Kentucky Derby 2019 Daily: Signalman in ‘a good position’
Welcome to Horse Racing Nation’s Kentucky Derby Daily, which will each day leading up to the May 4 race at Churchill Downs detail all the news and notes related to contenders in one convenient space.
Signalman, winner of the Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes (G2) in his last start, commenced serious preparations Saturday toward his return to the 2019 Kentucky Derby trail with a snappy half-mile breeze at Gulfstream Park, where clockers caught him moving in company in 46.63 seconds.
Trainer Kenny McPeek said the son of General Quarters also had two light workouts at Florida’s Payson Park Training Center before drilling at Gulfstream. The calendar will allow for three more breezes before his March 2 return in the Fountain of Youth (G2).
“We gave him a little bit of a break because he had a bit of a hard campaign,” McPeek said. “He got a part of a month off in December and we kind of eased him back.”
Signalman sports a 2-2-1 record from five starts, already with more than $448,000 in earnings. He was a mere $32,000 yearling back in 2017.
“I work a lot of sales and I basically go for bodies,” McPeek said. “He’s pedigree-modest, but he’s a runner.”
Signalman won second out at Saratoga, ran second to loose early leader Knicks Go in Keeneland’s Breeders’ Futurity (G1) and third in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile. He showed an affinity for an off track in the Kentucky Jockey Club on Nov. 24 at Churchill Downs, where the colt campaigned by Tommie M. Lewis, David A. Bernsen, LLC and Magdalena Racing split horses for the lead with a brave move in the stretch.
“He’s extremely smart, and for a big horse he’s fast,” McPeek said. “His last race I really liked. We asked him for speed early and he did that, then he overcame a bunch of traffic. You have to do that in May, don’t you?
“You have to work through traffic, and he seems to understand what to do. It’s a good position to be in right now.”
McPeek has finished second before in the Fountain of Youth with Harlan’s Holiday in 2002. That one went on to win the Florida Derby (G1). The trainer likens Signalman more to Tejano Run, his 1995 Derby runner-up behind Thunder Gulch.
“They have a similar body type, similar pedigree in that it’s modest,” McPeek said. “Actually, this horse maybe has more speed than Tejano Run.”
The works
Signalman led the work tab Saturday into a trio of Derby preps set to run later. For results and replays from the Withers Stakes (G3), Holy Bull (G2) and Robert B. Lewis (G3), bookmark out Kentucky Derby news page.
Hog Creek Hustle — The Lecomte Stakes (G3) runner-up began breezing toward the Feb. 16 Risen Star with a half mile Saturday morning in 48.60 seconds at Fair Grounds.
Improbable —Mentioned earlier, this one fired Friday’s five-furlong bullet, going in 58.40 at Santa Anita with his 3-year-old debut looming. Trainer Bob Baffert expects he’ll run twice before the Kentucky Derby.
Owendale — Winner of a two-turn allowance last out at Fair Grounds, he should make his stakes debut in the Risen Star. The Brad Cox trainee galloped to four furlongs Saturday in 48.80 seconds.
War of Will — The Lecomte winner, also pointing to the Risen Star, remained on schedule with his first work back on Saturday. It was just an easy half mile in 51 seconds.