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STORM IN MAY/IMAWILDANDCRAZYGUY

The Bill Kaplan camp in Barn 41 at Churchill Downs was energetic Wednesday morning, still fresh with the knowledge that they would have two entrants in this year’s Kentucky Derby.

While Storm in May had already been guaranteed a spot in the field, his stablemate Imawildandcrazyguy just got in the race after the defections of Xchanger and Cobalt Blue on Tuesday afternoon.

As a backup plan, Kaplan had entered Imawildandcrazyguy in the Crown Royal American Turf to be run Friday, at a cost of $7,500 in supplemental fees. Imawildandcrazyguy is owned by Lewis Pell and Michael Eigner.

Both horses galloped a mile and a half, separately, at Churchill Downs on Wednesday morning, with Storm in May also schooling in the starting gate. Local exercise rider Mick Jenner was aboard Imawildandcrazyguy, while co-owner, Felicity Waugh, was in the saddle on Storm in May.

A longtime horsewoman, Waugh is originally from Ireland and came to the United States in 1980. When asked how it felt to gallop a horse she co-owns in preparation for the Kentucky Derby, she smiled and replied, “Pinch me.”

A common question this week to the Kaplan crew about Storm in May is how the colt’s blindness in his right eye affects him. Kaplan, Waugh, and jockey Juan Leyva all agree that the lack of vision is not a factor since he has been blind in that eye since he was a week old.

“When he was two or three days old, he cut his eyeball on the right side,” explained Kaplan. “They had to operate and during a second operation ended up puncturing the eyeball. He didn’t lose the eye, but he is completely blind there.

“Some might say it would be a hindrance, but it has made him the horse he is today, very easy to be around and work with. The breeder (Kent Hersman) spent an inordinate amount of time, hours upon days, making him feel comfortable around everything. There was a lot of hands-on work with him and now, he waits for the rider to tell him what to do.”

Added Waugh, “The horse is very confident. He and Juan know each other very well. There is a lot of trust between them.”

Imawildandcrazyguy, however, is a different animal altogether. And aptly named.
“The first day I had him in the barn, he dropped the rider, dragged the hotwalker and even came after me,” said Kaplan. “I called the owners and told them that he’s going to hurt someone or himself. We need to geld him immediately. And, by the way, we need to change his name.”

Before his racing career started, Imawildandcrazyguy was known as Cupcake Melee.

“He’s no cupcake,” Kaplan said.

“But what he does have is great cardiovascular ability. He will run all day and I expect him to be running in the end (on Saturday).”

Jockey Mark Guidry, who is approaching his 5,000th career victory, is named on Imawildandcrazyguy.

STREET SENSE

James Tafel’s champion Street Sense returned to the track Wednesday morning a day after working five furlongs in 1:01 to jog a mile with exercise rider Mark Cutler up before the renovation break.

Accompanied by a pony, Street Sense quietly went about his business while trainer Carl Nafzger outlined the morning activity to new University of Louisville football coach Steve Kragthorpe, who played college ball and graduated from West Texas State, near where Nafzger grew up.

Also looking on was Hall of Fame jockey Pat Day, who won the 1992 Kentucky Derby aboard Lil E. Tee.

“He was good out there this morning, it got him pumped up,” Nafzger said. “He will walk in the morning and go to the paddock in the afternoon.”

If the handicappers in the weather department are on the top of their game, chances are high for a possibility of an off track Saturday with a 60 percent chance of thunderstorms later Wednesday through Friday and a 30 percent chance of rain Saturday.

In his only off-track appearance, Street Sense ran third in last summer’s Arlington-Washington Breeders’ Cup Futurity (GIII) at Arlington Park.
“Will an off track bother him? No!” Nafzger said. “Will a fast track bother him? No! Will a slow track? No! He’s going to run his race.”

Calvin Borel will ride Street Sense and on Tuesday the veteran rider gave Nafzger a dry run to the winner’s circle by guiding Golden Rod Stakes (GII) winner Lady Joanne to victory in her 2007 debut in a six-furlong allowance test.

“She finished the year a little later than Street Sense did and we got a little behind on her (for the Kentucky Oaks),” Nafzger said. “She will come back in the Dogwood (GIII, Breeders’ Cup at a mile on June 2).”

TEUFLESBERG

Co-owner Donnie Kelly grazed Teuflesberg outside Barn 40 after the colt’s one-mile gallop on Wednesday morning before the renovation break.
Meanwhile, the barn was full of activity as photographers snapped shots of Teuflesberg being bathed; reporters waited to talk to trainer Jamie Sanders while she was being interviewed by a crew from CBS; and several friends, family members and fans arrived.

Kelly, who co-owns Teuflesberg with Sanders and Gary Logdson, said Sanders – who also is his fiancée -- was relieved Tuesday after she found out the colt would be able to race in the Derby following the defection of Cobalt Blue.

“Jamie was hard to put with for a couple of weeks,” Kelly said with a laugh. “She was more frustrated than nervous because she thought he really deserved to be in there.”

Now, the Teuflesberg team can concentrate fully on preparing the colt for the Derby. The colt will continue to gallop in the mornings and school in the paddock in the afternoons.

“That’s just a routine for every race for him, leading up to the day that he runs,” Kelly said about paddock-schooling the energetic colt. Sanders echoed her desire to keep the colt focused when discussing Wednesday’s post position draw. Stewart Elliott, who won the 2004 Kentucky Derby on Smarty Jones, will ride Teuflesberg.

“We would like to have a post position that he doesn’t have to stand in the gate very long because he so wants to get it on,” Sanders said. “I want to have a post position where he loads last or second to last.”

Asked about how she judged her chances to race Teuflesberg in the Derby, Sanders quickly answered. “I was pretty confident because I figured that God got me this far and if it was meant to be it, it would,” she said. “But if it wasn’t meant to be, it wasn’t my time yet.”

TIAGO

The Pleasant Tap colt, a half-brother to 2005 Derby upsetter Giacomo, returned to the racetrack for a second morning at 7:45 after his flight from Los Angeles accompanied by trainer John Shirreffs.

Tiago, a deceptively well-made bay, delighted in the chance to stretch his legs on the big Churchill oval, nearly buck jumping as he went through the six-furlong gap and down the one-mile chute, dancing and prancing under regular exercise rider Frankie Herrarte, who was wearing a battery mike pack for the folks at ESPN.
After jogging a couple of furlongs in the chute, Herrarte moved Tiago out onto the main track and commenced a gallop that would last a mile and a half in the end. The rider flashed a big smile and nod when asked afterward if his horse liked the exercise.