|
|
On the Kentucky Derby worktab
Motion said Adriano was scheduled for his final pre-Kentucky Derby work next Sunday. He will have company for that move, but could have a different workmate. "He's only going to do what he has to do anyway," Motion said. "He's just not been a flashy work horse. It's never been his nature, really. The thing I was most pleased with -- and Edgar was, too -- was just the way he behaved today. He was like a different horse from when we were here last week. He just seems to have handled everything very well, and that was our biggest concern." Motion sent Adriano to the paddock prior to Sunday's work, just as he has done before training each day since his arrival at Churchill Downs last Thursday. With $310,000 in graded earnings, Adriano is assured of a spot in the prospective Derby field.
With Gabriel Saez aboard, Eight Belles did a bit more than stretch her legs, covering a half-mile in :46 3/5, second-fastest of 39 works at the distance. The work was her first since she won the Fantasy at Oaklawn Park on April 6. She was timed galloping out five furlongs in :59 2/5. "She went a little too fast," Cindy Jones said about Eight Belles, "but the other one (Proud Spell) was perfect, just exactly what he (Larry Jones) wanted" Proud Spell, with Saez aboard, worked in :50 1/5 and galloped out five furlongs in 1:02. The work was the first for Proud Spell since she finished third in the Ashland S. (G1) at Keeneland on April 6. Both fillies are scheduled to work five furlongs at Churchill next Sunday, and then their connections will have to decide whether to aim for the Derby or Oaks. Each has sufficient graded earnings to draw into the Derby, with Proud Spell boasting $880,000 and Eight Belles $210,000. "We don't know," Cindy Jones said about their next races. "The decision will be made at entry time." In other Kentucky Derby news:
"My theory on (whether they will handle the dirt) is either they're going to handle it or they're not," Pletcher added. "It's probably going to be a little tighter on Derby Day than it is when they work here. So that's what we're leaning towards." Multiple stakes winner BOB BLACK JACK (Stormy Jack), runner-up in the Santa Anita Derby, is scheduled to ship from trainer James Kasparoff's stable at Santa Anita to Churchill Downs on Saturday. Co-owner Jeff Harmon said Bob Black Jack would work Monday under jockey David Flores. He is scheduled for his final pre-race work on Sunday or Monday of Kentucky Derby Week. Hutcheson S. (G2) victor SMOOTH AIR (Smooth Jazz), runner-up in the Florida Derby (G1) in his most recent start, was scheduled to arrive at Churchill Downs on Sunday afternoon after a flight from West Palm Beach, Florida. Smooth Air is scheduled to work next Sunday at Churchill Downs. Lecomte S. (G3) scorer Z FORTUNE (Siphon [Brz]), runner-up in the Arkansas Derby (G2) in his most recent start, is scheduled for a four-furlong work on Monday at Churchill Downs. The Steve Asmussen trainee galloped two miles Sunday morning at Churchill Downs under exercise rider Marcos Orantes. One horse unlikely to make the Derby field and thus taking an alternate route is MY PAL CHARLIE (Indian Charlie), the Louisiana Derby (G2) runner-up who is coming off a fifth in the Arkansas Derby. With $150,000 in graded stakes earnings, My Pal Charlie would need plenty of defections from the list of horses that are under consideration for the Kentucky Derby. In light of the situation, My Pal Charlie is "headed to the Lone Star Derby (G3) (on May 10)," according to trainer Al Stall Jr. "If four or five were to drop out (of Derby consideration), that could change, but that's the plan right now," Stall said of the Lone Star Derby.
 Send this article to a friend
|
|
