BALTIMORE, Md. – Team Valor International and Mark Ford’s Went the Day Well galloped 1¼ miles under exercise rider Zeke Castro at Pimlico Race Course Friday morning.

Castro has noticed a sharp increase in focus from the son of Proud Citizen since his victory in the Spiral Stakes (G3) at Turfway Park, which was followed by an unlucky, fast-closing fourth-place finish in the Kentucky Derby.

“After the Turfway race, he’s figured out he can do more and more,” the native of Argentina said. “The improved focus can be attributed to the addition of blinkers following an impressive, but green performance in the Spiral. It became clear that Went the Day Will would benefit from the new equipment.  I breezed him one day at Keeneland, and, oh, my God, I thought I was going to get fired.  I knew I had a lot of horse, but he didn’t want to go when I asked him. He just wanted to play with his company. He didn’t mind if he was going slower or faster, he just didn’t want to go by his company,” Castro said.

After jockey John Velazquez subsequently breezed Went the Day Well at Keeneland, trainer Graham Motion made the decision to add blinkers for the Derby.

Castro has been working for Motion for more than a year, but their association goes back five years.

“He’s the one who signed my visa to come from Argentina,” said Castro, whose brother, Gabriel, was working for Motion at the time.

Castro only worked for Motion as a groom and hotwalker for a short time.

“I wanted to ride. I knew that the horses (at Motion’s Fair Hill Training Center stable), I wouldn’t be allowed to start riding, because in Argentina we ride with no saddle. I had to start over,” Castro said. “So, I started breaking babies (in Brooksfield, Fla.). One of the babies I broke is running in (Saturday’s President of UAE Cup Series race at Pimlico), Grilla.”

Castro went on to work for trainer Steve Margolis in Delaware, Kentucky and Louisiana for three years before returning to Fair Hill Training Center to work for Motion.

 Maryland Jockey Club photo
Went the Day Well

BALTIMORE, Md. – On the one hand, trainer Todd Pletcher is looking for redemption. On the other, it’s all about progression. Pletcher will saddle both Disposablepleasure and In Lingerie in the 88th renewal of the $300,000 Black-Eyed Susan (G2) on Friday at Pimlico Race Course.

Seven other stakes help comprise the 13-race card including the return of the historic Pimlico Special (G3) and also features the $30,000 Pimlico Female Jockey Challenge, back for its second year, and the Lady Legends for the Cure Race III, a pari-mutuel event featuring eight retired female riders.

Disposablepleasure had two wins and a second from four starts at 2, closing her juvenile campaign by overcoming a stumble at the break for a nose victory in the Grade 2 Demoiselle at Aqueduct, run at the Black-Eyed Susan’s 1 1/8-mile distance.

This year, the gray daughter of 2005 Kentucky Derby winner Giacomo was no factor running fourth in the Davona Dale (G2) at Gulfstream Park in February, and third in the Fair Grounds Oaks (G2) on March 31, her most recent start.

Owned by Glencrest Farm, Disposablepleasure was beaten nine lengths in Louisiana by Believe You Can, who came back to upset the Kentucky Oaks (G1) at Churchill Downs on May 4 at odds of nearly 14-to-1.

“To be honest with you, we’ve been a little bit disappointed in both of her races this year,” Pletcher said. “She’s a filly that showed in the Demoiselle that she can compete at this level. She trained all winter like a filly that’s able to win these types of races, yet her fourth and her third were not up to the standards of her training.

“We felt a little bit better after the Kentucky Oaks that the Fair Grounds race was maybe a little bit stronger than it seemed at the time, but she continues to train like a filly that’s better than that. Hopefully, she’s rounding into form, and it’s just taking her a couple starts to get there.”

Making her seventh start on her seventh different track, Disposablepleasure is one of three graded stakes winners in the field and the only one with a win at nine furlongs.

“I think the mile-and-an-eighth will suit her well,” Pletcher said, “so, we’re optimistic that she’ll show up and run her ‘A’ race.”

A daughter of Empire Maker, In Lingerie came to Pletcher after she was purchased by Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners and Gary Barber following her maiden victory at Turfway Park in her career debut Jan. 12.

She ran second to ZoImpressive in an optional claiming allowance at Gulfstream Park on Feb. 25 in her only try on conventional dirt, then led gate to wire in winning the Bourbonette Oaks (G3) at Turfway March 24.

“She ran a very credible race the first time we ran her,” Pletcher said. “She missed the break and got some dirt in her face for the first time, and finished up well to a really nice filly, so we were pleased with that.

“We went back to Turfway, and she won pretty convincingly there. We flirted with the idea of the Kentucky Oaks, but we felt like, with a filly that had only had three starts, that perhaps this was a better progression for her. She has trained very well.”

Trainer Chad Brown is eager to see a similar kind of development from Welcome Guest, a gray Unbridled’s Song filly who will make her fourth lifetime start in the Black-Eyed Susan.

Welcome Guest, like In Lingerie, did not race as a 2-year-old, kicking off her career finishing second in a six-furlong sprint at Gulfstream in February. She rated just off the lead before sprinting clear to a 5½-length maiden victory four weeks later, then rallied three wide for second in the Comely (G3) at Aqueduct on April 7.

“She was just a little immature and needed a little bit more time,” Brown said. “We gave it to her, and she’s rewarded us. She’s come back really nice as a 3-year-old.

“I thought her race in the Comely was good. She’s still lightly raced, but she’s developing nicely. The timing of this race was right, and it’s the Black-Eyed Susan. It’s a very nice, prestigious race, so we’re excited about bringing her over there and running in it.”

Brown feels Welcome Guest has the potential to be any kind of horse, though she didn’t give any outward indication until she ran.

“She was just average in the morning before we debuted her; not bad, but she wasn’t turning any heads, either,” Brown said. “After we debuted her for the first time, she came out of the race super and really got focused on being a racehorse. From there on, she’s developed nicely in her works and her races.

“I’m going to take it a race at a time for her. I could foresee her developing into a really nice filly through the summer and the rest of the year, from what I’ve seen. So far, she’s been a good one.”

The 7-to-5 program favorite for the Black-Eyed Susan is unbeaten Discreet Cat filly Mamma Kimbo, trained by Hall of Famer Bob Baffert for Peachtree Stable.

Mamma Kimbo rolled to a 5¼-length victory in her debut on Feb. 18 at Santa Anita, then went all the way on the lead to take the Fantasy (G2) at Oaklawn Park in April. The Fantasy was her first race with Hall of Fame rider Mike Smith, who gets the return call.

Plum owns a pair of wins in Maryland, including a victory over older horses at Pimlico in her most recent start on April 26. She also captured the $75,000 Maryland Juvenile Filly Championship at Laurel Park in December to cap her 2-year-old season.

Also entered are Wildcat’s Smile, who beat boys in the $260,000 New York Breeders’ Futurity last fall and ran second to Disposablepleasure in the Demoiselle; and stakes winners Glinda the Good and Zucchini Flower and Oaks Lily, who has been training at Pimlico for nearly a week.

The Black-Eyed Susan field, from the rail out: Glinda the Good (trainer Steve Asmussen, jockey Corey Nakatani, 122 pounds), 12-1; Disposablepleasure (Todd Pletcher, Javier Castellano, 122), 5-1; Welcome Guest (Chad Brown, Ramon Dominguez, 116), 4-1; Mamma Kimbo (Bob Baffert, Mike Smith, 122), 7-5; Oaks Lily (Timothy Hills, Julien Leparoux, 116), 30-1; Plum (Rodney Jenkins, Abel Castellano, 116), 30-1; In Lingerie (Pletcher, John Velazquez, 122), 9-2; Wildcat’s Smile (Dominic Galluscio, Rosie Napravnik, 116), 10-1; and Zucchini Flower (Graham Motion, Sheldon Russell, 122), 10-1.

Oaklawn Park file photo
Mamma Kimbo winning the Fantasy.

ELKTON, Md. – Team Valor International and Mark Ford’s Went the Day Well enjoyed a relaxing morning at Fair Hill Training Center in Elkton, Md.

“He walked and was turned out in the round pen and went out for a jog,” said Motion, noting his pleasure with the manner in which the son of Proud Citizen has come out of the Derby.

Exercise rider Zeke Castro was aboard for the light exercise around the grassy trails of the bucolic training center. Went the Day Well is slated to return to the track later this week.

Megan Jones/Team Valor
Went the Day Well

BALTIMORE, Md. – Kidwells Petite Stable’s Pretension took it to the odds-on favorite My Adonis and beat him, winning today’s feature at Pimlico Race Course, the $75,000 Canonero II Stakes for 3-year-olds.

Ridden by Javier Santiago for trainer Chris Grove, Pretension broke alertly in the 1-1/16th mile test but relinquished the lead to 1-5 favorite My Adonis as the field entered the first turn. Santiago kept after the favorite, pressing him closely to the top of the lane, where his mount edged to a narrow lead. The son of Bluegrass Cat battled My Adonis into defeat, while Brimstone Island rallied past the favorite to take second.

My Adonis was an also-eligible for Saturday’s $2 million Kentucky Derby (G1) at Churchill Downs but when he failed to draw into the race, trainer Kelly Breen shipped the son Pleasantly Perfect to Pimlico from Louisville on Friday. He could finish no better than third. The favorite traveled from Oceanport, NJ to Louisville to Baltimore during an 81-hour period this week (Tuesday through Friday), traveling more than 1,350 miles in a van which could have taken its toll but Breen would not use it an excuse.

“I don’t know what to say about the race but we’ll take him back home and check him out and move on,” Breen said. “He will not run in the Preakness off that effort.”

“If the travel time was going to bother (My Adonis) were going to take advantage of it,” Grove said. “The plan was not to give him a breather and either go with him, which could be suicide, or take back but take back didn’t seem to be the right avenue.”

Grove saddled Norman Asbjornson in the 2011 running of the Preakness Stakes (G1). The 42-year-old was non-committal about a run in this year’s middle jewel of Thoroughbred racing’s Triple Crown, which will be two weeks from today at Pimlico.

“We are going to be conservative and see how Mr. (Irving) Kidwell sleeps on it, but if he gets excited we could be Preakness bound,” said Grove, a native of Frederick. “I don’t have a problem taking that route. If we were ever going to come back in two weeks, this would be it. He won over the track and looked good doing it.”

Pretension’s resume includes a win and a second in two restricted stakes at Aqueduct, a fifth place finish in the Gotham and a troubled ninth in the Illinois Derby (G3). With the victory, he is now three-of-eight with six 1-2 finishes with earnings of $128,620.

“Other than those two (Gotham and Illinois Derby), he has never run a bad race,” added Grove. “Edgar Prado said he would have finished third in the Gotham but he was riding to win. I always thought this horse was a little more advanced than Norman at this stage and was hoping to get him to the Preakness.”

Pretension, who won by neck, completed the distance in 1:45.70 and paid $18. The exacta , with Bowie Training Center-based Brimstone Island, returned $64.80.

“I thought I was going to get there when we turned for home,” said Xavier Perez, who rode the runner-up. “But as we got closer to the top two horses he dove in near the 2 (Pretension) and I had to reach down and grab him which stopped his momentum. He came back at them again but it was too late.”

The race was previously known as the Federico Tesio Stakes. Canonero II was a Venezuelan-based colt who won the 1971 Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes. Trainer Juan Arias, jockey Gustavo Avila and Pedro Baptista, son of the owner, were on hand to present the trophy to the winning connections.

PHOTO CREDIT-Jim McCue, Maryland Jockey Club
Pretension (2) wins the Canonero II at Pimlico.

BALTIMORE, Md. – Under Armour founder and CEO Kevin Plank attended his first Preakness as a student-athlete at the University of Maryland in early 1990’s. Now the 39-year-old could own a Preakness starter.

Sagamore Farm trainer Ignacio Correas said Tiger Walk will likely be a new shooter for the 137th running of the $1 million Preakness® Stakes (G1), the middle jewel of racing’s Triple Crown at Pimlico Race Course on Saturday, May 19.

The Tale of the Cat colt ended 2011 with a pair of victories at Laurel Park but is winless in three starts at Aqueduct during his sophomore campaign. He finished third in the Withers Stakes (G3) and then had back-to-back fourth place performances in the Gotham Stakes (G3) and Wood Memorial (G1). 

“We have made a few changes with him,” Correas said. “He seems to lose interest midway through races and then comes back with a run, so we are going to add blinkers. The last time he worked (half-mile in 48 seconds on April 21 at Pimlico), he had them on and looked pretty good.”

Correas said Tiger Walk would work next on Sunday or Monday at Pimlico, depending on the weather.

“He is improving but certainly needs to step up to compete at the highest level,” added Correas. “He is going to need to with the added 1/16th of a mile (from the Wood to the Preakness) but that could play to his favor because he looks like he can run all day.”

Other horses not running in next Saturday’s $2 million Kentucky Derby (G1) who could be fresh starters in the Preakness include The Lumber Guy and Isn’t He Clever.

Plank should be well represented on Preakness weekend. Correas said promising 3-year-old filly Millionreasonswhy would likely start in the $100,00 Miss Preakness Stakes on May 18, while Humble and Hungry is being pointed to the $300,000 Dixie Stakes (G2) on the Preakness undercard.

PHOTO CREDIT-Jim McCue, Maryland Jockey Club
Tiger Walk

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Grace Hall, who won the Gulfstream Park Oaks and was second in the Davona Dale in her 2012 starts, was made the 5-2 morning-line favorite for the 138^th running of the Kentucky Oaks on Friday at Churchill Downs.

The daughter of Empire Maker will be ridden in the race by Javier Castellano and is trained by Tony Dutrow.

Odds-maker Mike Battaglia placed On Fire Baby and Broadway’s Alibi as co-second choices at 4-1.

On Fire Baby will be ridden by Joe Johnson and is trained by Larry Hartlage. She started 2012 by running against the boys in the Smarty Jones at Oaklawn Park and was third. She then won the Honeybee at Oaklawn. She is a daughter of Smoke Glacken.

Broadway’s Alibi is a daughter of Vindication and has four wins from five lifetime starts. She won the Forward Gal at Gulfstream and the Comely at Aqueduct so far this year. John Velazquez has the ride and she is trained by Todd Pletcher.

Jemima’s Pearl , Believe You Can and Amie’s Dini are next at 10-1. Jemima’s Pearl is a daughter of Distorted Humor and was third in the Fantasy at Oaklawn Park. She will be ridden by Joe Talamo and is trained by Bob Baffert. Believe You Can is trained by Larry Jones and the daughter of Proud Citizen will be ridden by Rosie Napravnik. She has won the Silverbulletday and Fair Grounds Oaks this year. Amie’s Dini is a daughter of Bandini and won the Martha Washington at Oaklawn Park. She was second in the Fantasy, Honeybee and Dixie Belle. She is trained by Ron Monquett and will be ridden by Jon Court.

Eden’s Moon, third in the Santa Anita Oaks, is 12-1. She will be ridden by Martin Garcia and the daughter of Malibu Moon is trained by Bob Baffert

Summer Applause with Garrett Gomez up and And Why Not with Julien Leparoux aboard are next at 15-1. Summer Applause won the Rachel Alexandra and was second in the Fair Grounds Oaks and Silverbulletday. The daughter of Harlans Holiday is trained by Bret Calhoun. And Why Not was seventh in the Fair Grounds in her only start this year. She is trained by Michael Matz and will be ridden by Julien Leparoux

Hard Not to Like and Karlovy Vary are pegged at 20-1. Hard Not to Like will be ridden by Robby Albarado for Gail Cox. The daughter of Hard Spun was second in the Ashland behind Karlovy Vary. Rusty Arnold-trained filly is unbeaten in 2012 with an allowance win beside the Ashland. She is a daughter of the late Dynaformer and will be ridden in the Oaks by James Graham.

Yara, a daughter of Put it Back, is 30-1. She was fifth in the Fair Grounds Oaks and is trained by Jose Garoffalo and will be ridden by Jesus Castanon.

Sacristy (Mike Smith), Colonial Empress (Corey Nakatani) and Oaks Lily (Rafael Bejarano) are all 50-1. Oaks Lilly is an alternate entry at number 15.

The field for the 138th Kentucky Oaks from the rail out with morning line odds, is as follows: On Fire Baby (Johnson, 4-1), Grace Hall (Castellano, 5-2), Summer Applause (Gomez, 15-1), Eden’s Moon (Garcia, 12-1), Hard Not to Like (Albarado, 20-1), Broadway Alibi (Velazquez, 4-1), Sacristy (Smith, 50-1), Jemima’s Pearl (Talamo, 10-1), Believe You Can (Napravnik, 10-1), And Why Not (Leparoux, 15-1), Karlovy Vary (Graham, 20-1), Colonial Empress (Nakatani, 50-1), Amie’s Dini (Court, 10-1), Yara (Castanon, 30-1). Also Eligible: Oaks Lily (Rafael Bejarano, 50-1). All starters will carry 121 pounds.

The mile-and-an-eighth Grade 1 Kentucky Oaks will go off as Race 11 with an approximate post time of 5:45 p.m. EDT. Total purse is $1 million.

NYRA file photo
Broadway’s Alibi wins the Comely on April 7 at Aqueduct.

LAUREL, Md. – Illinois Derby (G3) winner Done Talking worked 5-furlongs at Laurel Park Saturday morning in his final work before next Saturday’s $2 million Kentucky Derby (G1) at Churchill Downs.

The Hamilton Smith trainee stopped the clock in 1:01 seconds and galloped out in 1:14.60 with regular rider Sheldon Russell aboard. It was the fastest of 17 works at the distance.

“I told Sheldon to go a minute and change and he hit it almost on the number,” Smith said. “I wanted him to gallop out strong. He wasn’t tired when he came back to the barn and we are ready to go.”

Smith indicated the son of Broken Vow would leave Laurel for Louisville early Sunday morning and will be stabled in Dale Romans barn at Churchill Downs. Romans will saddle Dullahan in the Run For The Roses. Both Done Talking and Dullahan were broken by Smith’s brother, Franklin Smith, at the Elloree Training Center in South Carolina.

“He had them from the time the first saddle was put on them until they came up to the races,” added Smith. “He (his brother) called me once he got to breezing him (Done Talking) and said he had a nice colt that he’d like me to have. He hasn’t missed a trick for us. He is a very smart horse and he does everything right.”

Done Talking punched his ticket to the Derby with a driving off the pace score in the Illinois Derby at Hawthorne three weeks ago. The colt has won three of seven starts with his only poor performance a 10th place finish in the Gotham Stakes (G3) in early March.

“I am looking forward to a great race out of him, I really am,” said Smith. “If we get pace up front that should help us. Naturally you need to have a good trip with all those horses in there. With his running style you worry about getting shut off but if we can be mid-pack early, about eighth or ninth and relax, we might shock everybody.”

Done Talking will be the first Triple Crown starter for Smith, a Maryland mainstay for more than 30 years. The 67-year-old has 1,645 career winners and has conditioned runners such as Gin Talking, Case Of The Blues and Blind Date, all multiple stakes winners. The usually stoic Smith was uncharacteristically animated when his 3-year-old rallied to win the Illinois Derby.

“I was expecting a high five from Ham,” said co-owner Willie White. “But he grabs me and lifts me off the ground and says, ‘this is what I’m talking about’. It was fun.”

“I usually don’t show a lot of emotion,” Smith said. “Those kind of races are exciting because he was coming from way back and had to weave his way through (the field). It is a little more exciting than winning on the front-end.”

“We are particularly happy for Hammy, a guy who has worked so hard for so many years,” added co-owner Lou Rehak. “To have this opportunity at this stage of his career is pretty awesome.”

What also is awesome is the ownership group of White, Rehak and Bob Orndorff (Skedattle Associates). who are neighbors on Triadelphia Mill Road in Clarkesville, get their first taste of the Triple Crown experience.

“Bob and I have been friends since high school (Atholton in Howard County),” White said. “He grew up across the street from my wife. His wife and my wife have been best friends their whole life. Lou and I have been friends and partners for 35 years. The three of us have been together the whole way. The families are all going to the Derby with us. They all grew up together as well and are having a ball with this thing. I don’t think how much you realize how quick is takes over once you get on this trail. We are not even a hot shot on the trail but we are on it.”

The Derby will be the second Triple Crown mount for the 24-year-old Russell, Maryland’s top jockey, who rode Concealed Identity in last year’s Preakness Stakes (G1). Russell’s valet, James “Bo- Bo” Brigman, doubles as Smith’s exercise rider.

“It is like a big team effort. Everyone is connected,” Russell said, “Bo-Bo gets a chance to go to Kentucky and I am excited for him. He has been working for Hammy for years. This is a once in a lifetime chance for him.”

PHOTO CREDIT-Jim McCue, Maryland Jockey Club
Done Talking works at Laurel Park on April 28.

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Altamira Racing Stable and Wire to Wire Racing Inc.’s All Squared Away, the longest shot in the field of 11, held off favored Summer Front by 1½ lengths to win the 31st running of the $200,000 Coolmore Lexington (G3) for 3-year-olds going 1 1/16 miles before a crowd of 23,823 on Saturday at Keeneland.

Trained by Wesley Ward and ridden Julio Garcia, All Squared Away paid $143.20 to win, breaking the stakes-record payoff of $83 established by Slew’s Tizzy in 2007.

Johannesbourbon, making only his second career start, and Castaway dueled through fractions of :23.21 and :46.54 while under pressure from Hammers Terror. Garcia had All Squared Away in fourth and in the clear in the run down the backstretch.

Leaving the far turn, Castaway began to drop back as Johannesbourbon and Hammers Terror dueled for the lead into the stretch with Garcia moving All Squared Away three wide and with dead aim at the leaders.

Hammers Terror put away Johannesbourbon, but could not hold off All Squared Away, who took the lead at the sixteenth pole and held on to complete the distance in 1:42.55.

All Squared Away is a Kentucky-bred son of Bellamy Road out of the Posse mare Squared. The victory was worth $120,000 and improved All Squared Away’s bankroll to $164,180 with a record of 9-2-2-2. He was sold for $3,000 at Keeneland’s 2009 November Breeding Stock Sale.

All Squared Away returned $143.20, $45.80 and $17. Summer Front, who rallied from far back under Ramon Dominguez, returned $5.20 and $4 and finished a neck in front of Hammers Terror, who finished third under Robby Albarado and paid $9.40 to show.

It was three-quarters of a length back to Gold Megillah, who finished fourth and was followed in order by Golden Ticket, Holiday Promise, Johannesbourbon, Skyring, Castaway, News Pending and Morgan’s Guerrilla.

Flash Mash Takes Giant’s Causeway

In the race preceding the Coolmore Lexington, Prime Equestrian’s Flash Mash collared Well Deserved in deep stretch to win the 16th running of the Giant’s Causeway for fillies and mares by a half-length.

Ridden by Brian Hernandez Jr., Flash Mash rated in third place early on as favored Inspired set fractions of :21.37 and :44.45 over a firm turf course and held the lead until the eighth pole when Well Deserved took over and held the lead until just before the wire.

In giving trainer Michael Stidham his first Keeneland stakes victory since Bold Answer won the 2001 Appalachian, Flash Mash covered the 5½ furlongs in 1:03.19.

The victory was worth $60,000 and increased Flash Mash’s earnings to $196,316 with a record of 9-5-2-1. Flash Mash is a 4-year-old Kentucky-bred daughter of Smarty Jones out of the Miswaki mare Magical Flash.

Flash Mash returned $17.40, $8 and $4.80. Well Deserved, ridden by Julien Leparoux, paid $12.80 and $6.20 with Classy Zip rallying for third another half-length back under Javier Castellano and paying $3.80 to show.

It was another half-length back to Inspired, who finished fourth and was followed in order by Indulgence, Smartys Emperoress, Fortune Play, Wild About Marie, Extravaganza and Grand Illumination.

Racing continues Sunday with a nine-race program that begins at 1:05 p.m. (EDT). Sunday’s feature is the 82nd running of the $150,000 Ben Ali (G3) at 1 1/8 miles on the main track that is headlined by the 2012 debut of multiple graded stakes winner Wise Dan. Post time for the Ben Ali is 4:42 p.m.

Keeneland photo
All Squared Away

LEXINGTON, Ky. – The top three finishers in Saturday’s Toyota Blue Grass (G1) did not stay in the 859 area code too long after their efforts with winner Dullahan returning to Churchill Downs and the respective second- and third-place finishers, Hansen and Gung Ho, returning to trainer Mike Maker’s barn at the Trackside Training Center in Louisville.

“He looks great this morning, like he hadn’t run at all,” trainer Dale Romans said of Dullahan, whose two career victories have come over Keeneland’s Polytrack surface.

“I think he will run well on dirt,” Romans said of the half-brother to 2009 Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (G1) winner Mine That Bird. “He ran a big race in the Breeders’ Cup (Juvenile, G1) last fall and he is better this year. He should handle the surface.”

Trainer Mike Maker said all was well with Hansen and Gung Ho on Sunday morning. “Both of them got back safe and sound and are fine this morning,” Maker said.

Hansen, with $1,550,000 in graded stakes earnings, will be the top money earner in this year’s Kentucky Derby. Gung Ho picked up $75,000 in the Toyota Blue Grass, but has only $76,000 in graded money that does not figure to be enough to make the Derby field that is limited to the top 20 horses entered by graded stakes earnings.

“We are just going to soak it all in for now,” Maker said. “I’m not sure where he (Gung Ho) will run next but the American Turf (G2 on May 4 at Churchill) is among the possibilities.”

Holy Candy and Midnight Crooner, the fourth- and eighth-place finishers, respectively, left Keeneland shortly after 6 a.m. for a flight back to their Southern California base.

Dave Rock, assistant to trainer Graham Motion, said that fifth-place finisher Howe Great came out of the race in good order but that plans for a next start had not been determined. Howe Great had won three starts on grass prior to the Toyota Blue Grass.

Norman Casse, assistant trainer of sixth-place finisher Prospective, said the John Oxley-owned colt “came out of the race in good order.”

Stabled at Churchill Downs, Prospective added $1,875 in graded money to his bankroll and now has $367,327 in graded stakes earnings — more than enough to rank among the top 20 of horses under consideration for the Kentucky Derby on May 5. “Right now, we are kind of on the fence (about the Derby),” Casse said.

Whit Beckman, assistant to Todd Pletcher, said that seventh-place finisher Heavy Breathing came out of the race fine. “I think they are going to back off and give him a little time,” Beckman said of Heavy Breathing, who has run three times in six weeks. “They had the Derby dream.”

Trainer Jonathan Sheppard said that Ever So Lucky came out of his 10th-place finish fine. “We are going to regroup,” Sheppard said. “We will get our heads together and come up with something.”

Trainer Gennadi Dorochenko said that Russian Greek (11th) and Hero of Order (13th) came out of the race fine. “They didn’t like the Polytrack,” said Dorochenko, who plans to race at Arlington Park, which also has Polytrack, this summer.

“There are plenty of other racetracks,” Dorochenko said. “We will give it a couple of days and see (what’s next).”

Keeneland photo
Dulluhan, left, wins the Toyota Blue Grass.

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – The operative word at Oaklawn on Saturday was dominance, and Zayat Stables’ Bodemeister embodied the meaning as he powered to a near-record setting performance in the $1 million Arkansas Derby (G1). Completing a sweep by his trainer Bob Baffert of the major 3-year-old races this season, the son of Empire Maker rolled to a 9½-length victory over 10 other runners in the 1 1/8-mile test, punching his ticket to Louisville as a top-flight Kentucky Derby contender.

Ridden confidently by Hall of Fame jockey Mike Smith throughout the marquee event of the Oaklawn season, Bodemeister cruised from his outside post to the lead entering the first turn. The Empire Maker colt controled easy early fractions of 23.02 and 46.55.

He then delivered a knockout blow when asked for run leaving the final turn. After running six furlongs in 1:11.36, he headed for the stretch with a clear advantage over the rest of the field and drew off to his highly impressive margin, under the wire in a final time of 1:48.71 – the fastest Arkansas Derby in seven years.

“I was out front by about a length or so and I set him down just in case anyone was coming,” said Smith. “I looked up on the board and I was like seven in front. That was ultra impressive.”

Baffert-trained Secret Circle, winner of the Southwest Stakes (G3) and Rebel Stakes (G2) over the past two months, weaved through the stretch but held second over Sabercat. All three are expected to advance to the Kentucky Derby as all have sufficient Graded stakes earnings to make the field.

For Baffert, it was the sixth win of the meet from nine starters off the plane from California. None of his horses finished worse than third and he has now won 16 of the 25 races he’s entered at Oaklawn.

“We took some really nice horses there. They all ran well and had been training well. I have a great staff and (assistant trainer) Jimmy Barnes does a great job.”

“We’ll see what this took out of them and then we’ll start talking (Kentucky) Derby,” added Baffert. “Oaklawn is a very kind surface and the horses have been coming back great. Bodemeister should be in great shape. He ran hard and fast. We know distance won’t be a problem.”

Disappointments in the race included Rebel Stakes runner-up Optimizer, who was steadied early and had to settle for ninth. Najjaar, with his popular three-time Kentucky Derby-winning jockey Calvin Borel never mounted a rally and finished seventh.

Arkansas Derby day is the traditional closing act of the Oaklawn season. Mild weather contributed to four purse increases over the course of the 14-week run and Arkansas fans responded, with 63,804 flowing through the turnstiles Saturday.

Coady Photography/Oaklawn
Bodemeister