Monday's Workout Report Part 2

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DOMINICAN/SEDGEFIELD

Sedgefield, the second half of Silverton Hill’s Derby duo, took over the spotlight Monday morning with a half-mile breeze in :48.40 with jockey Julien Leparoux aboard. The move was the 11th-best of 52 at the distance.

“I’m happy with the way he’s covering the racetrack,” said trainer Darrin Miller, who was aboard Sedgefield’s workmate Bacetto. “We wanted to get him to relax, so Julien kept him on a loose rein, and then took him up along the rail.”

Sedgefield, sporting pink blinkers, started the drill several lengths behind Bacetto, then moved up on the inside to be on even terms with his workmate. They remained level to the wire (Bacetto was also timed in :48.40) and galloped out strongly around the far turn.

“We wanted Sedgefield to get sandblasted a little, so we started him off behind the other horse. He handled that really well, and then he handled running along the rail just fine,” Miller said.

“Bacetto is a winner, and a good, strong workhorse,” the trainer said. “I use him with Dominican, too, because he’s an intelligent horse, knows what to do when he works, and gives the other horses a good workout.”

Leparoux, who will be making his Kentucky Derby debut aboard Sedgefield, was happy with the horse’s breeze.

“He said Sedgefield handled the track just fine and relaxed all the way,” Miller said. “I wanted Julien to ride him because I love the way he sits on a horse, and I love the way he rides with such patience and confidence.”

How the colt handles the Churchill dirt track was of some concern to Sedgefield’s connections, since the son of Smart Strike has never raced over anything but turf and synthetic surfaces. But the issue seems to have been resolved in the positive.

“He worked fine over it before (a half-mile in :49 flat on April 21) and he went fine over it today,” Miller said. “So it doesn’t really concern me any more.”

It took Sedgefield three tries to break his maiden last year, and he finally got the job done in December at Turfway Park. Miller then took him to Calder for the Tropical Park Derby on grass New Year’s Day, and the colt ran second in a good effort. After that he won an allowance on grass at Gulfstream, and then was second in both the Hallandale Beach Stakes on turf in Florida, and the Lanes End Stakes (GII) on the Polytrack at Turfway. Last out he was fourth in the Transylvania (GIII) on the Keeneland grass.

“I had a tough time schooling him at Ellis Park last summer,” Miller said. “And then he was tough to train in the fall. It really wasn’t until after the Tropical Park Derby that he started acting like a racehorse.”

Dominican had a light morning the day after he drilled five furlongs in a bullet :59.40 on Sunday. The gelded son of El Corredor thrilled his trainer with the move, which put him on edge for the Derby. Dominican comes into the big race off victories in the Rushaway Stakes at Turfway and the Blue Grass Stakes (GI) at Keeneland. Rafael Bejarano has the mount again.

“He came out of the work just fine,” said Miller. “He had an easy day today, just walked the shedrow.”

HARD SPUN

The Danzig colt gave a shout out to Derby watchers Monday morning when he recorded one of the fastest works in Derby Week history at Churchill Downs – a :57.60 that turned heads, drew low whistles and stamped the handsome bay as a very dangerous factor for Saturday’s Run for the Roses.

On a sunny Louisville morning, trainer Larry Jones led his charge through the six-furlong gap immediately following the morning break with regular rider Mario Pino up. Right behind him came the stable’s Wildcat Bettie B., a 4-year-old filly who is a graded stakes winner and one of the nation’s top female sprinters.

The pair backtracked briefly, then teamed up for their five-panel team drill with the filly down on the rail. Early on they were a pair, but with Pino giving his mount some encouragement, the Lanes End (GII) winner began to draw clear. Then he got clearer, then clearer still – finally drawing off to “beat” his mate to the wire by 10 wide-open lengths.

Churchill Downs’ clockers caught Hard Spun’s splits along the way and they were exceptional – :11, :22, :33.40, :45 leading up to the final of :57.60. They gave the Pennsylvania-bred a six-furlong “out” time of 1:12.60. The horse’s five-furlong number was the fastest of 27 recorded at the distance. His workmate tied for second-fastest at :59.60.

Pino, who has been aboard Hard Spun for all six of his career starts, liked what transpired underneath him.

“He did it easy,", Pino said. “His ears were up and he was within himself. I was pushing on him a little bit – to keep his attention. He can get looking around. When I got a length clear of her (Wildcat Bettie B.) his ears went right up. I wished she would have stayed with me so he would have stayed focused. But he was too fast for her.

“He’s deceptive. He can be moving quicker than you think. But there was still something in the tank today. We didn’t get to the bottom of him.

“I’m happy with the work. I told Larry (Jones) that. I’m excited thinking about the Derby after all these years.”

Pino, a Pennsylvania-bred himself and the leading rider of winners in Maryland history, has registered nearly 6,000 victories, but will be listening to “My Old Kentucky Home” in a post parade for the initial time.

Jones, the affable Kentuckian who is never far away from a cowboy hat, pronounced himself happy with the work.

“He wasn’t supposed to beat her (Wildcat Bettie B.) that far. She isn’t chump change, you know. But Mario (Pino) was happy with the way he did it, so that means I’m happy. The move was faster than I told him to go, but he was within himself. And we know he likes this track; that’s for sure. That was an issue, but it isn’t now.

“He came off the track blowing just a little bit, but he recovered within 10 or 15 minutes and he’s feeling plenty good. That’s easy to see. He’ll walk tomorrow and then we’ll see from there. He’ll tell us what to do.”

Jones was asked if he could see Hard Spun on the lead in the Derby.

“I’m not sure about that,” he said. “But I believe he’ll be forwardly placed; he’ll be in the first flight. We’ll have to see what kind of post we’ll draw, but he’s got the speed to be where he needs to be.”

Hard Spun’s time sent Derby historians to the books trying to find a quicker drill. They had to go back to 1973 – Secretariat’s year – to beat it. On Tuesday of Derby Week 34 years ago a tall horse worked five furlongs in :57 flat, then wound up finishing fourth in the Derby. He went on to be a pretty handy runner. His name was Forego.