Always Dreaming receives champ’s treatment at Churchill

Nick Bush was first to receive Always Dreaming off the van Monday at Churchill Downs, and he led last year's Kentucky Derby winner to a familiar Barn 40, helping the colt settle into his stall.

“Welcome back!” he told Always Dreaming. “You remember the last time we were here.”

Racing fans will receive a reminder as he gets a champion’s welcome to training under the Twin Spires.

Starting Tuesday, Always Dreaming will be eligible to enter the track during a 15-minute window normally reserved only for this year’s Kentucky Derby and Oaks contenders. From 7:30-7:45 a.m. each day, he’ll don a special red saddle towel to set him apart.

“He’s a little more mature now,” Bush said. “He’s a little more grown up. So hopefully all of that will come together and he can get better. He seems like he’s filled out. He feels like he’s a little more solid.”

A son of Bodemeister, Always Dreaming hasn’t won since last year’s Kentucky Derby, but he was shut down during the fall due to a severe case of stomach ulcers. Trainer Todd Pletcher brought the colt back for the Grade 2 Gulfstream Park Mile on March 31 — Always Dreaming ran second to end a seven-month layoff — and he’s pointing now to the Grade 2 Alysheba going 1 1/16 miles on the May 4 Oaks undercard.

“He needed that first race back to get him fit again and get him back to square one,” Bush said. “He’s training well, and hopefully he can bounce back because he likes it here. We know he likes it here.”

Bush said the Pletcher barn’s arrival to Churchill Downs brought back memories of last year’s leadup to the Derby, in which the trainer switched him to exercise rider and began use of a different kind of rein.

“It was all the hype with him being really strong in his gallops and trying to get him to relax,” Bush said.

Bush has also worked or galloped three of Pletcher’s 2018 Kentucky Derby contenders who also arrived Monday on a trip from South Florida. He said the trio of Florida Derby winner Audible, Arkansas Derby winner Magnum Moon and Louisiana Derby winner Noble Indy are “all class. They move smoothly. They go around there good, so hopefully they show up on the big day.”