Derby trio breeze at Churchill Downs

High Fly has three victories from four starts this season  (Joseph DiOrio/Horsephotos.com)

Due to a weekend forecast that includes severe storms and unseasonably cold

temperatures, trainer Nick Zito elected to work HIGH FLY (Atticus) and NOBLE

CAUSEWAY (Giant's Causeway), the 1-2 finishers of the Florida Derby (G1), on

Friday.

Each horse was credited by Churchill Downs clockers with five-furlong drills,

although the recorded times were slow. The pair came onto the track together

around 6:45 a.m. (EDT), but worked separately. High Fly, with Maxine Correa up,

breezed five furlongs in 1:06 3/5, while Noble Causeway, ridden by Carlos

Correa, was clocked in 1:04 3/5.

Both horses worked from the half-mile pole to the seven-eighths marker, which

is located midway around the first turn. Zito said the clockers may have been

confused. His stopwatch caught them in considerably faster splits and he was

happy with their workouts.

"The main thing is, regardless of what times they got, both horses went

super," Zito said. "I loved the way both horses went around that (first) turn.

High Fly scooted around that turn. Noble Causeway looked great. They both looked

super and that's all we could ask for. We'll do some serious work next week."

The horses breezed over a track that was still listed as "fast" before rain

moved in later in the morning.

"When they started talking about rain on Sunday, too, and hail, and this and

that and everything, I said let's not fool with Mother Nature," Zito added. "Let's just go a

day earlier. It's either a day earlier or a day late, and we got them both in

and they went well."

GREELEY'S GALAXY (Mr. Greeley), who rolled to a 9 1/2-length victory in the

Illinois Derby (G2) in his last start, breezed six furlongs under the Twin

Spires on Friday in preparation for a possible start in the Kentucky Derby (G1).

The chestnut covered the distance in 1:16 4/5 beneath exercise rider Mikki

Fincher. The colt began the move at the three-quarter pole and was timed in

fractions of :13 3/5, :26 2/5, :38 4/5, :51 2/5 and 1:04 1/5. He galloped out

seven furlongs in 1:32 2/5 while light rain fell on the track.

"He felt fabulous," Fincher said. "He's a happy, fresh horse, likes to train,

and hits the ground really good."

Greeley's Galaxy is not nominated to the Triple Crown. Owner B. Wayne Hughes

plans to make the colt a supplemental nominee to the Derby for a fee of

$200,000, but the colt could still be excluded from the Run for the Roses if

20 or more horses are entered in the 1 1/4-mile classic.