in the race. Now, of course, if I'm wrong,
I'll probably have to pay for it afterward, but going it it was my
call."
BUDDHA - Gary and Mary West's Buddha has settled in nicely at Churchill
Downs according to trainer H. James Bond. The trainer has, too.
"We had him on the track at about 5:45 this morning," the
conditioner said. "He backtracked to the wire and stood for about 10
minutes, then backtracked another sixteenth of a mile and stood again.
He was just taking it all in, looking around. He's a very intelligent
horse. It's part of what makes him so good."
Buddha then proceeded to gallop a mile and one half under his
regular exercise rider, Fiona Goodwin. He was accompanied to the track
by a pony.
"He's doing fine," Bond stated. "Tomorrow morning we might take
him by the paddock. But he had enough to do today - it being his first
day and all. We just want to keep him happy. And keep the trainer happy,
too."
Buddha, who arrived at Churchill from New York Tuesday morning
after a van ride from New York, will be handled by Pat Day in the 128th
Kentucky Derby.
CAME HOME - Santa Anita Derby winner Came Home returned to the track
this morning to jog a mile for trainer Paco Gonzalez after having walked
under the shed Tuesday. Monday, the consistent Gone West colt, a winner
of six of seven starts, breezed five furlongs in 1:00.60 under jockey
Chris McCarron.
Gonzalez plans paddock schooling sessions for Came Home today
and Thursday. The trainer hoped to visit the paddock with his horse for
the fourth race today, but was concerned about the threat of rain this
afternoon.
EASY GRADES - The Santa Anita Derby runner-up Easy Grades went out
following the mid-morning renovation break and galloped a mile and one
half under Cindy Lerille.
The Honor Grades gelding is coming up to the race fine, noted
trainer Ted H. West, the son and grandson of trainers (father Ted and
grandfather Harry). "I won't be paddocking him in the afternoon," the
young West stated. "I don't do that for any of my horses; just don't
believe in it. I will have him over there tomorrow morning."
When asked where he'd like to be if he had first pick in
Wednesday night's Derby Draw, West said he probably take "the 9 hole.
That way you don't have to stand in there too long and you've still got
a good position in the middle of the track."
Under Churchill's loading arrangements for the 20-horse Derby,
the gate crew will first load horses #1 and #11, then #2 and #12, then
#3 and #13, and so on.
ESSENCE OF DUBAI - Godolphin Racing's Essence Of Dubai walked
the shedrow at Barn 45 on Wednesday morning, a day after working five
furlongs in 1:01.80. The colt is scheduled to return to the track in the
morning and has a paddock schooling session planned for the afternoon.
Trainer Saeed bin Suroor is scheduled to arrive in Louisville on
Thursday night.
Tom Albertrani, assistant to bin Suroor, was asked if Essence Of
Dubai's one-run style may serve him better in the Kentucky Derby than
Godolphin's first four entrants who had more of a stalking style.
"No race is easy," Albertrani said. "A lot depends on what the
pace is going to be like. I would imagine the stronger the pace, the
better for this horse. If he is capable of just sitting behind the
leaders, I think it is going to suit him a lot better. He did it in the
UAE Derby, when he came from last.
"It didn't look like they were going a really strong pace ... we
don't have teletimers ... and he closed pretty nicely the last
three-eighths."
HARLAN'S HOLIDAY - Starlight Stable's Harlan's Holiday walked the
shedrow a day after working a half-mile in :49.60 under Derby rider
Edgar Prado.
"He cleaned up his feed right on cue last night, and that's what we
want," said trainer Ken McPeek, who will be saddling his third Kentucky
Derby starter. "The work wasn't really as fast as we expected, and he
really only worked about a quarter of a mile, but all in all, it worked
out fine."
Should Harlan's Holiday emerge tonight as the morning-line Derby
favorite, McPeek would be the first trainer since Hall of Famer LeRoy
Jolley in 1976 to have the morning-line Kentucky Oaks and Derby
favorites in his barn.
Jolley trained Optimistic Gal to win the Oaks in '76, and his Honest
Pleasure was second in the Derby to Bold Forbes. McPeek also trains Take
Charge Lady, the 2-1 morning-line Oaks favorite.
McPeek was asked to describe the emotions of training the favorites for
the Oaks and Derby coupled with the increased media attention, writing a
diary for Daily Racing Form, a larger stable and getting around on
crutches because of a broken ankle.
"It's just real fortunate. Things are kind of falling all in place,"
said McPeek, who had 30 horses in training when he saddled Tejano Run in
1995 and Deputy Warlock in 2000, and has 28 stabled at Churchill now
with another 16 at Keeneland.
"I didn't really expect all of it at once. I know that we have kind of
focused in on the Derby for several years, and knew it was just a matter
of time before we would come up with a horse that was really strong.
That doesn't really surprise me.
"I haven't really focused in on fillies as much as colts. I have
some clients that say, 'Here, buy me some colts, period.' I have others
that tell me to go buy fillies."
IT'SALLINTHECHASE - Stretch-running It'sallinthechase was out for a
gallop this morning at Churchill Downs as he continued his preparations
for Saturday's Run for the Roses. Trainer Wilson Brown had exercise
rider Joe Higgins up as his colt stretched his legs for a mile and one
half following the 8 o'clock renovation break.
"I'll bring him over to the paddock this afternoon during the
races and then do it again tomorrow," the affable Brown said. "We want
to get him used to it. As I understand it, there will be a few people on
hand for the race here Saturday."
LUSTY LATIN - With owners Joey and Wendy Platts of Lyman, Wyo., looking
on, Lusty Latin schooled at the gate and then galloped a mile and
seven-eighths under exercise rider Amy Mullins.
Trainer Jeff Mullins, who claimed Lusty Latin for $62,500 in
November at Hollywood Park, said things continue to go well for the gray
son of El Prado.
The visit to Churchill Downs was the first for the owners, who
have one other horse in training at Turf Paradise and one in California.
"My accountant said I needed to spend some money and I called
Jeff and told him to find me a racehorse," said Joey Platts, whose home
is 40 miles from Wyoming Downs in Evanston. "Hopefully, he'll make me
pay some back to the IRS."
MAYAKOVSKY - Michael Tabor's Mayakovsky did not work Wednesday morning
at Churchill Downs.
"He did not work because he is not going to run," trainer
Patrick Biancone said. "He was like the reserve quarterback. The true
pro arrived safely, so he will watch this one from the bench."
Biancone was referring to Tabor's Eclipse Award winning
Johannesburg, who arrived at Keeneland Race Course from England at 6:45
Tuesday night.
"We will see how the Kentucky Derby goes and then point to
either the Preakness or Met Mile,'' Biancone said.
MEDAGLIA D'ORO - Edmund Gann's Medaglia d'Oro had a quiet morning at
Churchill Downs as Derby 128 draws ever near. The tall, dark El Prado
colt merely jogged once around the track under exercise rider Jose
Cuevas.
Hall of Fame rider Laffit Pincay, Jr. has the call on the colt
for Hall of Fame trainer Robert Frankel.
"For about a half a second after I won the stake (Grade II San
Felipe at Santa Anita), I thought about taking Laffit off and putting on
a younger rider. But then I said to myself: 'No, they wouldn't have
enough room in the Letters to the Editor column in the Racing Form
beating my brains out if I did that.'
"That and the fact that Laffit is riding great, he fits this
horse right and he and I go back a long way. When I first came to
California back in the 70's and started winning everything in sight, the
guy I was riding all the time was Laffit. He and I clicked. We were
knocking them dead together. So it might be fitting if he was the man up
if I get lucky enough to win my first Derby. It might be fate."
OCEAN SOUND - Kentucky Derby longshot Ocean Sound, the hopeful of
trainer Jim Cassidy, walked in the barn this morning following his
half-mile breeze in :47.20 under Chris McCarron Tuesday.
Ocean Sound, an Irish-bred colt who was third to Harlan's
Holiday in the Blue Grass Stakes, will return to the track Thursday to
gallop and Cassidy has scheduled schooling in the Churchill Downs
paddock that afternoon.
PERFECT DRIFT - Stonecrest Farm's Perfect Drift walked the shedrow at
Murray Johnson's barn at the Trackside Training Center, a day after
finishing his major Kentucky Derby preparations by working five furlongs
in 1:00.60.
"Things are going great, and he looks fantastic this morning,"
Johnson said.
There was more activity than usual Tuesday morning at Trackside
when Perfect Drift worked and Johnson noted "it is getting a little busy
this morning. There were several guys waiting here for me."
PRIVATE EMBLEM/WINDWARD PASSAGE< - Private Emblem and Windward Passage,
trainer Steve Asmussen's duo for Saturday's 128th Kentucky Derby, each
galloped a mile this morning and both are scheduled to school in the
paddock this afternoon with horses entered in the first race.
Asmussen also is planning to school his horses in the starting
gate Thursday morning.
PROUD CITIZEN - Coolmore Lexington winner Proud Citizen jogged before
the renovation break under exercise rider Stacy Maker.
Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas was in a good mood
Wednesday, accepting congratulations on Serena's Song being named to the
Hall of Fame the day before, joining Lukas runners Lady's Secret and
Winning Colors.
Proud Citizen came out of his April 20 Lexington win with a
bullet work Monday here of :58.80.
"In the Lexington, we wanted to get a winning race, but I was
more concerned about his condition, to see if he was far enough along to
move on to this one," Lukas said. "We couldn't have any mistakes and
everything fell into place. The horse responded better than expected. He
came out of the Lexington great."
Proud Citizen is scheduled to gallop Thursday and Friday, with
no paddock schooling sessions planned.
"I think I've got him mentally as good as I can get him," Lukas
said.
REQUEST FOR PAROLE - Jeri and Sam Knighton's Request For Parole was on
the track at 6 a.m. with exercise rider Loren Diego up.
"He open-galloped strong the last half mile," trainer Steve
Margolis said of the morning's activity. "Loren said he felt real good."
Margolis is training his first Kentucky Derby starter, and he
was asked if he was hearing from any long-lost relatives or friends
seeking Derby tickets.
"I haven't heard from anybody that I haven't talked to in the
past couple of year," Margolis said with a laugh. "But that may change
when the media starts running all the entries and bios."
SAARLAND - Cynthia Phipps' Saarland jogged once around the Churchill
Downs oval this morning for trainer Shug McGaughey, who will run a horse
in the Kentucky Derby for the first time since Easy Goer finished second
to Sunday Silence in 1989.
The stretch-running Unbridled colt, fourth behind Buddha in the
Wood Memorial,
worked five furlongs in 1:02 flat Monday under regular exercise rider
Adolph Krajewski.
STRAIGHT GIN - Marylou Whitney's Straight Gin galloped before the
renovation break under exercise rider Jamie Sanders.
SUNDAY BREAK - Sunday Break, excluded from the 128th Kentucky Derby
because he didn't have sufficient graded stakes earnings, was on the
track this morning to trot for trainer Neil Drysdale. The Japanese-bred
son of Forty Niner breezed six furlongs in 1:14.40 Monday.
U S S TINOSA - Trainer Jerry Hollendorfer monitored a mile and one-half
gallop for his horse U S S Tinosa Wednesday morning. He had his Northern
California shipper trackside at 7:15 with regular exercise rider Art
Calva up. The gray/roan colt, named for a highly-decorated World War II
submarine, "is ready to run" in Saturday's 128th Kentucky Derby,
according to his trainer, though even before the race draw the pragmatic
Hollendorfer knew he had virtually no chance of cracking the starting
lineup.
"No, I don't think I'm getting in," he said at Barn 42 at 8
o'clock. "I'm ready, but I know I'm not running there. I'll work him one
time here before we leave. His next stop could possible be the Hawthorne
Derby (Saturday, May 11) or more likely the Preakness. We had Kent
Desormeaux signed on to ride him here and we've got him for the
Preakness, too."
The 52-year-old trainer has had his share of tough luck trying
to get a horse into America's most famous race. In 1998 his charge Event
of the Year injured himself training up to the classic, then in 2000 he
had his colt Globalize kicked by a stable pony just a few days in front
of the race forcing a scratch.
WAR EMBLEM - The Thoroughbred Corporation's War Emblem, who breezed
five-eighths in 1:00.40 Tuesday, toured the shedrow this morning for
trainer Bob Baffert who reported that all was well with the Our Emblem
colt after his workout.
War Emblem schooled in the Churchill Downs paddock Sunday and no
additional schooling sessions are planned.
WILD HORSES - Peachtree Stable's Wild Horses stood in the starting gate,
then galloped two miles early this morning under exercise rider and
assistant trainer Cindy Hutter as he goes through his final preparations
for his Saturday date in Derby 128.
The Saint Ballado colt will be handled by Rene Douglas, trainer
Todd Pletcher confirmed at Barn 42. Douglas had been aboard for his last
outing, a second-place finish in the April 13 Arkansas Derby (Grade II).
The conditioner also noted that he would be schooling his charge in the
paddock this afternoon with the horses from the sixth race.
As far as the post draw, Pletcher said if he had first choice
he'd probably go "for something around the 12 hole."
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