Union Rags records easy move; Alpha, Take Charge Indy also breeze

Union Rags records easy move; Alpha, Take Charge Indy also

breeze

Union Rags cemented his standing as the early favorite for the May 5 Kentucky

Derby by capturing the Fountain of Youth by four lengths with little

encouragement from Leparoux.

The Kentucky-bred colt established himself as a serious prospect for the 2012

Triple Crown last year when he won his first three races, including the Grade 2

Saratoga Special and Grade 1 Champagne Stakes. He suffered his first loss in the

Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Juvenile at Churchill Downs, falling a head short of

catching Hansen after enduring an extremely wide trip.

Another possible entrant for the Florida Derby made the Palm Meadows work tab

Saturday morning. Alpha, who will run in either the Florida Derby or the

Grade 1 Wood Memorial at Aqueduct on April 7, breezed five furlongs in 1:01 for

trainer Kiaran McLaughlin, who registered his 1,000th career victory on Friday.

Exercise rider Frank Todd was aboard for the workout and Byrne confirmed

Calvin Borel as his rider for the Florida Derby.

A regally-bred son of A.P. Indy out of Grade 1 winner Take Charge Lady, Take

Charge Indy ran a very good second to El Padrino in a 1 1/16 miles allowance

race at Gulfstream on January 29 in his first start since a very respectable

fifth-place finish in the $2 million Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1) at Churchill

Downs on Nov. 5.

Byrne removed him from the Tampa Bay Derby due to his outside draw in post

10.

"I think it was the right decision," the trainer explained. "That can be a

funny race track to ship and run over the first time, and then as the race

turned out the horses that ran one-two (Prospective and Golden Ticket) came out

of the one and two posts. I'm comfortable with where we are. We've got a million

reasons (Florida Derby purse) to go this way."