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Hansen breezes for Blue Grass
La Gran Bailadora finished her five-furlong work in 1:04 1/5. Hansen was clocked in fractional times of :11 4/5, :23 3/5, :35 4/5 and :48 1/5, and galloped out six furlongs in 1:13 4/5. The colt's work was the fourth-fastest of 14 at the distance and satisfied Maker, who looked ahead to next Saturday's final Kentucky Derby prep for Hansen over Keeneland's synthetic Polytrack course. "I just hope we draw well at Keeneland," Maker said. "It looks like there's going to be a big field." Among those looking on during Hansen's work Dr. Kendall Hansen, the majority owner of his namesake, and Skychai Racing partners Harvey Diamond and Jim Shircliff. Although the Kentucky Derby is 28 days away, Dr. Hansen was already exhibiting symptoms of a springtime malady know throughout horse racing as "Derby Fever." "I can hardly work," Hansen said. "It started two days ago when it was the 5th and it (the Derby) was exactly 30 days out. Something happened to my body. My nurses were telling me, 'Doc, your hands are shaking.' My hands never shake, but I've got a tremor now and I think it's from adrenaline. So I'm staying away from Mountain Dew." Hansen, who bred his Kentucky Derby contender, said he's hearing from increasing numbers of friends and fans who are excited about the gray colt's Kentucky Derby bid. "The toughest question I get asked is, 'How does it feel to have a horse this good?,' and I really can't answer it," Hansen said. "There are just so many feelings and I'm kind of worried -- am I taking it in right? Even (owner) Mike Repole, when he had (2010 juvenile champion) Uncle Mo, said he had a little stress with it. There's a little responsibility that comes with trying to do it right. "Then throw in the fact that the horse is almost white, and it's almost like he's blessed and supposed to be special -- and I think he knows he's special. I've got to stand by the way and push him in the right direction and get people exposed to him so they can have fun. It's kind of a romantic thing to be engaged with a horse, to see a Thoroughbred. I hope we can bring some new fans to the great sport of horse racing and I think he's going to be part of it." Hansen (the owner), who wore a blue T-shirt emblazoned with a white silhouette of his horse and the words "The Great White Hope," wants to share his experience with fans who have become enchanted with Hansen (the horse). "I don't really feel like he's my horse," he said. "He's the people's horse. I'm just kind of a caretaker." Hansen, who was crowned as the champion two-year-old male in the United States after his victory in last fall's Breeders' Cup Juvenile at Churchill Downs, has won four of five races, with a runner-up finish to Algorithms in the Grade 3 Holy Bull at Gulfstream Park being the only setback in his young career. Hansen -- the horse -- has earned $1,473,305 in those races.
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