Belmont '16 Notebook: Gettysburg to run; Asmussen to train

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FRIDAY -- Nyquist solid in final Kentucky Derby drill
By Mike Welsch

CHURCHILL DOWNS
Weather: Clear
Track: Fast
Temp.: 58

KEENELAND
Weather: Clear
Track: Fast
Temp.: 70

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Friday presented an unusual Kentucky Derby workout daily double for those ambitious enough to undertake the 72-mile trip from Churchill Downs, where the action began with Whitmore at 5:45 a.m., to Keeneland, where it ended with Derby favorite Nyquist breezing one mile prior to the afternoon’s racing program nearly seven hours later.

Fortunately, the weather cooperated, with the skies clear and the track fast at both venues. The weather was expected to go downhill, with heavy rain in the forecast beginning early Saturday morning.

NYQUIST was the star attraction. The undefeated 2-year-old male champion completed his serious work for the Derby at Keeneland on Friday before shipping over to Churchill Downs the following afternoon. With jockey Mario Gutierrez aboard, Nyquist seemed eager to begin and broke off at the mile pole in company with regular workmate and Grade 1 winner Ralis. The pair went in company to the five-furlong pole in 38.92, nearly five seconds faster than Nyquist completed the distance in a similarly orchestrated breeze six days earlier.

The duo continued on even terms through splits of 50.92, 1:03.21, and 1:14.68 to the top of the stretch, where Nyquist began to assert his superiority, readily drawing away from his partner. Nyquist switched leads late near the three-sixteenths marker and went back to his left lead when seemingly losing his focus a bit while about eight lengths clear approaching the wire. Nyquist, who swapped back to his left lead during the latter stages of his Florida Derby victory, completed the mile in 1:41.01 without need of urging from Gutierrez, looking happy and finishing with his ears pricked before galloping out nine furlongs in 1:55.97.

Although the drill was designed as a maintenance work, Nyquist looked sharper this week than last week, and he figures to get a lot out of this drill eight days removed from Derby Day. Nyquist is never a flashy work horse, and Friday’s drill could best be described as a good, solid move that would be hard to find fault with.

The Work of the Day went to OUTWORK, the Wood Memorial winner, who has made a great impression since his arrival from New York earlier this week. That carried over to his final Derby work on Friday at Churchill Downs, which was pushed forward a day due to the wet forecast. With regular rider John Velazquez aboard, Outwork broke a length behind and outside of the stakes-winning Azar at the five-furlong pole, rated kindly through a 25.68 opening quarter and 36.25 three-eighths, then gradually pulled away from his pressured partner, finishing three lengths best in 1:01.16 while just cruising to the wire before galloping out a very sharp and seemingly effortless six furlongs in 1:14.08. A lightly raced but steadily improving colt, he appears to have taken readily to the local surface and to be peaking at just the right time.

WHITMORE – He was the first of the Derby workers to breeze at Churchill Downs, and he did it under the lights, immediately after the track opened for business at 5:45 a.m. Working in company inside stablemate Mean Bone while equipped with blinkers, Whitmore showed surprising speed considering his running style, posting splits of 23.92 and 35.57 before edging two lengths clear without need of much encouragement. He extended his advantage galloping out six furlongs in 1:14.08 in a very useful final move for the steadily improving gelding.

MY MAN SAM – He joined Whitmore working early under the lights at Churchill, going a maintenance half-mile in typical Chad Brown style in company with regular workmate Majestic Affair. The pair completed the distance in 49.45 with a 24.01 final quarter, with neither being asked at any point and with My Man Sam galloping out extremely well, five furlongs in 1:02.15. He, too, has made a great appearance and has really been on his toes since arriving from Keeneland last week.

FELLOWSHIP – The first Derby horse to breeze during the chaotic Derby-Oaks session at Churchill, he went a quick half-mile over a freshly manicured track in 22.95 and 47.09 and finished a head better than his partner, a recent maiden special weight winner, while going easily. He galloped out five-eighths in 1:00.24. It was a pretty typical move for a very good work horse who regularly shows more speed in the morning than he does in the afternoon. He still needs one defection to draw into the Derby field.

SUDDDENBREAKINGNEWS – Perhaps flying under the radar just a bit, he’s had a good week, and he looked very solid again Friday morning at Churchill. He responded willingly to late urging after three furlongs in 35.08 to complete a sharp five-eighths in 59.46. He continued on nicely into the turn, galloping out six furlongs in 1:13.18 while equipped with a shadow roll.

MO TOM – He’s looked perhaps the best of all the Derby candidates during training hours over the past week, turning in a series of long and strong gallops. He galloped a mile or so into what appeared to be a maintenance half-mile drill on Friday at Churchill, completing the distance in 48.99 off a 24.31 quarter split while in hand at the wire. He did duck out briefly less than a sixteenth of a mile past the wire and did not gallop out quite as strongly as expected, going five-eighths in 1:02.41 and up six furlongs in 1:16.09.

TOM’S READY – Worked right in the middle of the rush at Churchill, breaking off two lengths behind workmate Forever d’Oro. He held a head advantage at the wire after five furlongs in 59.40, according to track clockers, while finishing on the outside under mild pressure in a pretty useful-looking drill for this Derby longshot.

OSCAR NOMINATED – He shipped over to Churchill from Trackside to work five furlongs with stablemate Hint of Roses in 1:00.80, with a three-furlong fraction of 35.82, finishing a length best while appearing to tire some approaching the wire.

SHAGAF – He’s done extremely well since shipping to Churchill and had another good morning on Friday. I picked him up at the three-eighths pole and took him to the wire in 35.44 without need of encouragement, readily overtaking and pulling away from an Oaks worker who’d broken off in front of him at the half-mile marker. He galloped out strongly into and around the turn, as he had in his work just five days earlier.

DESTIN – He was given a fairly stiff work in company with Stradivari at Churchill on Friday. He will be coming into the Derby off an eight-week layoff. With Javier Castellano aboard, Destin went in fractions of 24.95 and 36.44 and completed the five furlongs in 1:01.27, sticking his head in front at the wire while under urging outside his workmate. Destin then continued to breeze another quarter-mile under additional prodding from Castellano, completing seven furlongs in 1:27.23. It was a decent move, although he did not appear to finish with quite the same energy as he had in his previous two works, both at Palm Beach Downs.

MOHAYMEN – A high-spirited colt, he waited until things quieted down late in the session at Churchill before beginning his breeze but was on the muscle nonetheless, leaping in the air and fighting his rider, who had a hard hold, before breaking off a bit rankly at the half-mile pole. The early-season Derby favorite, he settled in nicely once under way, turning in a brisk four furlongs in 47.51 with a two-furlong fraction of 24.04. He never was really being extended, finishing with his ears pinned before easing up a bit quickly on the gallop-out, going five-eighths in 1:01.19 and pulling up six furlongs in 1:16.81.

MAJESTO – He waited to breeze until well after the Derby/Oaks training window at Churchill had closed so he could secure the services of Castellano, who had guided him to a second-place finish in the Florida Derby. Working over a pretty chewed-up track after making a brief stop to visit the paddock, Majesto went five furlongs in 1:01.32, coming home in 24.83 with Castellano nudging him along steadily through the final sixteenth. Like Destin, he went out an additional quarter-mile under considerable prodding from his rider, completing seven-eighths in 1:28.45 in a somewhat-disappointing move in light of the high energy level and spirited gallops he’d turned in the previous two mornings.

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SATURDAY: Derby Clocker: Maintenance mode for Brody's Cause
By Mike Welsch

CHURCHILL DOWNS
Weather: Cloudy/Showery
Track: Fast
Temp. 58

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Exaggerator and Brody’s Cause beat the rain, albeit just barely, turning in their final Kentucky Derby works over a fast track just as a light shower began to fall during the special Derby/Oaks training session shortly after 8:30 a.m. on Saturday at Churchill Downs.

While the majority of their competitors pushed their final Derby works up 24 hours to avoid the potential of a wet track, trainers Dale Romans and Keith Desormeaux opted to roll the dice just a bit and stick with their Saturday schedule. Desormeaux’s decision was due in part to the fact that his brother, Kent, was flying in from Southern California on Friday evening to be aboard Exaggerator for the drill.

Brody’s Cause was the first of the pair to go, breaking off at the half-mile pole under regular exercise rider Tammy Fox. Brody’s Cause settled into a nice stride right from the outset, changed leads on cue entering the stretch, and hit the wire in 47.49 while just nudged along some by Fox to continue on into the turn.

The Blue Grass Stakes winner responded readily enough, completing five-eighths in 1:00.49 before galloping out nicely around the bend and into the backstretch, getting six furlongs in 1:13.80 before pulling up seven panels in 1:28.59. Hard to fault this seemingly maintenance-type move, but it was nothing like his final outstanding prep at Gulfstream Park a week prior to his breakthrough win at Keeneland in the Blue Grass Stakes.

Exaggerator seemed a bit eager when released by the pony but readily came to hand for Kent Desormeaux once coming away from the five-furlong marker, completing his opening quarter and three-eighths in 25.47 and 37.42. The Santa Anita Derby winner finished willingly enough under moderate encouragement, completing the distance in 1:02.43 while switching back to his left lead right before the wire.

He galloped out willingly, if not spectacularly, in 1:15.67 before pulling up seven-eighths in a modest 1:29.55. Nothing flashy but certainly nothing that would discourage anyone who already had the California invader high on his go-to list for this year’s Derby.

Two other potential, albeit unlikely, Derby starters also worked on Saturday. Dazzling Gem went immediately after the track opened at 5:45 a.m., going five furlongs in company with stablemate Goblet of Fire in 1:00.64 over a pretty glib surface, finishing a half-length in front of his mate before galloping out in a sharp 1:13.18. He pulled up seven-eighths in 1:27.51.

Cherry Wine was the first to work following the renovation break, breezing five furlongs from the half-mile pole in 1:00.91, with a relatively strong gallop-out, six panels in 1:13.87, up seven-eighths in 1:27.94.

Several of Friday’s Derby workers visited the track Saturday, including the Todd Pletcher pair of Outwork and Destin, along with Mo Tom, who all were out for easy jogs. Creator made another impressive appearance during his routine gallop, while Lani, who took Friday off, galloped nearly three miles while seeming to weary some the final time around.

There was only one Oaks worker on Saturday, Weep No More, who went a leisurely four furlongs in 49.72 and galloped out five-eighths in 1:03.65 with jockey Corey Lanerie up.