James Scully's Morning Notes (April 27th)

With rain expected later in the afternoon, trainers had the opportunity to take advantage of ideal conditions at the Downs, and five Kentucky Derby (G1) contenders received their final workout in preparation for Saturday's 134th running.

COLONEL JOHN (Tiznow), ADRIANO (A.P. Indy) and EIGHT BELLES (Unbridled's Song) all came onto the track after the renovation break.

Colonel John is quite a picture and certainly looks the part of a Derby winner, and his five-furlong bullet move in :57 4/5 could set him up perfectly. After racing on exclusively on synthetic tracks, Colonel John shipped to Churchill an unknown quantity on dirt. Having watched him the last two mornings, I don't think the surface will be any problem. He's fully extending his stride on dirt and appears to be loving it. The Santa Anita Derby (G1) winner is training extremely well.

Adriano does not receive kudos. He's a good-looking chestnut, with a shiny appearance, but he didn't appear to get over the track well when galloping Saturday and struggled to keep up with his workmate during Sunday's drill. Starting in tandem, Adriano's rider asked him for run in the stretch and the colt had to work hard to pull even approaching the wire. Then, his workmate (who was under restraint from upper stretch) easily galloped out past him entering the clubhouse turn. Adriano stopped the watch in 1:00 4/5, and I'll let him beat me in the Derby.

Eight Belles looked sharp recording the second fastest move at five furlongs, :58 1/5, and her connections will undoubtedly enter her in the Derby off this work. Who knows how she'll stack up against males (she was all out to beat Alina [Came Home] in the 1 1/16-mile Fantasy [G2]), but I have to think that she would roll in the Kentucky Oaks (G1).

Bill Mott sent out COURT VISION (Gulch) and Z HUMOR (Distorted Humor) earlier in the morning, and I've changed my thinking about the former. Lightly campaigned off two non-threatening thirds this year, I thought Court Vision was too slow to win the Derby prior to this weekend. The late runner still may not be good enough or get derailed by traffic problems, but he appears to be training great and looks set to make his presence felt in the stretch. I'm anticipating a big step forward for last fall's Iroquois S. (G3) winner. Court Vision looked terrific galloping on Saturday, and he finished up very nicely while completing Sunday's five-furlong drill in 1:00 4/5.

Z Humor didn't come home nearly as strong, finishing his move in 1:01 1/5.

DENIS OF CORK (Harlan's Holiday) impressed while galloping by early in the morning, and his connections are going to be crushed if he doesn't make the field (due to graded earnings) because the colt likes Churchill's track.

SMOOTH AIR (Smooth Jazz) finally made an appearance on the track, getting a light jog in while confirming his presence in the Derby field, and the smallish colt is probably plenty fit, with Bennie Stutts Jr. working him primarily at seven furlongs and a mile in recent weeks in South Florida.

BOB BLACK JACK (Stormy Jack), a California-based colt who has raced exclusively on synthetic, got his first feel of the track and didn't look too comfortable.

VISIONAIRE (Grand Slam), who had been training at Keeneland for Michael Matz, traveled well over the oval in preparation for Monday's scheduled work.

PYRO (Pulpit) looked fine galloping on Sunday morning, but stablemate Z FORTUNE (Siphon [Brz]) is the better-looking of the two. They're both expected to work on Monday.

Seven contenders are scheduled to work Monday, and they'll be doing so over a wet track if the weather forecast holds.