Baffert, Pletcher brigades turn in routine exercise

Baffert, Pletcher brigades turn in routine exercise

Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert's trio of Kentucky Derby candidates --

Hoppertunity, Chitu and Bayern -- schooled in the gate and galloped 1 1/2 miles under exercise

rider Dana Barnes.

Tanma Corporation's Chitu was scratched Saturday morning from the Grade 3 Derby Trial,

the featured event on Churchill Downs' season-opening program Saturday evening.

The Baffert-trained Bayern, who had been a Derby candidate, will run in the

Trial.

Baffert said that Chitu will work Sunday morning and that Karl Watson, Mike

Pegram and Paul Weitman's Hoppertunity will have his final pre-Derby breeze

Monday morning.

Racing in California, Louisiana and Arkansas this winter, Hoppertunity earned a

spot on Baffert's Derby team.

"He's really been a surprise since the fall," Baffert said. "He really

started maturing and growing up. He was doing everything right, but he wasn't

setting off any alarms back in September. At the beginning of the Santa Anita

meet I could see that he was really changing and doing well."

Baffert said he was looking for a longer maiden race for the son of Any Given

Saturday to make his debut in, but had to settle for seven furlongs on January 4.

Though the colt finished fifth, 7 1/2 lengths behind stablemate Bayern, Baffert

said he liked how the horse finished.

Hoppertunity broke his maiden at a mile on January 30, finished fourth in the Risen

Star at Fair Grounds on February 22, and won the Rebel at Oaklawn on

March 15.

Rather than ship him back to Oaklawn Park for the Arkansas Derby, Baffert opted

to stay home for the Santa Anita Derby. Hoppertunity finished second, 5 1/4

lengths back, to California Chrome.

"He ran a good race," Baffert said. "He wasn't any match for the winner, but

came out of it well. I didn't have to put another hard work into him. Basically

I got to work him a mile and an eighth and got paid for it."

Trainer Todd Pletcher's Derby quartet -- Danza, Intense Holiday, We Miss

Artie and Viceremos -- took advantage of the 15-minute

Derby/Oaks training period following the renovation break to get in "their

regular gallops."

"Nothing special for them today," Pletcher said. "Just the usual."

Danza (with exercise rider Ezequiel Perez aboard), We Miss Artie (Nick Bush)

and Vinceremos (Ovel Merida) backtracked to the finish line, then toured the

track for 1 3/8 miles. Intense Holiday (Isabelle Bourez)

backtracked to the eighth-pole, then galloped 1 1/2 miles.

The trainer indicated he was happy with them all and happy, too, with a weather

report that projected another good morning Sunday when he has final Derby works

planned for the four colts.

"They're saying we're good on the weather at least until Sunday night," Pletcher

said. "So we ought to be fine tomorrow morning. They're all doing good."

The conditioner has riders lined up for three of his runners -- Joe Bravo for

Danza, John Velazquez for Intense Holiday and Javier Castellano for We Miss

Artie -- but is holding back on Vinceremos, who is not yet a 100 percent go for

Derby 140.

"I'm going to be especially interested in seeing Vinceremos' work. That might

give us a good idea (whether he'll run)," Pletcher said. "We're sitting tight on

a rider. It could be one of these big name guys might come available in the next

day or two if we do decide to go."

Honors Stable Corp.'s Wildcat Red galloped 1 1/2 miles after

the morning renovation break under exercise rider Juan Belmonte for trainer Jose Garoffalo.

"This is the first day I have

seen him on the track since last Sunday because I was at the sale in Ocala,"

said Garoffalo, who arrived in Louisville Friday afternoon. "He looks very good;

very happy."

Garoffalo, who never has had a

Kentucky Derby starter, plans to work Wildcat Red on Sunday morning at 8:30 a.m.

(EDT) with

jockey Luis Saez aboard.

Daniel Dougherty's Ride On Curlin galloped Saturday

under exercise rider Bryan Beccia, and trainer Billy Gowan is planning to work

the colt seven furlongs Sunday.

Dougherty, a local furniture dealer, was at the barn Saturday and expressed

satisfaction with the appearance of Ride on Curlin, the Arkansas Derby

runner-up.

"He looks good,'' Dougherty said. "He should be ready. They all look good. There

isn't an ugly one out there.''

Ride On Curlin, a son of 2007-2008 Horse of the Year Curlin and the Storm Cat mare Magical

Ride, has turned out to be a bargain purchase for Dougherty and Gowan. The colt,

who cost $25,000 at the Keeneland September sale in 2012, has earned $414,687 in

nine starts.

"We knew he had the pedigree to be this good a horse, so that's where you

start,'' Dougherty said. "And as he started growing, Billy had him out at his

house, and he could rip across the paddock really, really fast. So I'd get a

phone call about three times a week, 'This horse is fast.'''

Ron Winchell's Tapiture, winner of the Kentucky Jockey Club

here last fall and the Southwest at Oaklawn Park in February,

galloped 1 1/2 miles before 7 a.m. (EDT) under exercise rider Abel Flores.

Trained by Steve Asmussen, Tapiture

will be ridden in next Saturday's Kentucky Derby by Ricardo Santana Jr., who was

aboard for both graded stakes victories.

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