After Derby 'whirlwind,' Calhoun to back off By My Standards

Trainer Bret Calhoun quickly became the talk of the backstretch with how well his Louisiana Derby (G2) winner By My Standards trained toward the Kentucky Derby. Now, following an 11th-place finish in the Derby that included losing several lengths at the break, Calhoun will eye a summer campaign.

“It was quite the whirlwind the last few weeks,” Calhoun said. “I think I’m going to back off on him for a little bit and we’ll see what kind of options we have during the summer for him.”

Even though Calhoun experienced some bad luck in the Derby, he didn’t walk away from the weekend empty handed as stablemate Mr. Money stormed home to a victory in the Pat Day Mile (G3).

“I know the Preakness was talked about with Mr. Money but there are too many races later on in the year that I didn’t want to rush into anything crazy like that with him,” Calhoun said. “We’ll target the Matt Winn, which is a mile-and-a-sixteenth and a solid next step after running one-turn in the Pat Day Mile. We know he can run well at one turn and if we rushed him coming back in two weeks and increased his distance to 1 3/16 miles, it may be too much for him to handle so quickly.

"If the Matt Winn works out well for him, then we have plenty of options in the summer at two turns.” 

The Matt Winn is part of a nighttime stakes bonanza at Churchill Downs on Saturday, June 15 that also includes the Stephen Foster (GII).