By My Standards 'in a good place' for 2019 Kentucky Derby

Trainer Bret Calhoun views the six weeks between By My Standards’ final 2019 Kentucky Derby prep and the May 4 race itself as a three-step process.

One, come out of the race healthy. Two, successfully make the ship from Fair Grounds, where he won the March 23 Louisiana Derby (G2) to Churchill Downs. And three, progress through a series of works leading up to the race.

“That’s kind of where he is right now,” Calhoun said Thursday after By My Standards whipped through a half mile in 48.40 seconds under the Twin Spires, going out before sunrise

“He’s in a good place mentally and physically,” Calhoun added. “It’s obviously hard to keep these horses at the top of their game. We’re very comfortable with where we are, and if we can keep it like that until the first Saturday in May, we’ll be very happy and feel like we have a very good chance.”

Allied Racing’s By My Standards, a son of Goldencents, posted the seventh-fastest of 28 half-mile breezes Thursday.

“Actually, we were targeting something slower,” Calhoun said, “but I knew in my mind he would probably go that quick. I was just hoping he wouldn’t go any quicker. He was full of himself — very sharp, feeling good.

“The track is pretty fast. It’s tight. It’s pretty good, and that sped it up a little bit. But this was a very easy work for him.”

Calhoun said the colt always works solo, as “he does more than we want basically every time. He’s just one of those that puts a lot into his training.”

Connections saw marked recent improvement in the former $150,000 purchase. Never worse than third in his five starts, By My Standards did take until his fourth race to break his maiden, galloping to a 4 1/4-length victory on Fair Grounds’ Risen Star (G2) undercard in February.

In the Louisiana Derby, By My Standards stalked the pace before running up the rail to win the season’s first major Derby prep at 22-1. Calhoun said that weather-permitting, his charge is scheduled to work again next Thursday.

“He’s just a naturally talented colt,” said jockey Gabriel Saez, who was up for Thursday's work. “I just have to keep my fingers crossed for the next four weeks but I’m very confident he can take us there. He is just naturally gifted. In the work this morning he did everything so effortlessly.

"He’s one of the smartest horses I’ve ever been on.”