Kentucky Derby 2013 Barn Notes - May 2

“He jogged along the outside fence like those people have been there every day of his life,” Breen said. “His attitude around here is so laid-back. Things could be a lot worse going in here. You could have a high-anxiety horse that’ll be in that one post for a long time, but he’s been soaking it in. He’s just laid back, like it’s his fourth Kentucky Derby.”

Breen is the one who will be represented in his fourth Kentucky Derby but that experience hasn’t helped to calm the nerves. The trainer joked that whatever his mellow horse has been taking, he could use some it himself.

“It might not be an ideal post but I think we have a game plan,” Breen said. “The horse is doing well and horses have won from the one-post before. It has happened. It doesn’t concern me as much as you would think.

“There are things I’m seeing from the horse that have me at ease. You could have a super-nervous horse that’s anxious to go and you’re going to have to try to throttle him down. You’re going to have 150,000 people and this horse here, he’s like, it’s old hat.”

"The possibility of rain doesn’t change anything we’ll do with them getting ready for the race,” he said. “That will all be exactly the same. As to how they might do, well, none of them have any experience on an ‘off’ track. I’ve never breezed one of them on one; just never had the opportunity to. But of all of them, I get the impression that Revolutionary might be the one to relish an ‘off’ track.”  

Falling Sky, who won the Sam F. Davis (GIII) at Tampa Bay Downs in his 2013 debut, has come up short after setting the early pace in his two most recent races, a third-place finish in the Tampa Bay Derby (GII) and the Arkansas Derby (GII). The 1 ¼-mile distance of the Kentucky Derby will be Terranova’s main concern Saturday.

“Obviously with all of them, and with him, maybe more so from what we’ve seen, distance is the question mark,” Terranova said. “We’ll see. He seems to love Churchill Downs. He trains brilliantly over the track, so we’ll see what he can do.”

Terranova may have lingering doubts about the Derby distance, but he remains very confident in the son of Lion Heart’s talent.

“We’ve obviously got some concerns, but at this point, I wouldn’t have changed anything we’ve done coming into the race. The horse gives us 100 percent. I have no doubts he’s a very good horse who will try and give us an honest effort. We’re just hoping for a nice clean trip and a little bit of racing luck,” Terranova said. “I think the post (No. 13) is fine. We drew outside some potential speed horses. I’m not concerned with the rain. An off track may actually help him.

Arkansas Derby (GI) runner-up Frac Daddy – consistently the more aggressive of the duo this week – jogged one mile and galloped one mile under exercise rider Hugo Garcia. Meanwhile, Blue Grass Stakes (GI) winner Java’s War jogged two miles with exercise rider Marvin Abrego aboard.

“I think most trainers are looking at the weather,’’ Stewart said. “I don’t know, are we fretting? Are we concerned? It is what it is, as they say. But I hope (rain) misses.’’

Golden Soul, by Perfect Soul out of Hollywood Gold by Mr. Prospector, hasn’t worked on muddy tracks but has galloped often in mud, Stewart said.

“He’s out of a Mr. Prospector mare. They tend to run well in the mud. Perfect Souls – I don’t really know.’’

The Churchill Downs track handles water well, said Stewart, who is based at the track. “It’s the best on training, this and the Fair Grounds, in my opinion. They do a great job. You know, we’ll just have to see if it rains during the races. …

“If it’s raining while we’re not training or racing, they keep it sealed, and the water runs off, which is good. We’ll just have to see. Nobody can predict the weather.’’

Perfect Soul galloped Thursday under exercise rider Emerson Chavez.

Itsmyluckyday will enter the Derby with a second-place finish behind Orb in the Florida Derby (GI) last time out. Trainer Eddie Plesa Jr. said the Gulfstream Park Derby and Holy Bull (GIII) victor will be better prepared for a rematch with Orb Saturday.

“The whole plan was to get him here on the first Saturday in May in the best possible condition he could be in, and part of that process was 62 days between the Holy Bull and the Florida Derby. As important as it was for us to win the Florida Derby, it wasn’t our goal. Our goal was always to win the Kentucky Derby,” Plesa said. “In my mind he probably wasn’t 100 percent fit for the Florida Derby. He was probably closer to 95 percent fit. When you’re running against a horse like Orb, you better be 100 percent fit.  So going into this race, I don’t think, I know my horse is 100 percent. It’s going to be an interesting race for everybody involved.”

Plesa raised the possibility that the early pace of the Derby may be slower than years past.

“Since the point system has been put into effect, it kind of takes a couple factors out of the race. Certainly, a sprinter is not going to be in this race and a filly isn’t going to be in this race. So with that being said, that does change the pace on paper,” Plesa said. “It looks like the pace may be a slower pace than we’ve seen in the past. As far as my horse is concerned, my horse has tactical speed and can do whatever needs to be done.”  

Elvis Trujillo has the return mount aboard Itsmyluckyday.

“But we knew we were only about 80 percent and we knew we were trying to peak in the third race off the layoff. After that race Tom and I decided we needed to adjust and what we did was take the blinkers off and put Maurice – a more mellow gallop rider – back on him. We went back to the slow, long-distance gallops, doing the works so they were slow early.”

Mylute stalked the pace in the Risen Star, laying fourth in the early going but leaving himself with nothing left to kick home. In the Louisiana Derby, having trained to relax early, Mylute was as much as 11 lengths off the pace down the backside and saved his best running for the stretch, collaring Revolutionary approaching the sixteenth pole but without quite being able to go by.

“After he stood in the gate he wanted out to go out and gallop a little strong, but he pulled up good and came back good,” trainer Chad Brown said. “That’s him. He’s really sharp right now. We’re happy.

Trainer Shug McGaughey, whose Florida Derby winner drew the No. 16 post position, has envisioned what jockey Joel Rosario might expect during the running of Derby 139.

“I think there’s going to be horses that show a little more speed than maybe it shows on paper. I’m just going to tell Joel to play the break and see what happens and try to hold some kind of position so when the time comes we got a chance to make that run,” McGaughey said. “Hopefully, he’ll get a clean trip around the first turn, which I think is very important. That’s where all the jamming up comes. Going down the backside, hopefully, he can ease in and save a little ground, but not be down in there and not be able to make a run when the time comes.”

One race prior to the Derby on Saturday’s card, McGaughey is slated to saddle turf star Point of Entry for a highly anticipated clash with Horse of the Year Wise Dan in the Woodford Reserve Turf Classic (GI). With so much attention focused on Orb during Derby week, the multiple Grade I stakes winner has been training at Churchill somewhat under the radar.

“He’s not under our radar,” McGaughey said. “We’re looking forward to running him. He’s been a great pleasure around here for us and he still is. I don’t know how he could be doing any better. We’ll see how it goes.”

“You know, when you’ve got five or six or seven holes sitting out there, you say, ‘You know what? I got so and so in hole five and so and so in seven, and six is still available; I’d like to get right between those two,’ ’’ Lukas was saying Thursday morning, “If you get the two – there’s not much speed (nearby)  – we can live with that. So you start analyzing it immediately.

“Of course, you lay awake all night and analyze it.’’  

Calumet Farm’s Oxbow, who generally shows early speed, drew No. 2, and Willis Horton’s Will Take Charge, a late runner, drew No. 17. Lukas said he’ll continue to weigh race plans for them until meeting with Gary Stevens, Oxbow’s jockey, and Jon Court, Will Take Charge’s rider, for strategy sessions.

“I get into it pretty good,’’ Lukas said of his strategizing. “Once I talk to Gary and Jon, I’ll pretty much turn them loose and say, ‘Look, this isn’t going to be a Hollywood script. I mean, this is not going to happen the way I’m describing it to you, but make the best of it. I always tell ’em at the end, ‘Hell, just do what you want.’

The sessions also will be for psyching up the riders, Lukas said.

“It’s the coach in me,’’ said Lukas, who was a basketball coach before becoming a trainer. “We have a little locker-room talk. You know, play ‘Rocky’ tapes and give ’em B-12 shots.’’

Oxbow, under exercise rider Rudy Quevedo, and Will Take Charge, with exercise rider Taylor Carty aboard, galloped Thursday.

Rodriguez said the short work was intended to put the horse on his toes two days before the race. It’s something of an old-school approach that Rodriquez learned from trainers he worked for during his career as a jockey and exercise rider, Dick Dutrow and his son, Richard Dutrow Jr., and the Hall of Famer Bobby Frankel.