LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Calvin Borel owns Churchill Downs, well if he doesn’t own the racetrack he certainly owns the rail, and Borel proved that again Saturday when he rode Mine That Bird through a small opening to a shocking 50-1 upset of the Kentucky Derby.

Borel’s patented ride resulted in a whopping payoff of $103 on a $2 win ticket, but the start of the race did not look like it would end in those kinds of riches. Borel was patient with Mine That Bird as the colt broke a little slowly in the 19-horse field.

Join in the Dance came out on top as was expected and was quickly pursued by Regal Ransom, Papa Clem and Hold Me Back. The rest of the field was trying to find positions before the first turn.

Mine That Bird wanted to show speed after he gathered himself, but Borel asked him to settle near the back of the pack and the colt responded. Borel kept Mine That Bird out of trouble as the field headed up the soggy backstretch and only asked him for run as they started rounding the second turn.

Borel picked up some ground along the rail as the pair came off the turn and then moved a few lanes over. He spotted an opening on the rail near the eighth pole and sent Mine that Bird through like a flash.

Pioneerof the Nile, Papa Clem and Musket Man all were trying for the lead in the middle of the track, and it looked like Pioneerof the Nile was a winner, but the game already was over as Mine that Bird quickly opened up several lengths on the rest.

 Mine That Bird was nearly six lengths ahead as Borel starting waving his stick at the grandstand inside the sixteenth pole. The top position had been decided as Pioneerof the Nile picked up second a nose in front of Musket Man who was a head in front of Papa Clem.

Mine That Bird’s official margin of victory was six-and-three-quarter lengths. It was the largest margin of victory since Assault won by eight lengths in 1946. The splits were 22.98, 47.23, 1:12.09, 1:37.49 and 2:02.66.

The Kentucky bluegrass got a lesson in racing from little guy from Louisiana and a cowboy from New Mexico and they couldn’t have had more fun giving it.

Trainer Chip Woolley is the cowboy and he was pretty plain spoken about what he thought his chances were before the race.

“We thought we would be more competitive than everybody gave us credit for.

We came through New Mexico, and New Mexico kicked our butt, but we just came here and won,” Wooley said.

Woolley took full blame for the two races in New Mexico. “What happened in New Mexico was my fault, I mess him up here.

Woolley also was asked about facing Rachel Alexandra (Kentucky Oaks winner), “I wouldn’t want to tie into her.”

Co-owner Leonard Blach said it was certainly a dream. “It’s probably everybody’s dream in here. I thought the horse had a lot of talent, we just hadn’t seen it yet. My heart dropped when I saw how far behind he was the first time he went by, but I was really happy by how far ahead he was the second time he came by.”

Mark Allen, the other co-owner, said he just would have been happy to just hit the board. “But watching him train here, I was pretty confident. I was that worried about the first time he came past. I knew Calvin Borel was on him and when Calvin found the rail I knew we would be all right.”

Allen was asked about Mine That Bird being a gelding. “We bought the horse to be a runner not a stallion.”

Allen also said there was no negotiations when they bought the horse. “They wanted $400,000, we paid $400,000.

Woolley said the trip from New Mexico was in a van. “We got a super nice van, we stopped over in Lone Star, galloped the horse at Lone Star. We just took our time getting here.”

Woolley was asked about handling the mud. “The horse had never been in the mud before we got here. But if you watched this horse training here he like it dry and when it got wet he just glided over it.”

He also said he and the owners will discuss going to the Preakness. He also said Borel is the best and he just rode a huge race. “When we found out Calvin was free for the race we went after him,” Woolley said.

Borel was just happy that Woolley got touch with him about riding the horse.

“We had planned to be about midpack heading into the turn but the bad start left us behind, but I wasn’t worried. I just gathered him up and I got him out of the bit and settled, but I still knew I had something. I started looking for a spot at the three-eighths pole and I had plenty of horse.

“That wasn’t such a small hole I went through, besides the horse I passed wasn’t very big,” Borel said.

Borel was asked whom he was waving his stick at and he said it was his fiancée. Borel also was asked if both Rachel Alexandra, who he won the Kentucky Oaks with on Friday, and Mine That Bird ran in the Belmont, who would he ride. Borel didn’t hesitate, “Rachel Alexandra, she the best horse I’ve been on.”

Borel is the first jockey to complete the Oaks/Derby double since 1993 when Jerry Bailey rode Dispute in the Oaks and Sea Hero in the Derby.

Mine That Bird is the second horse to come through New Mexico and win Kentucky Derby. Real Quiet was the first and won in 1998.

Friesan Fire, the post-time favorite, finished second to last and trainer Larry Jones said the colt got bounced around at the start. “He got hit real badly out of the gate and grabbed a quarter (left front). He’s bleeding. If you see blood on the track, it’s his. I couldn’t find him at post time. I don’t even know where he was running. But we’ll have to watch the replay. We’ll have a lot of time to see it this afternoon I bet.”

Gabriel Saez (jockey of Friesan Fire) confirmed the trip. “He got a bad start and got hit. I feel that he didn’t want to go, so I let him relax and finish the race. I didn’t want to hurt the horse. I just dropped the reins and let him gallop.”

The Derby day attendance was 153,563, the seventh largest.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – I Want Revenge, the morning-line favorite (3-1) in the Kentucky Derby was scratched Saturday morning after heat and filling was found in his left front ankle.

Trainer Jeff Mullins explained what happened early Saturday. “I got to the barn and we took off his wraps and washed his legs. We found heat and filling in his left front ankle. We jogged him in front of the barn and he didn’t appear to be lame. We flexed his ankle he reacted. You could tell he wasn’t a 100 percent.

“By this time Dr. Foster Northrop had arrived and he flexed the ankle and jogged the horse … I’ll let him tell you what he found,” Mullins said.

“He jogged and I flexed the ankle and I could tell he was sore. I jogged him again and he was lame in about every fifth step. You had to look to see it,” Northrop said.

“We X-rayed and it was clear. We did an ultra sound and it also was clean. The bone is pristine. He will undergo further tests. I commend the owners for doing the right thing,” Northrop said.

Co-owner David Lanzman said there wasn’t anything he could do about it. “It’s the cards I was dealt. When the vets told me what was wrong I said, ‘There’s no debate about it … we’ll fight another day’,” Lanzman.

The 3-year-old son of Stephen Got Even has three wins from eight lifetime starts and was coming into the Derby off an overpowering win in the Wood Memorial on April 4 at Aqueduct Racetrack in New York.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Kentucky Derby 135 may be one the most hotly contested races in recent years. Anyone of about 9 horses has a legitimate chance at winning the Derby. Morning-line favorite I Want Revenge was scratched early Saturday morning. The top group is made up of Pioneerof the Nile, Dunkirk, Friesan Fire, Papa Clem and Musket Man.

Dubai invaders Regal Ransom and Desert Party have honest credentials to be in the Derby. Syntheti-track horses such as Hold Me Back and Advice belong, but their dirt performance may be suspect. General Quarters has won on both dirt and synthetic. With his 75-year-old trainer Thomas McCarthy and his one-horse stable, General Quarters is the feel-good story this year.

What follows is a list of the 20 horses with posts, odds and their running styles. I will conclude with what I believe will happen in the race.

1. West Side Bernie (Bernstein) (odds 30-1), trainer Kelly Breen, jockey Stewart Elliott. Was second in the Wood Memorial, but I Want Revenge ran away from him. I think the same thing will happen in the Derby. Colt worked four furlongs in 48.20 on April 25 at Churchill Downs. Closer.

2. Musket Man (Yonaguska) (20-1), Derek Ryan, Eibar Coa. Had back-to-back wins in the Illinois Derby at Hawthorne Race Course on April 4 and the Tampa Bay Derby on March 14. Even with those two wins he’s still under the radar. Colt worked five furlongs in 1:01.60 on April 25 at Churchill Downs. Stalker.

3. Mr. Hot Stuff (Tiznow) (30-1), Eoin Harty, John Velazquez. He was third in both the Sham and Santa Anita Derby. He is another one that comes from the clouds. Colt worked five furlongs in 1:00.40 on April 26 at Santa Anita. He’s never worked at Churchill Downs and in my opinion that’s a negative. Closer.

4. Advice (Chapel Royal) (30-1), Todd Pletcher, Rene Douglas. Jumped into the Derby picture with his win in the Coolmore Lexington on April 18 at Keeneland. All his good races have come on synthetic surfaces. Colt worked four furlongs in 47.20 on April 27 at Churchill Downs. Closer.

5. Hold Me Back (Giant’s Causeway) (15-1), Bill Mott, Kent Desormeaux. Was second in the Blue Grass, but the colt didn’t need to win the race. He is another one  that is suspect on dirt. Colt worked five furlongs in 1:01.60 on April 26 at Churchill Downs. Closer.

6. Friesan Fire (A.P. Indy) (5-1), Larry Jones, Gabriel Saez. Comes into the race off a sharp 57.80 five-furlong work on April 27. He last raced when he won the Louisiana Derby on March 14 at Fair Grounds. This worries some people, not me. Stalk and speed.

7. Papa Clem (Smart Strike) (20-1), Gary Stute, Rafael Bejarano.  Won the Arkansas Derby on April 11 at Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs, Ark. Colt blew out three furlongs in 34 flat on April 30 at Churchill Downs. Speed.

8. Mine that Bird (Birdstone) (501-), Bennie Wooley, Calvin Borel. I usually don’t like to say this, but what the heck is the horse doing in this race. Colt worked five furlongs in 1:02 on April 27. Stalk.

9. Join in the Dance (Sky Mesa) (50-1), trained by Todd Pletcher, Chris DeCarlo. Was second to Musket Man in the Tampa Bay Derby. Colt worked five furlongs in 1:00.20 on April 27 at Churchill Downs. Speed.

10. Regal Ransom (Distorted Humor) (30-1), Saeed bin Suroor, Alan Garcia. Won the UAE Derby on March 28 at Nad al Sheba in Dubai and gives Godolphin two threats for the Derby. Colt work five furlongs in 59.20 on April 25 at Churchill Downs and seems to love the track. Speed.

11. Chocolate Candy (Candy Ride) (20-1), Jerry Hollendofer, Mike Smith. He was a game second in the Santa Anita Derby. But out-of-the-cloud closers usually have a tough time at Churchill. Colt worked five furlongs  in 59.20 on April 27 at Churchill Downs. Closer.

12. General Quarters (Sky Mesa) (20-1), Thomas McCarty, Julien Leparoux. Won the Toyota Blue Grass at Keeneland on a synthetic track. But we know he can run on dirt with his win at Tampa Bay Downs. Colt worked five furlongs in 1:01.80 on April 23 at Churchill Downs. I have mixed feelings about this one. Closer.

13. I Want Revenge (Stephen Got Even) (3-1), Jeff Mullins, Joe Talamo. Colt worked four furlongs in 47.20 on April 28 at Churchill Downs. Won the Wood Memorial on April 4 after a terrible start. This is a scary colt. Stalk.

14. Atomic Rain (Smart Strike) (50-1), Kelly Breen, Joe Bravo. Colt did his best running as a 2-year-old. If he won it would be an (atomic) bomb. Stalk.

15. Dunkirk (Unbridled’s Song) (4-1), Todd Pletcher, Edgar Prado. He was second in the Florida Derby and picks up Prado for the Derby. I would like to see him a little closer to the pace on Saturday. Colt worked five furlongs in 1:01.05 on April 25 at Palm Meadows in South Florida. He only arrived in Louisville on April 28 and that’s not a plus. Closer.

16. Pioneerof the Nile (Empire Maker) (4-1), Bob Baffert, Garrett Gomez. Won the Santa Anita Derby on April 4. Colt worked five furlongs in 1:00.80 on April 27 at Churchill Downs. Has never been that impressive winning, but he keeps doing it. Stalk and can show speed.

17. Summer Bird (Birdstone) (50-1), Tim Ice, Chris Rosier. Was third in the Arkansas Derby, but he was flying at the end. Colt worked six furlongs in 1:15.80 on April 24 at Churchill Downs and some observers didn’t like it. If the pace is fast, he could get a piece. Closer.

18. Nowhere to Hide (Vindication) (50-1), Nick Zito, Shaun Bridgmohan. He was fourth in the Risen Star, Tampa Bay Derby and Illinois Derby. Some owners just want to run their horses in the Derby. Closer.

19. Desert Party (Steet Cry) (15-1), Saeed bin Suroor, Ramon Dominguez. Was second in the UAE Derby by a half-length. I’m still concerned about horses that winter in Dubai. Colt worked five furlongs in 59.60 on April 125at Churchill Downs. Stalk.

20. Flying Private (Fusaichi Pegasus) (50-1), D. Wayne Lukas, Robby Albarado. Was second in the Lane’s End and fifth in the Arkansas Derby. He will try to follow in his father’s footsteps and you never count out Lukas. Stalk.

Join in the Dance and Regal Ransom drew side by side in the gate and everyone perceives them as the speed. I think there will be at least one more speed factor and that will be Friesan Fire. Anything can happen in a 20-horse field and one stumble, slow start or bump can put any horse at a disadvantage no matter what their running style.

Trainer Larry Jones said that he wasn’t going to give any instructions to jockey Gabriel Saez. He was going to let Saez figure out where he wants to be after the break. If Join in the Dance and Regal Ransom get away cleanly and set a decent pace, I think Friesan Fire will set off them. If not, I look for Friesan Fire to be on the lead. Jones has said that a lot of horses will have a hard time catching Friesan Fire if he is left alone.

I expect I Want Revenge, Papa Clem and Pioneerof the Nile to be holding down spot somewhere in the top 10 horses. I don’t expect the first turn to be a problem. The only two horses on the outside with speed will be Pioneerof the Nile and Desert Party and I think their jockeys will use just enough gas to get them over in the first quarter mile.

If Friesan Fire is sitting third or so and clear, I expect him to go when the real running starts past the three-eighths pole. I also expect I Want Revenge, Papa Clem, Dunkirk, Desert Party and Pioneerof the Nile to put in serious bids at this point. I expect Friesan Fire to have enough turn of foot to run away from them and hit the wire first.

I will put the other five in my gimmick bets. In the first Kentucky Derby Futures Pool I got Papa Clem at nearly 50-1, so I’m not going to cry if he wins. If I have to pick a bomber it will be Summer Bird and he will be in my exacta and trifecta.

1. West Side Bernie, 30-1,   31-2
2. Musket Man, 20-1,  19-1
3. Mr. Hot Stuff, 30-1, 26-1
4. Advice, 30-1,  47-1
5. Hold Me Back, 15-1, 11-1
6. Friesan Fire, 5-1,  7/2
7. Papa Clem, 20-1,  13-1
8. Mine That Bird, 50-1,  46-1
9. Join in the Dance, 50-1,  48-1
10. Regal Ransom, 30-1,  22-1
11. Chocolate Candy, 20-1,  8-1
12. General Quarters, 20-1,  9-1
13. I Want Revenge, scratched
14. Atomic Rain, 50-1,   53-1
15. Dunkirk, 4-1,  6-1
16. Pioneerof the Nile, 4-1,  6-1
17. Summer Bird, 50-1,  40-1
18. Nowhere to Hide, 50-1,  40-1
19. Desert Party, 15-1,  15-1
20. Flying Private, 50-1,  42-1

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – ADVICE/DUNKIRK/JOIN IN THE DANCE – The Todd Pletcher Derby trio of Advice, Dunkirk and Join in the Dance were out early, exercised and back in Barn 38 before 7 a.m. Thursday, missing the rains that splashed down on Louisville a bit later in the morning.

Kevin Willey handled both Advice and Join in the Dance in their gallops, while Patti Barry was up for Dunkirk’s exercise.

“They all went about a mile and three eighths,” Pletcher said. “It’s all good.”

Just before 8 a.m., the trainer and his right-hand man, Mike McCarthy, each with a shank on one side, led Dunkirk from the barn to a patch of grass near Longfield Avenue for about 20 minutes of grazing. The tall colt with the distinctive white and pink facial markings, was feeling good and dove into the Kentucky grass with gusto, eliminating any need for lawn mowing in the general area of Barn 41.

Dunkirk will be making only the fourth start of his career in Saturday’s Derby 135. The $3.7 million yearling did not start as a 2-year-old. Advice has six starts under his belt, including a tally in the Coolmore Lexington Stakes (Grade 2) April 18 at Keeneland. He started three times as a juvenile. Join in the Dance has been to the post eight times, five of them coming during his 2-year-old season.

Advice breaks from post four and will be ridden by Rene Douglas. Dunkirk will start from post 15 and be handled by Edgar Prado. Join in the Dance will leave from post nine with Chris DeCarlo aboard.

ATOMIC RAIN/WEST SIDE BERNIE – Both colts, Atomic Rain and West Side Bernie, went out before the break for easy one-mile gallops with trainer Kelly Breen aboard Thursday morning.

“They’re both doing fine,” Breen said. “Atomic Rain is doing quite well considering he worked in New Jersey on Tuesday and then sat on a van for 13 hours to get here yesterday. The way he’s acting, I don’t think the trip meant much to him.”

Breen had the No. 20 selection for West Side Bernie and the only spot in the gate left to him was No. 1. On the other hand, he had the No. 9 selection for Atomic Rain and took post 14 for the colt, who will be ridden by Joe Bravo.

“Atomic Rain is in a good spot,” said George Hall, who with wife Lori owns both colts. “It’s a good post for his style. West Side Bernie is in a tougher spot. Strategy is all up to Stew (jockey Stewart Elliott) when the gates open.”

Hall bought 20 yearlings at the 2007 Keeneland September sale, 10 fillies and 10 colts.

“It’s pretty amazing to have two starters in the Kentucky Derby from the 10 colts we got at the sale,” the owner said.

West Side Bernie, a son of Bernstein, was a $50,000 purchase, and Atomic Rain, by Smart Strike, cost $170,000.

“When Atomic Rain broke his maiden and then ran second in the Remsen as a 2-year-old, we expected a lot from him,” Hall said. “We’ve been disappointed in a number of his starts since then. But we still think he has a lot of talent, and will be able to show it.”

As a 3-year-old, Atomic Rain has run seventh in the Sam F. Davis (Grade 3) and fourth in the Wood Memorial (Grade 1). West Side Bernie was second in the Wood.

Hall said his wife Lori names all the horses, and West Side Bernie is all Broadway.

“He’s by Bernstein, so she immediately thought of Leonard Bernstein, who wrote ‘West Side Story,’ ” Hall said. “So that’s how Bernie got his name. They’re putting on a revival of ‘West Side Story’ now, and we’re involved in that as a fundraiser for the Hearing Center at New York University.”

CHOCOLATE CANDY – “Best morning I ever had with this horse.”

Trainer Jerry Hollendorfer was upbeat Thursday morning at Churchill Downs after overseeing business with his Kentucky Derby contender Chocolate Candy. The tall bay by Candy Ride went trackside shortly after 7 a.m. under regular exercise rider Lindsey Molina, stood in the gate briefly, then galloped a good mile and five-eighths before coming off the six-furlong gap looking like a happy horse.

“I messed him up yesterday and he didn’t like it,” the Northern California-based conditioner stated. “I got him out there when all those people were around (after the 8 a.m. renovation break) and he got a little hot. But today we put him back in his usual routine and he was back to his old self. I’m really pleased with how it went today. He galloped strong and he’s doing great.”

The late-running colt was bred by the late Sid Craig and his wife, Jenny, who is, of course, the weight-loss queen. He currently races in the silks of Craig Family Trust and Saturday will break from post 11 with Hall of Fame rider Mike Smith aboard.

Chocolate Candy will be making the 10th start of his career in Derby 135. Six of those outings came during his 2-year-old season.

DESERT PARTY/REGAL RANSOM – The Godolphin duo of Desert Party and Regal Ransom had a typical morning. Shortly after the track opened at 6 a.m. they were sent out to gallop what trainer Saeed bin Suroor said was a mile and three furlongs.

“They did it well,” bin Suroor said. “They’re in good form. Happy. Sound. Healthy. No problem at all with them.”

Bin Suroor said the colts schooled in the paddock before the seventh race Wednesday.

“Regal Ransom was sweating for about 10 minutes because he could see the horses racing and he got excited,” bin Suroor said. “But after that he was cool. Desert Party was fine.”

Bin Suroor said his colts are ready for the Derby.

“They are going into this race 110 percent fit,” he said. “There is no excuse afterwards for fitness. I hope no excuses happen in the race.”

FLYING PRIVATE – Flying Private went to the Churchill Downs track for a morning gallop under exercise rider Taylor Carty on Thursday morning. The son of 2000 Kentucky Derby winner Fusaichi Pegasus has been rated at 50-1 in the morning line, but trainer D. Wayne Lukas hardly views him as a desperate longshot.

Flying Private, who will break from the No. 20 post position, has won only one of 10 starts, but his trainer knows what it takes to win the Kentucky Derby, having saddled four Derby winners: Winning Colors (1988), Thunder Gulch (1995), Grindstone (1996) and Charismatic (1999).

“He’s as good as some of them I brought here, including some of them who’ve won,” the Hall of Fame trainer said. “Charismatic went on to be Horse of the Year, but at this stage, I think he’s every bit as good as Charismatic, and I think he’s better than Grindstone.”

When questioned about his opinion on synthetic surfaces, Lukas said that the new surfaces such as Keeneland’s Polytrack don’t just pose problems to those horses who don’t run their best over it.

“I’m not a synthetic person. I think it’s caused a nightmare for the bettors. The very lifeblood of our industry is the gambling public, and I think they’ve been put at such a disadvantage trying to sort this thing out,” Lukas said. “I think it’ll run its course, and maybe in a couple years, they’ll dig them all up and get back to natural dirt.

“They have that Gamblers Anonymous for people who have that bad gambling habit. Polytrack will take care of that. They won’t need to worry about that anymore. People will quit gambling.”

FRIESAN FIRE – Vinery Stables and Fox Hill Farm’s Friesan Fire galloped a mile after the renovation break with trainer Larry Jones aboard Thursday morning.

“It was a successful morning,” Jones said. “We got out around there and came back home. He was much more relaxed this morning than yesterday when he was a little anxious after the day off.”

Friesan Fire, who worked five furlongs under jockey Gabriel Saez on Monday morning, walked Tuesday and enjoyed a “goof-off” day Wednesday.

“Apparently some people didn’t get the memo on what we did yesterday,” Jones said. “I turned on the news last night and they were talking about Larry Jones’ unorthodox training methods.

“I galloped him to the gate and then galloped back to the paddock and he maybe did five-eighths (of a mile) total. He enjoyed it out there. I just let him play around a little and have a good time. Horses don’t have to go out and gallop a mile and a half every day.”

The fourth choice on the morning line at 5-1, Friesan Fire will break from post position six under Saez in Kentucky Derby 135.

GENERAL QUARTERS – Owner/trainer Tom McCarthy’s Toyota Blue Grass (Grade 1) winner General Quarters jogged 1½ miles Thursday morning under exercise rider Julie Sheets and was full of himself being led back to the barn by his 75-year-old trainer. Around a large gathering of well wishers, General Quarters enjoyed his bath and soaked in the surroundings.

“He likes people,” McCarthy said. “He sure enjoys the audience. That will help him Derby Day for sure, I’ll tell you that. A lot of people want to see him do well.”

The McCarthy stable handed out green General Quarters buttons to those who came by to visit the horse this morning, and among those who came by to check on the horse was Steve Bass, agent for General Quarters’ jockey Julien Leparoux and a former student of McCarthy’s in the Louisville school system.

HOLD ME BACK – Trainer Bill Mott sent WinStar Farm’s Hold Me Back out for a one-mile gallop Thursday morning.

“He had a good gallop,” Mott said. “We went early. The track was good. We went out before it was cut up. He went fine.”

Hold Me Back, the runner-up in the Toyota Blue Grass Stakes (Grade I) following a victory in the Lane’s End (Grade 2), will be ridden by Hall of Fame jockey Kent Desormeaux.

Desormeaux is a three-time Kentucky Derby winner and will be seeking to become to the first rider to win back-to-back Derbys since Eddie Delahoussaye in 1982 and 1983.

I WANT REVENGE – I Want Revenge went to the track for some light exercise at Churchill Downs on Thursday morning, jogging in the chute, galloping once around and schooling in the paddock.

The son of Stephen Got Even was installed as the 3-1 morning-line favorite for the 135th Run for the Roses, a turn of events that trainer Jeff Mullins couldn’t have envisioned while advising the colt’s breeder, David Lanzman, at the 2008 Barrett’s

2-year-olds-in-training sale. Lanzman had consigned I Want Revenge to the sale and considered buying him back when the bidding slowed.

“I was actually telling him to sell him. At that time, he was an ugly horse,” Mullins said. “He had a pot belly and long hair.”

Lanzman didn’t heed his trainer’s advice and bought back I Want Revenge for $95,000.

“If we all wanted to buy the same horse at a sale, then everybody would just try to buy the same horse and all the others would be bought back. I had a lot of people who loved the horse. The farm people are all here and they loved him. They told me he’s a racehorse,” Lanzman said. “We thought he was something. We signed the ticket and I handed it to Jeff. He looked at me and said, ‘I wouldn’t have bought him for one of my clients.’ ”

Lanzman would eventually sell a big chunk of I Want Revenge to IEAH Stables and Puglisi Racing while retaining control of the colt’s racing career. IEAH bloodstock agent Nick Sallusto subsequently sold “a minute share as a favor to Jeff Singer.”

MINE THAT BIRD – Mine That Bird, the 2008 Canadian champion 2-year-old, galloped two miles Thursday around 7:30 a.m. and gave New Mexico-based trainer Chip Woolley reason for optimism, despite a 50-1 morning-line assignment at Wednesday’s post position draw.

“He went super and really got over the ground well today,” Woolley said. “I’m trying to keep a level keel as Saturday approaches. It’s been exciting from Day One, and I’m just happy to be here. His (morning) line was right what I figured, which is fine with me. Besides, I’ve never bet a horse I’ve run in my entire life. I don’t ever want anyone to worry about that kind of stuff with me.”

Woolley said he will gallop Mine That Bird again Friday and then probably “backtrack” him on raceday morning and let him jog a bit.

Calvin Borel, winner of the 2007 Kentucky Derby aboard Street Sense, will have the mount Saturday.

MR. HOT STUFF – The Tiznow colt Mr. Hot Stuff galloped smartly Thursday morning at Churchill Downs, covering a mile and a half under exercise rider Paul Turner. Bowing his neck and grabbing the bit, the dark WinStar Farm homebred looked a picture when he went through his exercises shortly after 7 o’clock.

Half of the WinStar connections – Bill Casner, along with his wife Susan – looked on alongside their trainer, Eoin Harty.

“He’s more relaxed today,” the trainer said. “Today’s Day 3 (his third day at Churchill Downs since coming in from California) and he’s got it figured out now. He knows what’s going on.”

The conditioner said that he had paddocked Mr. Hot Stuff on Wednesday afternoon and would again Thursday during the races.

“He doesn’t need to go to the gate,” he said. “He’s fine in there.”

Mr. Hot Stuff will be making the eighth start of his career Saturday and will break from post three under John Velazquez. Three of his starts came during his 2-year-old campaign.

MUSKET MAN – The Yonaguska colt Musket Man was out early for a mile-and-a-half gallop Thursday morning as he eases into the Kentucky Derby.

“He’s doing fine,” trainer Derek Ryan said of his charge, who has won five of six lifetime starts and comes into the Kentucky Derby off consecutive victories in the Tampa Bay Derby (Grade 3) and the Illinois Derby (Grade 2).

Ryan had selection No.18 and few options left at the post position draw, and took post two for Musket Man.

“Strategy will be all up to the jockey (Eibar Coa),” Ryan said. “But I expect he’ll be somewhere behind the leaders in the second tier heading into the first turn.

“I don’t want him on the lead. He does his best when he has some horses to run at. I usually work him in company because he needs a target to do his best.”

Musket Man showed speed in his first three races, all sprints, but always sat off the pace before making a late move. In the Tampa Bay Derby, he got into a world of trouble early, and had to make a big wide run to get up. In the Illinois Derby, he gained command on the stretch turn and held stoutly to the wire.

“He’s got a high cruising speed,” Ryan said, “but the great thing about him is that he also has a real kick for an eighth of a mile.”

NOWHERE TO HIDE – Trainer Nick Zito’s eleventh-hour Derby 135 entrant met jockey Shaun Bridgmohan for the first time Thursday with a quarter-mile blowout down the lane in :25.20. Nowhere to Hide tugged hard for more as Bridgmohan worked overtime to get him pulled up, even midway down the backstretch.

“Shaun just got familiar with the horse this morning,” Zito said. “That’s all I wanted. The good thing is that he didn’t want to pull up.”

The two-time Derby-winning trainer and his owner, Len Riggio of My Meadowview Farm, have been accused of a case of Derby fever, but Zito reasoned that horse racing is the ultimate game of chance.

“No one has a lock on this game – no one,” he said matter-of-factly.

“He ran fourth three races in a row – the Risen Star, the Tampa Bay Derby and the Illinois Derby – and if he ran fourth in the Kentucky Derby, it would be all right by me,” Zito said. “We’ve been trying to get him here all along; we’ve taken him all over the country.”

PAPA CLEM – Arkansas Derby (Grade 2) winner Papa Clem blew out three furlongs in :34 flat Thursday just before 7 a.m. with Derby 135 jockey Rafael Bejarano in the saddle.

In a true Stute family tradition, trainer Gary Stute said Papa Clem was now officially “Melvinized,” a term trainer Bob Baffert coined for the fast blowout works typically given by Stute’s father, Mel. The elder Stute was on hand to watch his son’s horse prepare for Saturday’s Run for the Roses and gave a smile of approval. It also brought good vibes to the younger Stute.

“You see me smiling, don’t you?” Gary Stute said. “If he gets beat, it’s all my fault.”

“He was so comfortable,” Bejarano said of the work, which drew splits of :11.20, :22.40 and a gallop-out of :47.20. “I didn’t have to push him or nothing. Past the wire, I just let him gallop out strong and stay up in the saddle.”

Thursday’s workout for Papa Clem perhaps stemmed the tide of a few unimpressive moves from the son of Smart Strike.

“Everyone has been criticizing his works,” Stute said, and then admitted, “I would have been worried if he didn’t work well today.”

Papa Clem will walk the shedrow for the next two days, Friday and race day. Stute indicated that if Papa Clem had worked slower this morning, he might have brought him to the track Saturday morning, but now feels they are ready to go.

PIONEEROF THE NILE – With owner Ahmed Zayat and trainer Bob Baffert watching from the gap closest  to the five-eighths pole, Pioneerof the Nile galloped about a mile and a half right after the track reopened at 8:30 a.m. following the renovation break.

The Santa Anita Derby (Grade I) winner stood patiently for several minutes while people snapped photos before walking onto the track.

Baffert said the Empire Maker colt was moving toward the race according to plan.

“Everything  is smooth and he looks good out there on the track,” Baffert said. “He’s been very relaxed. My whole mission was to get him here, keep the weight on him and keep his mind relaxed. He was getting a little racy on me at Santa Anita. I didn’t put any fast works into him, just decent works into him.

“He’s fit. He looks really fantastic, flesh-wise. His mind is great. He’s been handling everything. I want him to go up there and be a gentleman. I want him to walk into the gate. I don’t want him to get stirred up. So far, I haven’t seen that here. I’m really happy with that.”

Garrett Gomez will ride Pioneerof the Nile in the Kentucky Derby. Baffert used the fifth choice in the post position draw to select post 16.

SUMMER BIRD – Summer Bird, a lightly raced son of Birdstone, is one of the most relaxed horses on the Churchill Downs backside coming into the Kentucky Derby. Thursday morning the chestnut colt was lying down in his stall taking a nap at 7 o’clock because he wasn’t scheduled to go to the track until 8:30, after the break.

“He woke up early, ate up all his breakfast and then went back to sleep,” trainer Tim Ice said. “He is a very calm horse.”

Out on the track after the break, Summer Bird schooled in the gate, and then galloped one mile under jockey Chris Rosier.

Ice had selection No. 14 and chose post 17 for Summer Bird, who made his first start on March 1, broke his maiden on March 19, and finished third in the Arkansas Derby (Grade II) on April 11.

“Better 17 than post three,” Ice said. “I expect him to be midpack early, and make his way over toward the inside before the first turn. I think he’ll run well.”

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – I Want Revenge was made the 3-1 morning-line favorite for the 135th Kentucky Derby, which will be run Saturday, May 2. Santa Anita Derby winner Pioneerof the Nile and Dunkirk, the runner-up in the Florida Derby, were made co-second choices at 4-1. Louisiana Derby winner Friesan Fire was 5-1.

The position posts and morning-line odds for the Derby.

1. West Side Bernie, 30-1
2. Musket Man, 20-1
3. Mr. Hot Stuff, 30-1
4. Advice, 30-1
5. Hold Me Back, 15-1
6. Friesan Fire, 5-1
7. Papa Clem, 20-1
8. Mine That Bird, 50-1
9. Join in the Dance, 50-1
10. Regal Ransom, 30-1
11. Chocolate Candy, 20-1
12. General Quarters, 20-1
13. I Want Revenge, 3-1
14. Atomic Rain, 50-1
15. Dunkirk, 4-1
16. Pioneerof the Nile, 4-1
17. Summer Bird, 50-1
18. Nowhere to Hide, 50-1
19. Desert Party, 15-1
20. Flying Private, 50-1

Oddsmaker Mike Battaglia said I Want Revenge became his top choice after Quality Road was not entered because of his quarter crack problem. He said he made Pioneerof the Nile and Dunkirk co-second choices because he had as tough a time deciding between the two as jockey Garrett Gomez did. Gomez picked Pioneerof the Nile for his Derby mount.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Trainer Mac Robertson declared Win Willy out of the Kentucky Derby on Wednesday when a ‘line’ was discovered in his left front leg. Robertson said the injury, which could be the start of a fracture, was discovered through X-rays. The announced was made hours before entries were taken.

Win Willy galloped both Tuesday and Wednesday and looked fine according to Robertson. “We X-ray our horses every once in awhile and I was concerned a little after he didn’t fire in the stretch of the Arkansas Derby and he lugged in a little. My wife, Cyndi, is a vet so we are careful with our horses.”

Robertson said several vets looked at the X-rays and “there’s a small line in the pastern going to the ankle.”

Robertson said the colt would get at least 60 days off and no surgery is planned. “He’ll stay with me. I don’t want him out running in a field where he could do further damage. He’ll walk the shed row for 30 days. We’ll take some more X-rays after that and see if it’s still there. If it’s disappearing, then we know that he got in the Arkansas Derby, if not, it may be something that he always has had.”

When asked if he was disappointed, Robertson responded, ” I wouldn’t say I’m disappointed. I’m glad I X-rayed the horse. It’s depressing for the owners, but I think it important to do the right thing for the horse. If maybe he’s gotten an injury, then the horse doesn’t run. You know your star wide receiver gets hurt and shouldn’t play that week.  ”You don’t want a horse running in a mile-and-a-quarter race if something is wrong. It’s just not smart. He’s not sore and he’s not off on it, but we’re not taking any chances.” Instead of feeling sorry … it won’t do the horse any good. We’ll just take care of him and get him sound.”

With the loss of Win Willy, Nowhere to Hide becomes the 20th entry in the Kentucky Derby. The 3-year-old son of Vindication is trained by Nick Zito and owned by My Meadowview Farm. Shaun Bridgmohan was named to ride the colt in the Derby.

Nowhere to Hide has finished fourth in three races this year: the Risen Star, Tampa Bay Derby and the Illinois Derby. He has $55,000 in graded earnings

“Around noon today Mr. Wolf and I had a discussion in which we weighed all the factors,” Pletcher said. “When we looked at it from all angles, we decided the best way to go with Take the Points was the Preakness. That race gives him two extra weeks, a shorter distance (mile and three-sixteenths) to work with and a track where we think his tactical style will work to best advantage. In the end, we just thought it was the right choice.”

The trainer also noted that he had finalized riding assignments for his three Derby horses, with Edgar Prado on Dunkirk, Rene Douglas on Advice and Chris DeCarlo on Join in the Dance.

Tuesday morning Pletcher had sent his three workers from Monday – Advice (:47.20), Join in the Dance (1:00.20) and Take the Points (1:00.20) — back to the track for easy jogs of a mile around the big oval.

Dunkirk, the $3.7 million yearling who flew in from Florida on Tuesday morning to bed down in Pletcher’s Barn 38, was once considered a possible outside-looking-in type on the graded stakes earnings’ list.  But now he is assured a spot in the starting field for the 10-furlong race, and is likely to be one of the solid betting interests.

ATOMIC RAIN/WEST SIDE BERNIE – The minute after he heard that Atomic Rain was a likely Kentucky Derby starter, trainer Kelly Breen had the colt put on a van at Monmouth Park in New Jersey and had him headed for Churchill Downs.

“They left Monmouth at 12:30, and it’s about a 13-hour trip,” Breen said, “so they should get here about 2 in the morning.”

Atomic Rain, a bay son of Smart Strike-Paradise Pond, by Cox’s Ridge, is owned by George and Lori Hall, who already have a Derby starter in West Side Bernie. Atomic Rain finished fourth when West Side Bernie was second to I Want Revenge in the Grade I Wood Memorial last out.

Atomic Rain has yet to win since breaking his maiden at Monmouth last June, but finished second to Old Fashioned in the Grade II Remsen Stakes at Aqueduct last November. This season at 3, he was second, beaten a neck, in an allowance race at Gulfstream Park, ran seventh in the Grade III Sam F. Davis Stakes at Tampa Bay, and then third in a Gulfstream allowance test before his Wood Memorial outing.

Breen said that Joe Bravo, who has been aboard Atomic Rain his past two starts, will have the mount in the Derby. Bravo had his first and only previous Derby mount in 2005, when he finished 16th aboard Spanish Chestnut.

West Side Bernie was out early Tuesday morning, taking a mile and a half gallop around the Churchill Downs oval with Breen aboard.

“We thought we’d beat the weather,” Breen said, “so we got him out early today. He’s doing fine, coming up to the race the right way.”

This will be Breen’s first Kentucky Derby, but his rider for West Side Bernie, Stewart Elliott, won the race aboard Smarty Jones in 2004. Elliott rode West Side Bernie for the first time in the colt’s most recent start, the Grade I Wood Memorial at Aqueduct on April 4.

The Bernstein colt closed ground in the stretch and finished second behind I Want Revenge in the nine-furlong Wood.

“Bernie ran really well that day,” Breen said. “He kicked it in late, maybe a little too late. The extra eighth of a mile in the Derby should be what he needs.”

CHOCOLATE CANDY – All was well with the Chocolate Candy crew at Barn 42 Tuesday morning. Trainer Jerry Hollendorfer, assistant trainer Galen May and exercise rider Lindsey Molina had nothing but good things to say about their colt, who had turned in a nifty :59.20 prep Monday morning in his final major exercise for Kentucky Derby 135.

“He came out of it good, ate up and just walked the shedrow this morning,” Hollendorfer said. “We’re all good.”

The veteran trainer, currently the nation’s sixth-leading conditioner with more than $2.2 million in earnings, will jog his Candy Ride colt Wednesday, gallop him Thursday and Friday, then walk him the morning of Kentucky Derby 135.

Hall of Fame rider Mike Smith, who flew overnight from California to be aboard for the Monday work, once more will be in the tack when they “Run for the Roses.”

DESERT PARTY/REGAL RANSOM – Shortly before dawn and well before rain arrived, trainer Saeed bin Suroor sent the two Godolphin colts out to gallop a mile and a quarter.

Bin Suroor said the colts are happy, healthy and in good form.

After starting their careers in the United States last summer, the colts were sent to Dubai for the winter racing season. Desert Party beat Regal Ransom in the first two of the preps for the $2 million U.A.E. Derby, but Regal Ransom won the main event by a half-length.

“One week before the race, I told the boys in the stable “Listen, there might be a surprise in the UAE. Derby,’ ” bin Suroor said. “I was right.

“At the same time, Desert Party, who is always happy and does everything you ask him in a professional way, wasn’t really happy when I saddled him for the race. He was really quiet before the race. I thought that wasn’t his day. I checked him for two days after the race and he was very quiet, but later it seemed that he was coming back really good to his form. Now he’s really a different animal.”

Bin Suroor said his colts have flourished in the month since their most recent race.

“When they were in Dubai they improved all the time, but since the last race they look much better than ever,” bin Suroor said. “We come here with some confidence. We’re looking to see our horses run a big race.”

This is the fifth time that Godolphin – the racing operation headed by the ruler of Dubai, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum – sent horses to Louisville for America’s biggest race. The top finish was a sixth by China Visit in 2000. 

“This is the hardest race in the world,” bin Suroor said, “and the best race in the world, a mile and a quarter for 3-year-olds. It’s hard to win. You need a special horse. Tough. Class. Speed. Everything in one horse.

 “We tried coming from Dubai four times. Now, I think we have better horses than what we saw in Dubai. We’re trying this year and it looks to me that our horses are doing much, much better than ever.”

FLYING PRIVATE – Robert Baker and William Mack’s Flying Private walked the shedrow at D. Wayne Lukas’ Barn 44 a day after working a half mile in :47.40. Robby Albarado, who has the mount for Derby 135, had been aboard for the work.

This colt has been compared to Charismatic, Lukas’ Derby winner in 1999, in that he figures to be a longshot on Saturday. Charismatic won at odds of 31-1.

Lukas pointed out that in addition to Charismatic, his Thunder Gulch in 1995 was a 24-1 longshot.

“Flying Private’s strength is his pedigree and he’s truly a mile-and-a-quarter horse,” said Lukas, whose other Derby winners were Winning Colors in 1988 and Grindstone in 1996.

FRIESAN FIRE – It wasn’t Derby Fever that had the attention of Friesan Fire on Tuesday morning at Barn 45.

“He was on his toes before he knew Zenyatta was here,” trainer Larry Jones said referring to the arrival of the undefeated champion mare who is housed seven stalls down from Friesan Fire. “He is quite taken with her.”

Friesan Fire, worked five furlongs in :57.80 on Monday under jockey Gabriel Saez, walked the shedrow Tuesday and will return to the track Wednesday.

“Wednesday will be a goof-off day,” Jones said. “He will go to the gate, paddock, jog and maybe ‘lope’ around there, whatever he wants to do for about 20 minutes.”

Jones said that the Vinery Stables and Fox Hill Farm colt never has had problems with either the gate or paddock.

“I just want to stand him in the gate,” Jones said. “At the Fair Grounds (for the Louisiana Derby), he was on the outside and loaded last and they sprung the latch. I just don’t want him to think it is like that all the time.”

In the Louisiana Derby, Friesan Fire romped by 7 ¼ lengths on a sealed, sloppy track. With rain in the forecast for the rest of the week, the chance for an off track remains a possibility.

“We are not hoping for rain. We want a fast track,” Jones said. “We know we are OK because he ran well at the Fair Grounds in the Louisiana Derby. Churchill Downs gets very good when it is wet. If it rains, we won’t spend the day panicking.”

GENERAL QUARTERS – Owner/trainer Tom McCarthy sent Toyota Blue Grass Stakes (Grade I) winner General Quarters out for a mile and half gallop under regular exercise rider Julie Sheets before the renovation break Tuesday morning.

“He’s doing good, couldn’t be any better,” McCarthy said as a steady rain beat down on Barn 37.

General Quarters never has raced on an off track, but McCarthy does not think it will be a problem for the son of Sky Mesa.

“Whenever he gallops on an off track, Julie says he just floats over it,” McCarthy said. “He was here all last summer when there was a lot of rain and handled it fine.”

Julien Leparoux, who will ride General Quarters in Derby 135, stopped by the barn and had a five-minute chat with McCarthy. Leparoux has not been aboard General Quarters, who was ridden in the Blue Grass by Eibar Coa.

HOLD ME BACK – WinStar Farm’s Toyota Blue Grass Stakes (Grade I) runner-up Hold Me Back jogged a mile Tuesday morning. He turned in his final breeze Sunday.

Hold Me Back has picked up all three of his career victories on synthetic surfaces and his only off-the-board result was on the dirt in the Remsen at Aqueduct. Trainer Bill Mott said the colt moves beautifully over the dirt in training and that it is too early to say he prefers one surface to another.

“We’re not about to say our horse can’t run on the dirt just off one race,” Mott said.  “We’re going to give him the chance on Saturday and then we’ll see.”

Kent Desormeaux has the riding assignment on Saturday.

I WANT REVENGE – Just after the renovation break and minutes before torrential rains fell at Churchill Downs on Tuesday morning, I Want Revenge took good advantage of a fresh and fast race track during a four-furlong workout in :47.20 under jockey Joe Talamo.

The Wood Memorial (Grade I) winner turned in fractions of :11.40, :23.20 and :35.40 during his final serious prep for a start in the Kentucky Derby.

“We got a great race track today, and we got to let him do what he normally does. I think we accomplished what we wanted to do today,” trainer Jeff Mullins said. “We just wanted to see him moving forward and into the work and happy. He worked this morning like he normally does.”

The workout was the fastest of 49 recorded at the distance. Managing partner David Lanzman’s homebred colt galloped out five furlongs in 1:00.80.

“Like Dave was saying to his kids: This is the final hurdle before the big show. But we have four more hurdles to go until Saturday,” Mullins said. “Every day you have to wake up and hope that he’s in good health and stays that way until Saturday.”

Talamo also expressed satisfaction with the tune-up.

“I’m pretty confident, especially today. Like Jeff said, I feel like we accomplished pretty much what we wanted to do,” said Talamo, a 19-year-old Louisiana native who had worked I Want Revenge at Churchill Downs twice prior to Tuesday’s bullet move. “We caught a real good race track today. The last couple of times, it was a little deep because of rain the day before. But it was great. He finished up real well; just the way we wanted him to.”

The Southern California-based jockey had gained a world of confidence in I Want Revenge during their eventful journey in the Wood Memorial, in which he broke dead last and was blocked behind a wall of horses in mid-stretch before jetting through a hole on his way to a courageous victory.

“From the Gotham and even before that, we knew he was a pretty good horse. Obviously, in the Wood, that answered a lot of questions for everyone. To overcome a trip like that is just incredible,” Talamo said. “He’s so mature for his age. It’s hard to explain. He does everything so easily.

“He’s definitely one that has a few gears on him, which helps in a race like the Derby, because there’s a lot of stop and go – hopefully not, but it does happen. But he’s definitely one of the contenders.”

Preparing for his first ride in the Derby, Talamo has sought out the advice of several prominent jockeys, past and present.

“I’ve talked to a few guys, Gary Stevens, Robby Albarado, Jerry Bailey, that’s just to name a few. They’ve all pretty much given me the same advice: Don’t cry when ‘My Old Kentucky Home’ comes on,” Talamo said.

Talamo will particularly take Stevens’ words to the starting gate with him for his initial Derby experience.

“He said just keep both feet on both sides and your mind in the middle,” Talamo said.

Mullins said I Want Revenge would walk the shedrow Wednesday, jog a mile and gallop a mile on both Thursday and Friday, and jog a mile on Saturday.

MINE THAT BIRD – Trainer Chip Woolley was feeling philosophical at Barn 42. His Kentucky Derby colt, Mine That Bird, had come out of his final work for the race Monday in good fashion and had merely walked the shedrow Tuesday. The Birdstone colt had “eaten up” and was a happy camper, and so was his conditioner.

“It’s down to racin’ luck and what happens,” the 45-year-old native of New Mexico said, sounding like a man who realized he’d done all the heavy lifting and that much of what would happen next would be in the hands of the racing gods.

“I’m just so tickled that me and my horse and my owners are now going to be part of the history of the Kentucky Derby,” he said. “We’re going to do it and they won’t ever be able to take that away from us.

“I just wanted my horse to be ready to give the best effort of his life, and I believe we’re there. He’s never been better and now we’re going to see just what he can do. When the race is done we’ll know where we’re at with him. But we’re going in ready to give it our best and we can’t ask for more than that.”

Calvin Borel, who won the 2007 Derby on Street Sense, worked Mine That Bird Monday in 1:02 and has the call on Saturday.

MR. HOT STUFF – Owned by WinStar Farm, Mr. Hot Stuff made his first appearance on the Churchill Downs racing strip Tuesday morning at 7, beating the rains that hit the area by getting in both a leg-stretching of a mile and one half under exercise rider Paul Turner and a quick bath back at Barn 41 before the skies opened.

Half of the WinStar connection ownership connection, Bill Casner, looked on trackside with trainer Eoin Harty as their handsome, near-black youngster went through his exercise.

Mr. Hot Stuff, of course, is a full brother to another WinStar runner, the more-heralded Colonel John, who last year – like his brother – came from California for the race. Circumstances this time are a bit different, however. Colonel John was one of the “buzz” horses for the 2008 Derby, finally going off the second-betting choice. Little brother Mr. Hot Stuff comes to town with a much lower-key resume and figures to be one of the outsiders in Derby 135.

John Velazquez has the call on Mr. Hot Stuff for the Saturday classic.

MUSKET MAN – Musket Man was out early Tuesday morning. With exercise rider Salvador Dominguez aboard, Musket Man schooled at the gate and then galloped a mile and a half around the fast main track.

“He just stood in the gate a while,” trainer Derek Ryan said after bicycling back to Barn 41 behind Musket Man. “He’ll gallop up to the race now.”

Musket Man, who has won the mile and a sixteenth Tampa Bay Derby (Grade III) and the mile and an eighth Illinois Derby (Grade 2) in his past two starts, has already breezed twice at Churchill Downs since he got to Kentucky two weeks ago. He went six furlongs in 1:13 flat on April 18, and then five furlongs in 1:01.60 last Saturday with jockey Eibar Coa aboard. The Derby will be his fifth start of the year.

There have been questions about Musket Man getting the Derby distance with what is essentially sprint breeding, but his half-sister, whom Ryan also trained, won short and long on dry and muddy tracks, on turf and synthetics.

“She just liked to win, and he’s the same,” Ryan said. “I’ve been hearing about his distance ‘limitations’ since his first start last October. Well, so far he’s won at six and seven furlongs, a mile and a sixteenth, and a mile and an eighth. I think he’ll handle another furlong.”

Musket Man is owned by the partnership of Eric Fein and Vic Carlson, and they’ve watched the $15,000 yearling purchase win five of six career starts and earn $572,600 since he debuted on Oct. 25 at Belmont.

PAPA CLEM – Bo Hirsch’s Papa Clem galloped a mile and a half under exercise rider Mundo Gonzalez before the renovation break and before the rain Tuesday morning.

“He will gallop Wednesday and Thursday I’ll breeze him,” trainer Gary Stute said. “Rafael (jockey Bejarano) is supposed to be here to work him. He’ll blowout a good quarter down the lane and out to the seven-eighths.”

Papa Clem’s lone race on an off track was a runner-up finish to Friesan Fire in the Grade 2 Louisiana Derby at Fair Grounds  and Stute would prefer not to see an off track on Saturday.

“I’d rather not see an off track because Friesan Fire beat me so easy,” Stute said of Papa Clem finishing 7 ¼ lengths back. “The first time he sees something, he is a little hesitant. It should help him for this time if it rains.”

PIONEEROF THE NILE – Trainer Bob Baffert said the Empire Maker colt owned by Zayat Stables came out of a fine work in fine shape.

Pioneerof the Nile breezed five furlongs in 1:01 Monday morning. Tuesday was a quiet morning.

“He walked the shedrow today and will jog tomorrow,” Baffert said. “He looks fantastic.”

Garrett Gomez has the riding assignment on Saturday.

SUMMER BIRD – Trainer Tim Ice braved the approaching storm Tuesday morning and took Summer Bird to the track when the track reopened at 8:30 a.m. The Birdstone colt was still galloping under jockey Chris Rosier when the rain came pelting down.

“It didn’t bother him a bit,” Ice said. “He trained all winter down at Oaklawn and it rained a lot there, too. I thought he trained well here today, and I’m very happy with the way he’s coming up to the race.”

Summer Bird, who has had just three career starts – all on a fast track – has a pedigree that says he’ll run on any surface.

“He trained as good on wet tracks as dry tracks in Arkansas,” Ice said, “maybe even better. I don’t think track condition will affect him at all.”

Summer Bird made his first start March 1, broke his maiden March 19, and then ran third behind Papa Clem in the Grade 2 Arkansas Derby on April 11. The money he earned in that race, shot him right into the top 20 on the earnings list and guaranteed him a Derby berth.

This will be the 34-year-old trainer’s first Derby, and first Grade I stakes runner. A former assistant to Morris Nicks, Cole Norman and Keith Desormeaux, Ice went out on his own less than a year ago, in late May of 2008. But he’s been around the track most of his life.

“I first went to the track when I was 13, with my stepfather Frank Rapp,” Ice said. “He took me to Waterford Park (now Mountaineer in Chester, W.Va.) where he trained a couple of horses. Not long after that, we moved to Louisiana where I grew up near Louisiana Downs.”

Ice still lives in Bossier City, La., with his wife Heather.

WIN WILLY – One day after his final Kentucky Derby breeze, Win Willy just walked under the shedrow in Barn 45 for trainer Mac Robertson.

The colt by Derby winner Monarchos was credited with a five-furlong breeze in 1:02.40 on Monday with exercise rider Eli Lopez aboard.

“I’m not certain the time is right,” Robertson said, “because he was out there with a bunch of other Derby horses when the accident happened and there was a lot of confusion. But the time doesn’t really matter.

“He went along nice and even the whole way, and I was very happy with the way he finished up the work, he looked really strong galloping out. I was very happy with the way he came back and cooled out. He’s doing great today.”

Robertson, one of several first-time Derby trainers, said he’ll be leading the rain dance party this week.

“I hope it rains and keeps on raining,” the trainer said. “I hope it rains so much they think about canceling the races, but they can’t because it’s Derby Day.”

Win Willy, whose pedigree drips with off-track form, shows just one start over a track other than fast. That was the Grade II Rebel Stakes at Oaklawn Park on March 14, a race he won by more than two lengths going away. The track was officially listed as “good” that day.

“I don’t know what they called it, but I called it muddy,” Robertson said. “Deep muddy. And my horse just loved it. That’s why I’m hoping for a wet track, because I know some of the others won’t like it a bit.”

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The speed in Kentucky Derby 135 has been falling by the wayside in the past few weeks. The Pamplemousse, Old Fashioned and Quality Road all have been eliminated from the Derby with one injury or another. Some speed pretenders still are hanging around: Join in the Dance, Papa Clem, Take the Points, Regal Ransom and even Pioneerof the Mile, if the pace is too slow.

But trainer Larry Jones and Friesan Fire may have made the speed question a mute point after the colt blistered a five furlongs in 57.80 seconds on Monday at Churchill Downs. Friesan Fire may not be on the lead. Jones said he would leave that up to jockey Gabriel Saez after the break. Jones did say the colt would be “forwardly placed.”
—————————————————————
Friesan Fire and trainer Larry Jones gallop on
Wednesday at Churchill Downs.
—————————————————————

Jones said the others might have a tough time catching his colt if they let him get too far away early, and Friesan Fire won’t have any trouble getting the distance being a son of A.P. Indy.

Friesan Fire hasn’t run a race since winning the Louisiana Derby on March 14 at the Fair Grounds in New Orleans. That is a seven-week layoff, which seems to concern some, not Jones.

“We used to do that all the time with claiming horses. He’s ready to run. That’s why the workout yesterday was quick,” Jones said. He thought Friesan Fire worked the five furlongs in about a minute until Hal Wiggins, trainer of Rachel Alexandra said to him as he past “fifty seven and four.”

“I thought he was talking about his horse, and then he said ‘No, yours was fifty seven and four. I was like ‘Oh,’ but Friesan Fire came back and he wasn’t even blowing hard. Gabe also thought he worked in about a minute,” Jones said.

Friesan Fire was fine Tuesday morning Jones said, and the trainer said he planned to get on the colt Thursday morning and see what is getting the colt’s attention on the first turn.

“They have all those tents and boxes up there and he could be seeing his own reflection in the glass. There will be a lot of people there on Saturday. I’m not concerned about it. This colt never has concerned me. After the first time I got on him as a 2-year-old, I told people this was my Triple Crown winner. Of course, I didn’t say it was the Louisiana Triple Crown,” Jones said laughing. Friesan Fire swept the 3-year-old series at the Fair Grounds this spring.

Jones finished second in the Derby with Hard Spun in 2007 and repeated that placing with the ill-fated Eight Belles last year.

Jones also trains Just Jenda, who is owned by his wife, Cindy. Just Jenda will run in Friday’s Eight Belles Stakes, named after his great filly.

“Wouldn’t it be nice if we could win that one,” Jones asked?

Yeah, Larry, that would be nice, and a Derby win wouldn’t be bad either.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Square Eddie will not run in Saturday’s 135th Kentucky Derby after reaggravating a cannon bone injury, according to trainer Doug O’Neill.

“He’s got heat in the shin,” O’Neill said early Tuesday. “We x-rayed it, and it looks good, but the heat is the first sign of some activity. He’s going to be fine. He was hiccup-free until yesterday. That shin had been cold since early March. It’s terrible timing.”

Square Eddie suffered a minor cannon bone fracture in February. With an aggressive rehabilitation, he was back in training a month later and returned to the races 1 1/2 weeks ago, finishing a gallant third in the Coollmore Lexington Stakes at Keeneland.

“We’ve just got to back off,” O’Neill said. “I’m bummed. It’s disappointing. On his best day, I think he’s as good as any colt. He belongs with this group.”