Mark Valeski's Derby status hinges on Monday work

Mark Valeski is coming off near-misses in both the Risen Star and Louisiana Derby at Fair Grounds (Lou Hodges Jr./Hodges Photography) Brereton Jones' homebred Mark Valeski galloped 1 1/2 miles Sunday during the Derby and Oaks training period under trainer Larry Jones, who said it's not a given they'll enter the Kentucky Derby unless the Proud Citizen colt impresses in his final breeze Monday. "He has to work well tomorrow," Larry Jones said. "I told Brereton, if he's doing better than he's ever done before, then let's do it. We did the same thing with Eight Belles. That's the only thing Rick (Porter, owner of Eight Belles) asked me, he said, 'Look, if she's not doing better than she's ever done, we'll just run in the Oaks.' And I had to tell him that's the best she had ever been, and she showed it when she ran. "My horse has to show me he's worthy. Although I like the way he's coming in and he has the earnings to make it, it's not 100 percent that he's going to run. He's got to do it right tomorrow and he's got to look really good Tuesday morning and Wednesday morning before entries. He has to show me the work did nothing but help him." At Fair Grounds this past winter, Mark Valeski typically needed company to get the juices flowing for anything more serious than a maintenance breeze. However, Jones said Mark Valeski would be solo for this critical work because of the way he lingered after passing a workmate in his last official move on April 23.

"I'm not going to put one out there that can't keep up with him because I

don't want him stopping and waiting for him. We're not going to be hammering on

him.

"This is the first time, this week, that this horse has ever really taken any

hold of me galloping. It's like he's finally getting to focusing and getting to

thinking, OK, I am a racehorse. The rest of it has been sheer talent.

"Going into the Risen Star (Grade 2 on February 25) I was leading him over

thinking, man, you're fat. He ain't fat now, and he ain't skinny, either; he's

all man right now."

Jones addressed the lost left-front shoe that may have impaired Mark Valeski

in the Grade 2 Louisiana Derby April 1, where he finished second behind $220

shocker Hero of Order. The shoe most likely came off coming on to the track,

when Mark Valeski stumbled slightly while linking up with his escort pony, but

also could have been tossed right out of the gate, when he bumped with

stablemate Mr. Bowling. Either way, Mark Valeski ran all of the Louisiana

Derby's nine furlongs with only three shoes. Perhaps just as bad, Mark Valeski

also injured one of his hind feet.

"Apparently my horse on the inside (Mr. Bowling) hit him leaving the gate,"

Jones said. "They kind of got tangled up and he tore the bulb off his back foot.

It just wasn't meant to be that day. As much stuff as we had that didn't go

right and with a $220 horse that was just divine intervention, we have to throw

that one out. What all happened that day can't happen twice.

"He got clipped from behind -- by our other horse, I'm sure -- but we're good

now. We've got the bulb all healed up and we did have to get a special shoe to

make sure the dirt didn't hit him while he was training, to press the dirt down

where it couldn't get up and it could heal, and it has. He's just getting better

all the time."

Retired jockey Larry Melancon will be aboard for Monday's work.

In other Kentucky Derby news:

Creative Cause needed a bit of shoe repair before his exercise (Churchill Downs/Reed Palmer Photography) The three Southern California shippers who arrived Saturday -- Creative Cause, I'll Have Another and Rousing Sermon -- all went out for routine exercise Sunday. A shoe problem for Creative Cause delayed the Grade 1 Santa Anita Derby runner-up's gallop. One of his shoes slipped a bit during Saturday's flight and it had to be repaired before the colt could go out, leading to a post-9 a.m. (EDT) gallop instead of the 8:30 time reserved for Derby and Oaks runners. Both the horse and trainer Mike Harrington took it all in stride as Creative Cause galloped 1 3/8 miles on the track labeled muddy after Saturday night's rain and hail storm. "He traveled beautifully," Harrington said. When asked how happy he was with his colt's performance, Harrington quipped, "You don't see any tears, do you? "He went very nice," Harrington continued. "He can be tough in his gallops, but he goes home…and shows up the next day to do it all over again."

John Cisneros, regular exercise rider and assistant to Harrington, was all

smiles after the exercise, saying, "He was looking around and acted like 'Hey, I

remember this place.' That was good because it helped him relax."

Creative Cause had reason to remember Churchill Downs since he finished third

in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile here in November.

Team O'Neill, led by trainer Doug O'Neill, was all smiles Sunday morning

after J. Paul Reddam's I'll Have Another skipped across the muddy Churchill

Downs track in a strong gallop.

"This was a normal strong gallop for him," O'Neill said with a broad smile.

"He went across the track very sharply. I wouldn't trade places with anybody the

way he's training."

It was I'll Have Another's first day at the track following a flight from

Southern California on Saturday. The colt's regular exercise rider gave O'Neill

a "thumbs up" sign coming off the track after the gallop. And O'Neill responded

with "That was perfect, just perfect."

I'll Have Another is filling trainer Doug O'Neill with confidence (Churchill Downs/Reed Palmer Photography) Later at the barn, rider Jonny Garcia said, "He went really good. It's exactly what we do every day. He always gallops very strong, and he's happy doing it." In his first encounter with the Churchill Downs racetrack after a flight from Southern California on Saturday, Tree Top Ranches' Rousing Sermon jogged a mile over the muddy strip. "And he did it like a pro," said Christina Jelm, who is pinch-hitting for trainer Jerry Hollendorfer who is scheduled to fly to Louisville Monday. Jelm lives in Midway, Kentucky, and occasionally serves as an assistant to Hollendorfer when he sends horses to Kentucky. She also advises him occasionally on bloodstock matters. Jelm also sent the colt to the paddock for some schooling. Hollendorfer has scheduled a Tuesday workout for Rousing Sermon, depending on weather conditions. As per standard operating procedure in the Steve Asmussen barn, both of the trainer's Kentucky Derby contenders -- Cathy and Bob Zollars' Daddy Nose Best and Winchell Thoroughbreds' Sabercat -- galloped two miles the day prior to their scheduled Monday works. Sabercat came onto the track first with Asmussen's second set of the morning just before 6 a.m. The Grade 3 Delta Jackpot winner picked up the pace noticeably his second time around. Daddy Nose Best followed in the next set at 6:15 a.m. under exercise rider Angel Garcia and appeared comfortable while maintaining a steady pace throughout.

Asmussen said he was pleased with the condition of the racetrack, which was

pounded by severe weather during Saturday's opening night card, and added that

both colts were "getting over it good."

Later in the morning Asmussen confirmed that both colts were set to work

Monday morning, most likely around the same time they've been visiting the track

as opposed to during the Derby and Oaks contenders' training session between

8:30-8:45.

Shivananda Parbhoo's Trinniberg galloped two miles under exercise rider

Sabastian Garcia.

"It depends on the track and the weather, but (Monday) we'll probably move

him a little bit, probably a three-eighths (breeze)," Parbhoo said. "If not

(Monday), then Tuesday."

The son of Teuflesberg concluded a successful two-year-old campaign with a

disappointing seventh-place finish in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Sprint at

Churchill Downs last November.

Trinniberg has won both of his starts this year in front-running fashion, the

Grade 3 Swale at Gulfstream Park and the Grade 3 Bay Shore at Aqueduct, both at

seven furlongs.

"When he started training after coming back from the farm -- he took two

months off after the Breeders' Cup -- he was more relaxed," said Parbhoo, whose

father Bisnath Parboo trains his Florida-bred colt. "We didn't have the time to

find him a race to go much longer than seven-eighths, but what he's been doing

is amazing. He shows he can go a lot longer than seven-eighths or a mile."

Trinniberg will be ridden by Willie Martinez in the Derby.

Dullahan, shown at Keeneland before the Blue Grass, didn't take Sunday off (Keeneland/Coady Photography) The day after a workout usually is R&R for a racehorse, typically an easy walk around the shedrow. Not so Sunday for Grade 1 Blue Grass winner Dullahan. The half-brother to 2009 Kentucky Derby champ Mine That Bird had other ideas. "He was feeling so good and playing that we decided to do a little something with him," trainer Dale Romans said. "As good as he was feeling, I said, 'Hell, let's just put the tack on him and let him take a lap.'" So Dullahan hit the track after the renovation break under exercise rider Faustino Aguilar for some light exercise, jogging one mile. "He's on track and we're just trying to keep him happy," Romans said. When asked how the trainer likes having one of the Derby favorites for the first time in his career, he responded with a smile, "It's a little more nerve-racking, that's for sure."

Dullahan now will gallop up to the Derby and will school between races this

week in the paddock at a later-determined date and time.

The other Derby contenders who worked Saturday all enjoyed Sunday as a day of

rest.

Trainer Michael Matz reported Sunday morning that Chadds Ford Stable's Union

Rags came out of Saturday's five-furlong workout at Churchill Downs in good

order.

"He's seems like he came out of the work well. He ate up everything last

night and he looks bright," said Matz, whose Grade 1 Champagne winner walked the

shedrow.

Union Rags, who finished a troubled third in the Grade1 Florida Derby last

time out, breezed five furlongs in :59 4/5 under jockey Julien Leparoux on

Saturday. The work was the third fastest of 53 recorded at the distance.

The physically imposing son of Dixie Union, who finished second in the

Breeders' Cup Juvenile at Churchill Downs last November, has had a striking

presence during his visits to the track since arriving from Keeneland last

Thursday.

"He's only going to get bigger and stronger," said Matz, who saddled Barbaro

for a dominating Kentucky Derby victory in 2006. "We set up a plan to get him

here. We gave him a rest and brought him up here the way we wanted him to be."

Team Valor International and Mark Ford's Went the Day Well walked the shedrow

of Barn 22 on the Churchill Downs backstretch Sunday after turning in a solid

five-furlong workout the previous morning.

"He came out of the work in good shape, excellent," said David Rock,

assistant to trainer Graham Motion.

Went the Day Well, who captured the Grade 3 Spiral Stakes at Turfway Park

last time out, breezed five furlongs in 1:01 under jockey John Velazquez on

Saturday morning at Churchill.

John Oxley's Grade 2 Tampa Bay Derby winner Prospective walked the shedrow

Sunday morning, one day after his final major Derby 138 breeze on Saturday.

Trainer Mark Casse likes the familiar ground at Churchill Downs for his colt by

Malibu Moon.

"He likes this track," Casse said. "I've been doing this for 33 years and

have a pretty good feel for which horses love Churchill Downs and which ones

don't. He trained 10 days over this track last year before the Breeders' Cup and

loved it. It rained right before the Breeders' Cup and the track wasn't the

same."

Prospective didn't fire when sixth in the Grade 1 Blue Grass at Keeneland on

the Polytrack last time out and Casse is counting on the surface change to

improve his contender's chances.

"I never thought he was a Polytrack horse even when he was winning at

Woodbine," Casse said of the juvenile stakes winner of the Grade 3 Grey on the

synthetic surface in Canada. "He was winning at Woodbine because he was just

better than those horses. Since we got him on dirt, I've thought he's been much

better. But he's surprised us. I thought he was our fourth or fifth best

two-year-old we had last year for Mr. Oxley."

Prospective likely will return to the track Monday, Casse said, and will

school in the paddock during the live races sometime later this week.

Kendall Hansen and Skychai Racing's Hansen had a typical post-workout morning

of walking Sunday at the Churchill Downs Trackside Training Center. The 2011

two-year-old champion by Tapit worked five furlongs in 1:01 1/5 for trainer Mike

Maker on Saturday.

"He walked the shed today and all is well," Maker said.

Hansen is scheduled to return to the track Monday to jog.

Maryland-based Done Talking left his Laurel Park home base by van at 5:15

a.m. en route to Louisville, trainer Hamilton Smith reported. The Grade 3

Illinois Derby victor is expected to arrive at Churchill Downs by mid-afternoon

Sunday and be bedded down in Barn 4.

Owned by Skeedattle Racing, Done Talking fired a bullet five furlongs in 1:01

Saturday at Laurel Park under jockey Sheldon Russell, who will be making his

first Derby appearance. Russell piloted Concealed Identity in the 2011 Preakness

while making his Triple Crown debut.

"He's on the way," Smith said this morning. "He ate up everything last night

and his temperature is fine and everything checks out good, so we're all set to

go."

Smith will arrive Monday afternoon in Louisville to oversee his first

Kentucky Derby entrant. Done Talking will try to become the first Illinois Derby

winner to capture the roses since War Emblem a decade ago.

Godolphin Stable's Alpha had a quiet morning at Belmont Park Sunday, a day

after working five furlongs on the training track.

It was his only work between his runner-up finish to unbeaten Gemologist in

the Grade 1 Wood Memorial on April 7 and the Derby. He was out of training

briefly while being treated for an infection from cuts in his left foreleg.

Trainer Kiaran McLaughlin reported that the Bernardini colt emerged from the

work in good order and would depart as scheduled for Kentucky early Monday afternoon.

"All systems are go," McLaughlin said. "He ate up well last night and looks

great this morning.

"He's happy, we're ready to go," he said. "I think we leave the

barn tomorrow at about 1 p.m."

McLaughlin said he would be traveling with Alpha on the cargo plane rather

than taking a commercial flight.

"I'll be sitting on a tool box next to his stall," he said.

McLaughlin and Alpha are scheduled to arrive at Churchill Downs between 5 and

6 p.m.

In rainy south Florida Sunday morning, Chuck and Maribeth Sandford's Take

Charge Indy made a brief visit to the muddy track at the Palm Meadows Training

Center.

The Florida Derby winner breezed five furlongs on Thursday and walked Friday,

but trainer Pat Byrne canceled a planned return to the track Saturday, and had

him walk again, because the track surface was too wet. Byrne sent him out for

some light exercise Sunday, though.

"I jogged him once around and he jogged good," Byrne said. "I wasn't going to

gallop him in that deep stuff."

 Byrne said the colt is fine and on course for the Derby. The rain and

mud is an inconvenience, but not a problem.

"You don't need to train him. It's just a matter of doing enough with him so

he doesn't knock himself out around the barn," Byrne said. "He's a sensible colt

for the most part. He's just sharp right now. We'll probably just jog tomorrow

and fly Tuesday because I don't see the track getting any better. It seems like

it's the rainy season all of a sudden."