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.

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NOBIZ LIKE SHOBIZ

Trainer Barclay Tagg reported Nobiz Like Shobiz to be fine Monday morning, one day after Elizabeth Valando’s homebred colt worked five furlongs at Belmont Park in :59.98.

“He came out of the work well. He’s fine,” said Tagg, whose Kentucky Derby contender walked the shedrow Monday.

Tagg is scheduled to ship Nobiz Like Shobiz to Louisville on Wednesday, arriving at Churchill Downs late, just as he had done with his 2003 Kentucky Derby winner Funny Cide. The veteran trainer said that the only common ground between Nobiz Like Showbiz and Funny Cide is that they are both “classic-style horses.”

“There are no similarities, none at all. Funny Cide was high strung and explosive, and Nobiz Like Shobiz is easy going and calm,” he said.

The New York Times reported Sunday that Mrs. Valando had turned down a $17 million offer from Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum to purchase Nobiz Like Shobiz after he had won his debut easily by more than 10 lengths last fall at Belmont Park.

“I knew it was a lot of money, but not that much,” Tagg said Monday.

Although he was surprised by the reported sum of money Sheikh Mohammed had offered to buy Nobiz Like Shobiz, Tagg wasn’t at all surprised that the 82-year-old Mrs. Valando would turn down the offer.

“She bred the horse and she wants to win the Kentucky Derby. It’s not about the money,” Tagg said. “It’s about winning the Kentucky Derby.”

Mrs. Valando’s late husband Thomas owned Fly So Free, who finished fifth in the 1991 Kentucky Derby.

Cornelio Velasquez has ridden Nobiz Like Shobiz in all of six of his starts, including his victory in the Wood Memorial (GI) at Aqueduct in his last start, and will be aboard the son of Albert the Great again for the Kentucky Derby.

STREET SENSE

Before trainer Carl Nafzger led Street Sense to the track for his morning exercise, he had a question for a passerby.

“What are you doing back here? Curlin’s out there,” Nafzger said, pointing toward the track where the Arkansas Derby (GII) winner had just worked a half-mile in :48.40. “That’s the first time I had seen him. He looks good.”

Then the James Tafel-owned son of Street Cry took a leisurely stroll to the track with exercise rider Mark Cutler up for a 1 ½-mile gallop before the renovation break.

“He had a good day and he handled everything perfectly,” Nafzger said of the growing crowd of on-lookers and media types roaming the backstretch in the morning. “He is ready to work in the morning. We are right on schedule.”

Jockey Calvin Borel is slated to handle the colt’s five-furlong work in the morning that is likely to take place around 7 a.m.

STORMELLO

The Stormy Atlantic colt left his stall at Hollywood Park at 5 a.m. Monday for his flight to Louisville. Trainer Bill Currin was in the air shortly after, and was due at Churchill Downs Monday evening.

Currin was thrilled with Stormello Sunday when the chestnut breezed five furlongs in 1:00.80 over the synthetic strip at Hollywood, with Derby jockey Kent Desormeaux in the irons.

Both trainer and jockey were enthusiastic about Stormello’s final Derby prep, with Currin calling it “the most perfect work he’s ever had.”

Stormello shipped across the country twice this winter, running second behind Scat Daddy in the Fountain of Youth Stakes (GII), and then fourth behind that same rival in the Florida Derby (GI) last out on March 31.

His major career accomplishment was his neck victory over Liquidity in the Grade I Hollywood Futurity in his final start as a 2-year-old.

STORM IN MAY/IMAWILDANDCRAZYGUY

Trainer Bill Kaplan arrived in Louisville on Sunday from South Florida and was at Churchill Downs to watch his two charges put in their final serious workouts in preparation for the Kentucky Derby on Monday morning.

Storm in May breezed three furlongs in :35.80 under jockey Juan Leyva, who flew in from South Florida especially for the works and returns home this afternoon.

Imawildandcrazyguy, who is number 22 on the graded stakes earnings list, also went three furlongs and was timed in :36.20. There would need to be two defections from the body of the field in order for Imawildandcrazyguy to get into the Derby.

Storm in May was purchased by Kaplan for a bargain $16,000 at the Ocala Breeders’ Sales last April.

“We got him so inexpensively because of his right eye, he’s completely blind in his right eye. It doesn’t affect him at all, though. I knew I couldn’t buy him for an owner,” said Kaplan, who retains a one-quarter ownership in the horse. “So I took him back to Calder and Felicity Waugh, my girlfriend, galloped him for four days. She’s an understated girl, but said that he was the most well-behaved and steadiest horse she had ever galloped in her life.”

That was when Kaplan went to two of his longtime owners, Teresa and David Palmer, and suggested that they invest in Storm in May. Kaplan, Waugh and the Palmers are partners on the horse, who has now earned more than $450,000.

Kaplan keeps a small stable at his Calder base, usually no more than 15 horses. He also selected Imawildandcrazyguy, purchasing him for $17,000 as a yearling. Kaplan kidded with reporters Monday morning that he just bought his 2008 Kentucky Derby contenders at the recently concluded OBS Two-Year-Olds in training sale.

TEUFLESBERG

Trainer Jamie Sanders “is pretty confident” that Teuflesberg will be among the starters in the Kentucky Derby, following the needed defection of one horse ahead of him on the list of eligible horses by graded stakes earnings.

“A couple of people – they haven’t made the official announcement – but I don’t think they’re running,” she said.

Meanwhile, Sanders remains thrilled about how Teuflesberg continues to train. On Sunday, the colt worked five furlongs in 1:00.80.

“I think it might be the best work he’s ever had, just the way he did it,” Sanders said Monday. “All in hand, easy, a minute four-fifths, galloped out really, really strong. I didn’t get him pulled up until the half-mile pole – just amazing. He bounced all the way home and pranced all the way around the shedrow.”

On Monday, Teuflesberg, with Sanders aboard, jogged about a mile, stood in the gate and walked through the paddock.

“I took him to the track today because he was just so full of himself,” Sanders said. “He’s just one of those horses that you can’t hardly give them too much time off. He’s starting to peak right now. He just exerts too much energy just standing in the stall, anticipating training.

“It was a light day, but at least he got to go out,” she added. “He thinks he did something.”

TIAGO

The Santa Anita Derby winner arrived at Churchill Downs early Monday afternoon for his date with destiny this Saturday in the 133rd Kentucky Derby. He was joined on the flight by trainer John Shirreffs – a case of an old-school trainer doing the old-school thing.

Shirreffs always puts his horses first and he is doing so in his handling of Tiago for this year’s Derby. The bay colt is a half-brother to 2005 Kentucky Derby upsetter Giacomo, but the trainer knows that Tiago (who has made only four starts) doesn’t have near the seasoning his older half-brother did coming into this race. Thus, he has brought the horse in earlier to give him extra time to acclimate to his surroundings and he’s also staying close by the bay youngster as a means of assurance.

Mike Smith, who rode Giacomo to his $102.60 shocker, was aboard Tiago -- a bay colt by Pleasant Tap – in the Santa Anita Derby and also Sunday morning at Hollywood Park when he registered his final Kentucky Derby prep – a six-furlong bullet move in 1:11.40. Hall of Famer Smith will be up on Tiago Saturday.

XCHANGER

The scales are tipping toward a potential Kentucky Derby 133 start for the winner of Pimlico’s Federico Tesio Stakes, co-owner Dominic Zannini of Circle Z Stable said Monday morning.

“Nothing’s one hundred percent, and I’m not committing to anyone,” Zannini cautioned. “But I like the way things are shaping up. We’re preparing for it like we’re coming. The best-case scenario is we’ll be there – either ourselves or with a partnership.”

Circle Z Stable, co-owner/trainer Mark Schuman and co-owner Joe Masone continue to shop last-minute offers for Xchanger, Zannini said. He also indicated a final decision on Xchanger’s Derby status likely will come this afternoon.

Xchanger’s status for the Derby is of great importance to the connections of Teuflesberg, who ranks No. 21 on the graded earnings list of Derby hopefuls.

[declansharbor]

Some good stuff here...Thank you very much

[Downthestretch55]

Thanks!
Now all I need to do is put my two top ones (Nobiz and Dominican) with Somerfrost's angles.
So much to do, so little time.
Will post if I have a dream.
What if the track comes up wet? Not the dream!