Derby Updates

A.P. WARRIOR - Trainer John Shirreffs was out on a pony with his Kentucky Derby charge A.P. Warrior at 7:45 Thursday morning, leading the handsome colt through a jog down the mile chute before turning him loose for a double tour of the big Churchill Downs oval.

Exercise rider Steve Willard was at the controls as the son of A.P. Indy galloped strongly, yet smoothly, over the fast track on a sunny morning in Louisville.

"He handled it great," said Shirreffs as he and his 3-year-old exited the six-furlong gap on the backside. "He likes it here and he's settled right in."

Earlier at Barn 45 while the trainer hosed off A.P. Warrior's legs, he was joined by his Derby rider, Corey Nakatani, in from his Southern California base.

"Look at him," Nakatani said, motioning toward the big colt. "Doesn't he look great. That's about as good-looking a racehorse as you're going to see. He looks terrific."

Nakatani and A.P. Warrior will break from post 10 in the 20-horse Derby field Saturday. Shirreffs had had first choice at the Derby Draw the night before and took the 10 for its strategic advantage, but additionally based on the fact that the horse he saddled in last year's Derby, Giacamo, also had left from the 10. Giacamo won the 2005 Kentucky Derby by a half length and paid $102.60.

BARBARO - The undefeated Florida Derby winner enjoyed a strong 1-1/2-mile gallop Thursday morning in preparation for Saturday's Derby. Trainer Michael Matz said he has liked what he's seen from Barbaro.

"Since he's come from Florida, he's done very well," Matz said. "I couldn't ask him to be any better." When asked to compare the pressure of preparing for an Olympic equestrian event and the Kentucky Derby, the 1996 Olympic Silver Medalist said there wasn't much comparison.

"Right now, my job is finished if nothing happens the next two days," said Matz, content that the Lael Stables' colt is physically ready for the Run for the Roses. "It's up to (jockey) Edgar (Prado) and (assistant) Peter Brette to do the rest. There's more pressure on them."

Barbaro, who is undefeated in five career starts, is rated at 4-1 in the morning line, along with Arkansas Derby winner Lawyer Ron, behind 3-1 morning line favorite Brother Derek.

BLUEGRASS CAT/KEYED ENTRY - Trainer Todd Pletcher had been training three horses with Kentucky Derby hopes up until Thursday morning when that total dropped to two.

The reigning Eclipse Award winning conditioner had high hopes for the colt Sunriver making the mile and one-quarter classic, but he was the last horse out when entries were taken for the race Wednesday. So while Sunriver will probably next be seen in action in New York in the Peter Pan Stakes later this month, Pletcher's other two colts - Bluegrass Cat and Keyed Entry - went on about their race preparations out of Barn 34.

Keyed Entry, the Honour and Glory offspring with a kit-bag full of natural speed, was the final horse to gallop on the Churchill Downs oval prior to the mid-morning renovation break. With regular exercise rider Jacob Roberts attached, the Kentucky-bred traversed a mile and one quarter in handy fashion.

Right after the break, Bluegrass Cat and exercise rider Luis Castillo also covered a mile and a quarter in a gallop, skipping over a fast track that drew a slew of workers and gallopers.

"They both went extremely well," Pletcher noted afterwards in his office. "They seem happy and so am I. I'm optimistic they are going to run well on Saturday. I'm not sure where they're going to finish, but I believe they'll give a good account of themselves."

Bluegrass Cat will break from post 13 in the Derby and be handled by Ramon Dominguez. Keyed Entry will start from post 3 and have the saddle services of Patrick Valenzuela.

BOB AND JOHN/SINISTER MINISTER/POINT DETERMINED - Three-time Kentucky Derby winning trainer Bob Baffert had all three of his Kentucky Derby candidates out for exercise Thursday morning at Churchill Downs, waiting until the track's mid-morning renovation break had occurred before sending his trio of colts onto the busy one-mile oval.

First out from Barn 33 were the pair of Bob and John (with exercise rider Pepe Aragon up) and Point Determined (Mick Jenner in the boot). The two tall, dark 3-year-olds backtracked to the frontside, then turned and galloped roughly a mile and five-eighths around the dirt strip. Both went about their business in workmanlike fashion and drew positive comments from riders to trainer when they returned.

Following their leg-stretching, Jenner returned to the barn and mounted the third Baffert hopeful, Sinister Minister, for a similar 13-furlong gallop around Churchill. He was enthusiastic about his exercise, not unlike the enthusiastic style he shows for his races in the afternoon.

Overseeing the morning's activities from aboard his stable pony was Baffert's chief assistant, Jim Barnes, the husband of Dana Barnes, who for years was Baffert's chief work rider.

"She's retired now; staying home with the kids," Jim Barnes noted. "She hung it up last year after the Breeders' Cup. It was time."

Dana Barnes worked dozens and dozens of Baffert's top runners, including all three of his Kentucky Derby winners - Silver Charm, Real Quiet and War Emblem.

BROTHER DEREK - The 3-1 Kentucky Derby morning line favorite stretched his legs Thursday morning right around 7:30 on a sun-filled strip at Churchill Downs. Trainer Dan Hendricks looked on as his chief assistant and No. 1 exercise rider, Francisco Alverado, who had come in from the stable's Southern California base Wednesday night, took their colt through a gallop that covered nearly two miles. The bay son of the Alydar stallion Benchmark also spent some time standing behind the starting gate.

Speaking of starting gates, Hendricks again was asked about his post position draw of No. 18 for Saturday's Derby at his regular 9:30 news conference at Barn 42. The trainer repeated what he'd said the night before at the Derby Draw, which took place at the popular Fourth Street Live! in downtown Louisville.

"Well, we were thinking about taking the 14 or 15 (posts)," he said, "so it's just a little bit farther out. He's a handy enough horse that I believe Alex (Solis, his rider) will be able to get him in the right spot. He's got that good, high cruising speed and that should allow him to overcome a lot of things.

"The only real fear from out there is that you're going to get forced wide and lose a lot of ground. And certainly that's possible. But they've got a good, long run to that first turn and I'm expecting things to sort themselves out. I think I've got the right rider and horse for it.

"We've got Lawyer Ron inside us and he's got a style similar to our horse's. So I'm glad we're outside him. There's lots of speed down on the inside and they might have to really go with it down there and burn themselves up. I'm thinking we're in a better spot where we are."

CAUSE TO BELIEVE - The son of Maria's Mon jogged once around the Churchill oval early Thursday morning with exercise rider DaRon Long aboard. He is scheduled to school in the paddock Thursday afternoon.

Trainer Jerry Hollendorfer noted that the colt is cool, calm and collected as he approaches the Derby. "Nothing bothers him," the trainer said as Cause to Believe was bathed while surrounded by a large crowd. "He's adjusted to his new surroundings. He was perfect when he schooled in the paddock yesterday."

Hollendorfer had said he wanted an outside post for the gray colt, and since he ended up with the 14th selection at Wednesday's draw, he was able to pick Post 16.

"It's a little farther out than we might have wanted, but it's not bad," Hollendorfer said. "An outside post is important to most of the trainers and jockeys in this race. I know I didn't want to be inside. "There are a couple of important things about this race. You have to have the horse, and you have to get a good trip. If you have the horse and the trip, you can win. We hope we have the horse."

Hollendorfer said all of Cause to Believe's racing career has been planned with the idea to bring him to Kentucky, especially his starts this year.

"He ran in the Derby at Hawthorne (Illinois Derby) so he would have a chance to run in the Kentucky Derby," Hollendorfer said. "And we wouldn't be running if we didn't think we had a shot." Peter Abruzzo, co-owner of the colt with Peter Redekop, was asked if they thought about not coming to the Derby after Cause to Believe finished a distant third in Illinois.

"Only for a minute," he said. "We wanted to give him a chance in the Derby."

Cause to Believe will be Hollendorfer's second Derby starter. His first horse to make it into the starting gate was Eye of the Tiger, who finished fifth behind Funny Cide in 2003, beaten about four lengths for all the money. Hollendorfer maintains that Cause to Believe is a better horse than Eye of the Tiger.

Cause to Believe was a $30,000 purchase at the Ocala sales last year. He comes into the race with six lifetime victories, the same as Brother Derek and one fewer than Lawyer Ron, and has earned $390,565 so far.

Last out, the Kentucky-bred did not seem to like the track in the Illinois Derby. In his previous two starts, he won the California Derby by a widening four lengths at Golden Gate Fields, and the El Camino Real Derby by nearly a length at Bay Meadows.

Hollendorfer, the winningest trainer in the history of Northern California racing with more than 4,000 career wins, has given the mount to his regular rider Russell Baze, currently second only to Laffit Pincay Jr. in career winners with more than 9,200 victories.

DEPUTY GLITTERS - The Tampa Bay Derby winner just walked Thursday morning after breezing five furlongs in 1:03.20 on Wednesday morning. Trainer Tom Albertrani, who assisted Saeed bin Suroor with the training of Derby starters Express Tour (eighth in 2001), China Visit (sixth in 2000), Curule (seventh in 2000) and Worldly Manner (seventh in 1999), planned to school Deputy Glitters in the paddock following Thursday's sixth race.

Deputy Glitters will be Albertrani's first Derby starter, but his Derby experience as an assistant trainer for Godolphin makes him far from a neophyte in the ways of preparing a 3-year-old for the first jewel of the Triple Crown. "You just know what to expect. You're more familiar with preparing you horse, as far as schooling and some little things," Albertrani said. "But the way you train your horses doesn't change."

FLASHY BULL/JAZIL - Trainer Kiaran McLaughlin's pair of Derby starters were out on the track separately Thursday morning. Jazil, who went out before the break, and Flashy Bull, who went out after the break, both galloped 1 3/8 miles under exercise rider Desmond Farrell and stood in the starting gate.

McLaughlin has had little luck with the draw selection process the last two years. In 2005, he had the 17th selection and took post 18 for Closing Argument. This year, he had the 18th and 20th picks and ended up with bookends, as Jazil goes from post 1 and Flashy Bull from post 20.

However, he was quick to point out that Closing Argument nearly won the race from his outside spot, finishing second at 71-1.

"With the selection spots we had this year, I'm thrilled with the posts," McLaughlin said. "If I had picked earlier, I still might have taken post 1 for Jazil. He's going to drop back in any case, and this way he gets to save ground around the first turn.

"As for Flashy Bull, we wanted an outside post for him. OK, maybe not that far outside, but still we wanted to be out there, and we are."

Jazil, owned by the Shadwell Stable of Dubai's Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid al Maktoum, was a fast-closing second in the Wood Memorial on April 8 to earn his way into the Derby field. He has a deep-closing style, and will likely drop back to 19th or 20th in the run around the first turn. Jazil, a son of Seeking the Gold, will be ridden by Fernando Jara, who was aboard in the Wood Memorial.

Flashy Bull, owned by West Point Thoroughbreds LLC, comes off a troubled trip in the Florida Derby where he finished seventh behind Barbaro. Before that, the colt was placed second in the Fountain of Youth.

Flashy Bull has several connections to the Kentucky Derby. He's a gray son of Holy Bull, who sired last year's winner Giacomo, and he will be ridden by Mike Smith, who took his first Derby last year.

LAWYER RON - The Estate of James Hines Jr.'s Lawyer Ron made his appointed rounds Thursday morning with regular a.m. partner Betsy Couch up for a two-mile gallop before the renovation break at Churchill Downs.

"He gave us a little bit of a thrill there pulling up when he stumbled a little bit, but he's fine," said trainer Robert Holthus, who was feeling much better Thursday after battling a flu bug the past two days.

"He was good this morning," Couch said. "Where he stumbled a little bit is where everybody changes leads and it is the deepest part of the track and a little cut up."

Unlike many of the Derby hopefuls, Lawyer Ron goes to the track by himself; no groom leading the way, no pony, and exits the same way, usually going off the track by the clocker's stand and walking between two rows of barns back to Barn 32.

"He has really come around the last three or four days, relaxing when he is galloping" Holthus said. "When we first got here, he kind of cocked his head and tried to get away from Betsy, but he is relaxed and settled in well. I'm quite happy with the way he is training."

Holthus, who turns 72 in June, will be saddling his fifth Kentucky Derby starter. His best result came in 1988 when Proper Reality ran fourth behind Winning Colors, Forty Niner and Risen Star, but defeated Classic placed runners Seeking the Gold and Brian's Time.

"That was a pretty good bunch," Holthus said, remembering back to that crop and the similarity to this year's deep Derby field.

"But this is a pretty good horse, and I don't think I've ever really gotten to the bottom of him yet, so hopefully he has got one more gear to get by them.

"This is probably the best chance I have ever had or ever will have, so it would be a great thrill fulfilling what has been a long career."

Holthus said Lawyer Ron would gallop a mile and a half Friday morning and walk Saturday morning. John McKee will have the mount Saturday and break from post position 17.

Daily Racing Form reported that a majority interest in Lawyer Ron has been sold to Stonewall Stallions of central Kentucky, but the colt will race in the name and silks of his breeder and owner, the estate of James T. Hines Jr., in the Derby. A formal announcement was expected Thursday afternoon.

PRIVATE VOW/STORM TREASURE - Owner Mike McCarty's Derby horses loosened their legs Thursday morning with a gallop around the one-mile track.

Trainer Steve Asmussen said both colts schooled in the gate before the gallop. Both were scheduled to school in the paddock Thursday afternoon.

McCarty owns and operates McCarty Corp., a construction company in Austin, Tx. In December 1999, McCarty's employees gave him a Christmas present of a trip to Keeneland for the April 2000 2-year-old sales. Figuring that he might buy a horse in Kentucky, McCarty decided he needed to have a trainer.

"He had been a racing fan in Texas and someone had given me his number about buying some horses," Asmussen said. "He is very much excited by his horses and very much enjoys the races. He is somebody who comes to the races here or at Oaklawn and enjoys the day of racing."

After a slow start, the McCarty-Asmussen partnership has found success. Private Vow is McCarty's first stakes winner and two of the five 3-year-olds he owns are ready to start in the Kentucky Derby.

"The first few years I missed horribly with him with nice prospects that a lot of things went wrong with," Asmussen said. "We probably gave more money for some earlier with a little more pedigree and had different things happen. We've been going along the lines with athletes that can do something on the racetrack a little more, possibly a little coarser horse that can do things on the track."

In their final starts before the Derby, Private Vow was third in the Arkansas Derby and Storm Treasure was second in the Blue Grass.

SEASIDE RETREAT - Trainer Mark Casse sent Seaside Retreat to the track after the break Thursday morning for a 1-1/2-mile gallop that was conducted while the alarm was sounded twice to signal loose horses on the track.

"My heart's still pounding. I looked and only saw the pony girl. I was afraid something happened to my horse, but he didn't have any problems," Casse said.

The brief anxious moment did nothing to undermine his confidence in Seaside Retreat.

"I know he's absolutely better than he shows on paper," said Casse, noting Seaside Retreat's disdain for the racing surfaces at Keeneland and Tampa Bay Downs, over which he "just swims in."

In addition to his second-place finish in the Grade II Lane's End stakes at Turfway that was sandwiched between distant finishes in the Blue Grass and the Sam F. Davis Stakes, Casse had two reasons to run the son of King Cugat.

"If he hadn't trained so well over the track before the Blue Grass and it weren't for a pace scenario that should benefit, we wouldn't be here," said Casse, who planned to school Seaside Retreat in the paddock after the second race.

Seaside Retreat will be the first horse he's saddled for the Kentucky Derby, and Casse has higher expectations for William Farish Jr.'s 50-1 morning-line long shot.

"Obviously, we're not here to be in the post parade. My only Met Mile horse (Exciting Story) paid $108 to win," Casse said. "This horse is going to run better than everyone's expecting."

SHARP HUMOR - Purdedel Stable and WinStar Farm lessee's Sharp Humor galloped a mile and a half shortly after 9 a.m. with regular exercise rider Faustino Orantes up.

Trainer Dale Romans said the Distorted Humor colt would gallop in the morning and maybe go to the track Saturday morning. Sharp Humor is scheduled for a second straight afternoon of paddock schooling Thursday.

Mark Guidry will ride Sharp Humor, who will exit post position nine in the 20-horse Derby field.

On hand to watch the morning activity was breeder and co-owner Pat Purdy and her husband Chris. The Purdys live on Ivy League Farm, a 65-acre nursery in Ithaca, N.Y., and as Purdedel Stable with Ed and Mara Edelberg have two horses in training and two babies.

This will be the second Derby for Pat Purdy, but first as a participant.

"I was here for Grindstone in 1996," said Purdy, who first began to get Derby fever after Sharp Humor's victory in the Swale Stakes on March 4 at Gulfstream Park.

"It is starting to sink in a little bit," she said of being a Derby participant. "I think I am getting a little more nervous. It's like 'I can't believe this is real.' "

The Purdys plan to make the walk Saturday afternoon from the barn area to the paddock for the Derby. "We walked over Wednesday when he schooled in the paddock as kind of a dry run," Pat said.

"The horse passed, and we did well, too," Chris added.

SHOWING UP - After cooling out from his morning gallop at Belmont Park, Showing Up was scheduled for a 2 p.m. flight to Kentucky.

The Coolmore Lexington Stakes winner is scheduled to arrive at Blue Grass Field in Lexington before vanning to Churchill Downs with a 6:30 p.m. estimated arrival time.

Trainer Barclay Tagg, who conditioned 2003 Derby winner Funny Cide, will saddle the son of Strategic Mission on Saturday in his quest to join the company of James "Sunny Jim" Fitzsimmons and Henry Forrest as the only trainers to visit the winner's circle with both of their first two Derby starters.

STEPPENWOLFER - While letting the gray/roan colt graze outside Barn 41 Thursday morning, trainer Dan Peitz smiled and nodded in the direction of Barn 42 where dozens of media members were waiting to talk with trainers of favorites, Barbaro's Michael Matz and Brother Derek's Dan Hendricks. With Steppenwolfer listed at 30-1 on the morning line, Peitz had far fewer visitors.

"I'm looking over there saying, `hopefully, I'll see you guys Saturday evening and Sunday morning,' " Peitz said. That would mean, of course, that the Aptitude had run very well in the 132nd Kentucky Derby Saturday."

Before he was given time to graze, Steppenwolfer went through what has become a routine morning.

"We backed him up to the three-eighths pole and probably galloped about a mile and five-eighths. Peitz said he planned to school the colt owned by Robert and Lawana Low in the paddock before the Thursday racing program at Churchill Downs.

Steppenwolfer moved on to the Derby after finishing second to Lawyer Ron in the Arkansas Derby. Peitz said he has few worries because his colt comes from off the pace and is well-behaved. Steppenwolfer will start from post No. 2 with jockey Robby Albarado.

"I guess my biggest concern is the same concern everybody has, what kind of trip I'm going to have," Peitz said.

"Probably the bottom line is: Am I fast enough when it is all said and done? I think the pace is going to equal things out quite a bit. I'm just expecting him to come running.

"I expect to get a big piece. Am I going to win it? Who knows? We'll see how many he runs by."

Steppenwolfer is Peitz's first Derby horse, which is bringing home some attention from the national media. The 48-year-old trainer operates his business at the New York Racing Association tracks and at Oaklawn Park in his home state of Arkansas. He said he typically has about 16 horses in his operation; this winter at Oaklawn, Steppenwolfer was one of the 11 horses in his barn.

"I'm a little guy," Peitz said. "I'm carrying the torch for the little stable, the mom and pop operation, practically. It's good to get the exposure."

SWEETNORTHERNSAINT - Joseph Balsamo and Ted Theos' Sweetnorthernsaint was on the track before 7 a.m. for a mile and a quarter gallop under regular exercise rider Ernesto Ferdinand.

Trainer Michael Trombetta said the gelded son of Sweetsouthernsaint would jog early Friday morning shortly after the track opens and then walk Saturday morning.

Sweetnorthernsaint will exit post position 11 under two-time Kentucky Derby winning rider Kent Desormeaux.

"I talked with Kent just briefly prior to the draw just to get his thoughts and that was it," Trombetta said. The first-time Derby trainer did not spend much time last night going over the ramifications of the post draw.

"If you were to test me on the post positions, I'd probably only get five or six right," Trombetta said. "We don't really have a say in it any other time, so we are going to roll with what we have. I was pleased with where we went."

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