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Little: Wicked Strong has the pedigree to get the Derby distance
The other important element in the selection was the colt's pedigree. He is by Hard Spun and is out of a mare sired by 1999 Derby winner Charismatic. Centennial's goal is to purchase horses with pedigrees that indicate they would be suited for classic races on dirt like the Kentucky Derby. "It's definitely a distance pedigree," Little said. "His daddy was second in the Derby. Yeah, he won the King's Bishop, but he was able to get a distance being by Danzig and the mother was by Charismatic. "He trained like that, right from the get-go at the farm. He was the one guy in the group of yearlings we had in 2012 that kind of said, 'I'm the kingpin here.' And he was right from the beginning sort of the favorite of the group." The colt received his name following the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing. The term Boston Strong quickly became popular as a show of support for the victims. Centennial is based in Beverly, Massachusetts, and Little said he tried to rename the two-year-old colt Moyne Spun as Boston Strong, but it already had been claimed by another New England partnership company, Sovereign Stable of Manchester, New Hamphsire. Boston Strong, a New York-bred son of Pioneerof the Nile, in training at Belmont Park, but has not made his first career start. Little decided to go with the suggestion of a friend, Wicked Strong. In New England slang, wicked adds emphasis to adjectives: wicked cool, wicked fast, wicked funny, wicked strong. The 28-person partnership decided to contribute a portion of the colt's earnings to the One Fund, which aids victims of the bombing. "When we named him, it was more out of anger," Little said. "Like Sovereign, we didn't do it as a promotional thing. It's more of a reaction to what had happened and what was going on in the city with the intention of something good coming out of it and being able to donate some money to the One Fund and be able to help the families and the victims. Here we are." Jerkens will be saddling his first Derby starter. He was working for his father, Hall of Famer H. Allen Jerkens, in 1992 when Devil His Due ran in the Derby. One part of his Derby experience -- the parade of horses from the stable area through the first turn to the paddock -- remains a vivid memory. "I'll never forget the walk over there," Jerkens said. "I'll never forget it as long as I live. I never saw anything like it. People are just up and around you. It was incredible." Jerkens smiled when someone asked if he was ready to make the walk with his own horse. "I guess as ready as I'll ever be," he said. Multiple Grade 3 hero Samraat had an eventful visit to the track Wednesday morning where he galloped 1 3/8 miles under exercise rider Rodney Paine. "He was very sharp," trainer Rick Violette said. "He had a horse doing a two-minute lick coming at him when he turned corner coming on the racetrack and almost lost his rider. It was all of four seconds, but..." Violette said his colt reared, ducked and tried to get away from the pony during that brief but frightening event. He then went on for gallop around the track for Paine. "He moved great, was very sharp, handled the racetrack and was happy to be here," Violette said. "No changes necessary." Violette said he will have the Noble Causeway colt school in the gate Thursday and perhaps again Friday. Samraat won the first five starts of his career and was second to Wicked Strong in the Wood Memorial. In the Withers and Gotham, both Grade 3 races at Aqueduct, he engaged in extended duels with Uncle Sigh, who also is in the Derby. He showed grit to finish well in the Wood and Violette likes bringing a battle-tested runner to the Derby. "I think it's invaluable," he said. "That he has won is great, but there is no question that he has been looked in the eye and has had the right response. And they are long drives, too. "In the Wood he passed a couple of little internal tests that he hadn't been confronted with before. We've stalked but we've been in the clear and for the first time down the backside he had horses in front of him, horses outside of him, horses inside of him. You would be amazed how that dynamic makes 17-hand horses look like Shetland ponies. All of a sudden they are not the dominant horses. It wasn't a factor. "The other little battle was at the half-mile pole. We kind of set sail and Kristo was on the outside of him and it took a good eighth of a mile to shake him. He was off the bridle and riding hard to get away from him so we could focus on Social Inclusion." Samraat did make up the ground, but the Wood favorite wasn't done. "Social Inclusion kind of busts chops and opens up two at the head of the lane," Violette said, noting how that move can discourage the competition, but Samraat kept trying. "He finally changed leads in the shadow of the wire and nailed him for second," Violette said. "A lot of those little educational tests he was not only was confronted with but passed them. Coming into his next race you're not going to be that concerned and he'll deal with it even better." In other Derby news: Wildcat Red galloped 1 1/2 miles under exercise rider Juan Belmonte Wednesday morning at Churchill Downs. The son of D'wildcat, who won the Fountain of Youth and Hutcheson, will be saddled by Jose Garoffalo, a Gulfstream Park-based trainer who never has started a horse in the Kentucky Derby. "I'm not nervous. I'm very optimistic. I'm a little bit surprised that I'm not nervous, but I'm a pretty calm person," said Garoffalo, who began his training career in his native Venezuela before venturing to the United Stakes in 1999. Garoffalo's calm demeanor before the Derby may be attributed in part to the success he had at the highest level in Venezuela. "I have experience in big races. In Venezuela, trainers are very used to being in contact with the media -- TV, radio, the press is always at the track. We're pretty much used to that," Garoffalo explained. "And I've been involved in the big races there." In 1991, Garoffalo saddled his father, Jose Garoffalo Sr.'s, champion homebred filly, Climalba, for a victory against the boys in the 1991 Clasico Simon Bolivar. "It's Venezuela's biggest race," he said. Garoffalo, who completed law school before deciding to dedicate himself to training, always had a goal to venture to the United States to train Thoroughbreds. "It was a personal challenge to prove that I could make it here," he said. "I think it was a good decision." Garoffalo, who settled in South Florida, became a U.S. citizen four years ago.
"When I ran him in the Iroquois as a two-year-old, it was night racing. They had live bands, people everywhere. Never turned a hair. I took him to the paddock (On Tuesday) and schooled him, never turned a hair. That's the least of my worries is his mind." The 1 1/4 miles shouldn't be a problem for Ride On Curlin, either, according to Borel "I don't think it'll bother him," the reinsman said. "Sit and wait. Sit and wait. Sit and wait. I think the more you sit and wait, he'll go as far as you want him to go. "He's a smart horse. If he does how I think he's going to do -- everything right -- we'll be all right." Ride On Curlin galloped Wednesday under exercise rider Bryan Beccia. All that's left to do, Gowan said, is to bring Ride On Curlin to the race healthy and sound. "Every morning, I check his legs," Gowan said." You always hold your breath when you check his legs. Man, they've been cold and tight. I'm tickled to death." Pablo Del Monte was vanned from Keeneland to Churchill Downs Wednesday, arriving shortly before the 8 a.m. deadline set for Kentucky Derby entrants to be on the grounds. The Wesley Ward trainee sat 21st in the points standings when entries were taken Wednesday morning and will be the only horse on the Derby also-eligible list. He could draw into the field in the event of a scratch prior to Friday at 9 a.m. Due to an unexpected delay in his morning commute, the son of Giant's Causeway didn't go to the track with other Kentucky Derby candidates at the appointed 8:30 a.m. time. Pablo Del Monte went to the track at 9:45 a.m. for a jog around Churchill with jockey Jeffrey Sanchez aboard. Bet Horseracing Free Online at TwinSpires.com
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