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Alpha scheduled to arrive, but jockey still pending Godolphin Stable's Alpha had a very light exercise at Belmont Park Monday morning before being shipped by plane to Churchill Downs. He is scheduled to arrive at the track between 5 and 6 p.m. (EDT). "He just walked this morning because we're shipping today and he has new shoes," trainer Kiaran McLaughlin said. "He will train Tuesday morning in Kentucky at the scheduled time for the Derby horses, 8:30. He will gallop 1 3/8 miles." McLaughlin said the colt has come out of his work on Saturday in good condition. "We're all set," McLaughlin said. "He's doing great." McLaughlin said the Alpha team has not committed to a jockey to ride the son of Bernardini in the 138th Kentucky Derby. Chuck and Maribeth Sandford's Take Charge Indy started his last full day in rainy Florida Monday with some light exercise at the Palm Meadows Training Center. The Grade 1 Florida Derby winner is scheduled to be flown from West Palm Beach to Louisville early Tuesday morning. "Our track was still deep in mud. We rain and thunder," trainer Pat Byrne said. "Indy walked under tack for about 30 minutes then we went out to the racetrack and he proceeded to jog about a mile and an eighth. "He's eager to do a bit more, but I didn't want to take a chance on galloping him on a deep, muddy racetrack. I'd love to have been able to get a gallop into him, but that's OK. We'll just just fly there and we'll let him gallop over the track at Churchill on Wednesday morning." The rain in South Florida has limited Take Charge Indy's activities since he worked five furlongs on 1:00 2/5 last Thursday. "That's OK. This horse is really fit," Byrne said. "If anything, it's just to do stuff for his mind. He's really happy right now. He's looking to do something. But he's good, he's fit and I'm really happy with him." Three-time Kentucky Derby-winning jockey Calvin Borel will ride the colt Saturday. Let's Go Stable's El Padrino and WinStar Farm's Gemologist returned to the track at Palm Meadows Monday morning after turning in half-mile maintenance works over a muddy track the day before. Both of the Todd Pletcher-trained Kentucky Derby candidates jogged once around the 1 1/8-mile track. Undefeated Gemologist, who captured the Grade 1 Wood Memorial at Aqueduct last time out, breezed a half-mile in :50 1/5 Sunday. El Padrino, the Grade 2 Risen Star winner who finished fourth in the Florida Derby, breezed the four furlongs in :53 1/5. Both colts are scheduled to arrive at Churchill Downs mid-morning Tuesday after shipping from Palm Meadows. The Aidan O'Brien-trained Daddy Long Legs is scheduled to ship from Ireland Tuesday, Daily Racing Form reports. The son of Scat Daddy comes off a victory in the Group 2 U.A.E. Derby at Meydan. The connections of bubble horses Optimizer and My Adonis hope to get into the field. Bluegrass Hall LLC's Optimizer walked the Churchill Downs shedrow Monday morning, one day after his five-furlong drill in 1:00 2/5. Trainer D. Wayne Lukas indicated the son of English Channel would return to the track Tuesday. Optimizer sits number 21 on the graded stakes earnings list and would need a defection in order to make the Kentucky Derby starting gate. With this year's first-ever Derby also-eligible list, he figures to be the first alternate to the race if all runners' status remains the same between now and Wednesday's entry date. "I'd really like to see him get a chance to run," Lukas said. "One thing about him, he's a true mile-and-a-quarter horse." Jon Court, who piloted Optimizer to a runner-up finish in the Grade 2 Rebel Stakes at Oaklawn, would ride if he can crack the field for Derby 138. George and Lori Hall's My Adonis, currently 22nd on the earnings list among horses under consideration for the Kentucky Derby, walked the shedrow of trainer Kelly Breen's Monmouth Park barn the morning after breezing five furlongs in 1:01 3/5. Breen confirmed that My Adonis came out of the work in good order and that they continue to prepare as if they're running Saturday in case of any late defections. In other Kentucky Derby news: The early Kentucky Derby Day forecast for Louisville from the National Weather Service calls for partly sunny skies and a high of 84 degrees and a 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Here's the day-by-day weather outlook: * Tuesday: Mostly cloudy, 82, with a 60 percent chance of showers and
thunderstorms mainly between noon and 5 p.m. The Post Position Draw for the Kentucky Derby will be held Wednesday from 5-6 p.m. in the Secretariat Lounge on the second floor of the Clubhouse. The event will be televised live nationally on NBC Sports Network and local affiliates. Media credentials must be displayed for appropriate access. In 2010, the Kentucky Derby Post Position Draw reverted to a traditional "pill pull" where horses' entry blanks are pulled simultaneously with a numbered pill to determine what stall a horse will break from in the starting gate. The field for the Kentucky Derby will be limited to 20 horses with preference given to horses with the most graded stakes earnings. Entries close Wednesday at 10 a.m.
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