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Lucky glides a bullet five-eighths in the mud
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| Lookin at Lucky was looking good
(Wendy Uzelac/EquiSport Photos) |
Champion LOOKIN AT LUCKY (Smart Strike), soon to be installed as the
morning-line favorite in Saturday's Kentucky Derby (G1), underscored his
credentials with a bullet five-furlong breeze at Churchill Downs on Monday.
The Bob Baffert colt completed his move in 1:00 4/5 on a muddy track,
tying for the fastest of 26 works at the distance. The time was equaled
later in the morning by First Dude (Stephen Got Even), who was most
recently third in the Blue Grass S. (G1) for Dale Romans and is
extremely unlikely to draw into the Derby with only $97,500 in graded
earnings.
With exercise rider Dana Barnes aboard, Lookin at Lucky reeled off
splits of :12, :24 1/5, :36 and :48 1/5, and he galloped out six
furlongs in 1:15 1/5. He worked in company with recent maiden winner
Broken Tango (Broken Vow), who eventually finished up in 1:05 3/5.
Baffert
climbed atop an overturned blue plastic feed tub so he could be seen and heard
during the post-workout meeting with the media.
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"He worked well," Baffert said. "The track was really in good
shape. It's soft today. I've been worrying about the rain, but it worked out.
The horse in front of him (Broken Tango) was a perfect distance to him. It's
what you want to see going in. I was happy with the work. From here on, we just
need some luck, we need to draw well and have a good trip."
Barnes was under instructions not to let the colt gallop out strongly after the
breeze.
"He was really going well and he really wanted to do more, but I told her to
shut him down," Baffert said. "He was reaching well.
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| Bob Baffert regales the media outside his barn
(Harold Roth/Horsephotos.com) |
"He's happy. He came back looking great. His first work he needed to get over
it a little bit. He was by himself and he was a little sluggish. He's doing
really well right now, but we still need a lot of luck."Baffert joked about whether the defection of Eskendereya (Giant's Causeway) would make Lookin at
Lucky the favorite in Derby 136.
"I don't know about that," he said. "I don't always want to be the favorite, but
he's a good horse and he's run well. He got beat the last time (when a
troubled third in the Santa Anita Derby [G1]); Sidney's
Candy (Candy Ride [Arg]) should be the favorite -- he's the one who beat him."
None of Baffert's three Derby winners -- Silver Charm (1997), Real Quiet
(1998) or War Emblem (2002) -- was the favorite in the wagering.
Baffert said the departure of likely favorite Eskendereya, who was found to have
filling in his left foreleg over the weekend, changed the complexion of the
Derby.
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"They're all good horses," Baffert said. "It opened up the race quite a bit when
the other horse scratched. That was a huge scratch.
"There's no telling how good that horse was. Unfortunately, those things happen.
As trainers, we don't want to see that happen because it can happen to any of
us. It's very unfortunate. When the Derby dream gets totally lost like that, it's terrible."
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| Conveyance is playing the role of the 'other horse'
(Harold Roth/Horsephotos.com) |
Baffert's other Derby prospect, Southwest S. (G3) and San Rafael S. (G3) hero
CONVEYANCE (Indian Charlie), galloped 1 1/2 miles Monday morning. The gray, who
suffered his first loss when runner-up in the Sunland Derby (G3), is scheduled to breeze
Tuesday."I had (Tuesday) marked for him. I just didn't tell anybody," Baffert said. "I
wanted to work Conveyance a little closer to the race."
Baffert said that no matter how well his horses look and work, he will be
nervous until the race.
"You can't relax," he said. "Anything can happen. Every day we're on pins and
needles from here on out. We've got to work Conveyance tomorrow and there is
another four days of thinking about it (the Derby). We have to draw well.
"There are so many things that are in play. First of all, you have to come in
here with a really good horse. I feel we have that. You have to work well. I
feel he's worked well. He has to draw well. And he has to have a good trip. All
those things have to happen if you're going to win the Derby. You can't have a
bad trip.
"Last year we (with Pioneerof the Nile) came in here and
everything went fine and we just got beat.
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"I'm just training him (Lookin at Lucky) now, just getting
him ready, hoping that when he turns for home he's making his move and we get to
cheer. There's nothing worse than coming here and you don't get to cheer for
your horse. I've come here many a time when they're turning for home and we're
heading out the back door. It's no fun.
"Right now we can enjoy the work, but anything can happen in this business,
as we've all seen, so I'm always prepared for the disappointment."
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