Kentucky Derby 2013 Contender Orb Impressive in Final Work

“He’s an eye-catching horse, with his color and everything else,” trainer Kelly Breen said. “He’s put on a little weight since the Spiral and he looks good.”

Mike Pegram’s Governor Charlie had his training interrupted for a short time in mid-April because of a minor foot bruise. The Midnight Lute colt won the Sunland Park Derby (GIII) on March 24. After talking with Pegram, Baffert scrapped plans to breeze Govenor Charlie Monday and sent him out for a routine gallop.

“He’s a good feeling colt. It looks like he came out of the breeze really well. He’s hitting the ground great,” trainer John Terranova said. “He galloped from near the quarter pole to about the five-eighths pole. It was just to stretch his legs a little bit. It was a light day, first day back after he walked yesterday.”

Falling Sky, the Sam F. Davis (GIII) winner who worked five furlongs in :59.60 on Friday, will have routine gallops up to Saturday’s Kentucky Derby. Terranova likely will school the son of Lion Heart in the paddock this week.

“He’s handled himself well in the paddock each time we’ve run him. Of course, it will be different for all of them. It’ll be a scene that they’ve never seen before and ever will see again,” Terranova said. “It’ll be something, but he handles himself well. He’s a smart colt.”  

Luis Saez is slated to ride Falling Sky, who finished fourth after setting the pace in the Arkansas Derby (GI) last time out.

“Since Oaklawn, looking at him, he’s filled out and body-wise he’s gotten bigger,” Lebron said. “He’s gotten a lot stronger, way stronger. He’s been a way different horse since landing here. He got way stronger than what he was over there. He’s just been getting tougher and tougher.”

Dallas Stewart trains Golden Soul, who moved up to the 19^th spot on the Derby leaderboard.

“I’m very happy,’’ Stewart said. “I’m so happy for the horse to get the opportunity. I’m happy for Mr. Fipke. He’s going to have two horses in there. I really think (Golden Soul) is going to represent us well.’’

Fipke bred and owns Golden Soul and Java’s War.

“You want to maintain,’’ Stewart said of what he’s doing with Golden Soul this week. “You don’t want to necessarily get them fit, but you want to keep them sharp, continue to take it to them, prepare them. You’ve got a day or two here – Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday – back off Thursday and Friday, something like that. … You just have to see. You like to see them pick it up earlier in the week, then kind of take it down a notch Thursday and Friday.’’

Stewart said he hasn’t decided on a jockey but has “a couple in mind.’’

“He loved it. He bounced all the way around the racetrack. He handled the surface really well -- that’s what I liked the most about it,” Shelton said. “His energy level is 100 percent.”

Trainer Eddie Plesa Jr. traveled to Louisville from his Calder Race Course base on Monday and is expected to send Itsmyluckyday to the track following the renovation break Tuesday morning.

Itsmyluckyday captured the Gulfstream Park Derby and Holy Bull (GIII) at Gulfstream prior to finishing second behind Orb in the Florida Derby (GI). His exercise rider said he expects the son of Lawyer Ron’s running style to be well suited to the Derby.

“He has tactical speed and a big kick when you ask him,” Shelton said.

Shelton said Itsmyluckyday makes his job easy.

“He’s not like a lot of horses that really want to go on the bit. He just holds the bit enough so you can keep a perfect balance with your body,” he said. “You don’t even have to move on him. You just have to move your wrist and he switches his lead; you move your other wrist and he switches his lead. That’s hard to find horses like that. He loves to train.”  

Elvis Trujillo has the mount aboard Itsmyluckyday.

“It was a light day,” trainer Tom Amoss said. “Tomorrow will be a busier day; he’ll do a full gallop tomorrow.”

Amoss remains confident that Mylute is prepared to put forth a peak effort in the Kentucky Derby. What remains to be seen is whether that will be enough to make an impact.

“I’ll be frank,” Amoss said. “He’s going to have to run the best race of his life to be competitive Saturday. But when it comes to the Kentucky Derby, that same statement applies to the other 19 in the race. Somebody’s going to really step forward and the one that does is going to be the winner.”

Joel Rosario, who is slated to ride Orb in the Derby, was aboard Overwhelming, a 3-year-old maiden who was clocked in :48.60.

Orb posted the fifth fastest half-mile workout of 43 recorded Monday morning after turning in fractions of :23.80 and :35.80.

“I wanted to work him a half-mile to put him in the game. He left his workmate pretty easily and finished up well. He’s had a little bit of a tendency in his races when he’s made the lead he thought he’d done enough. So we wanted him to finish and go by the other horse and he did it,” trainer Shug McGaughey said. “Jenn was happy, so that makes me happy.”

Orb pleased his Hall of Fame trainer with his professionalism during his morning outing.

“Churchill is a bit different sometimes, so I was hoping this is what I’d see,” he said. “I’ve been a little bit nervous hoping he’d work well, and I think it did go well. He dropped his head and walked home the way you’d want him to and he didn’t break a sweat. She (Patterson) felt he didn’t get out of a high gallop.”

Since shipping in from the country setting at Payson Park in Indiantown, Fla., the son of Malibu Moon has adapted well to his new and busier surroundings.

“He went to the gate Friday; that went perfect; he went to the paddock Saturday night and that went perfect, as well as you could expect the first time over there, especially at night. He’ll go again on Wednesday,” McGaughey said. “He’s fit in here as well as I could expect. As of right now, I’ve got no qualms. We have four, five more days to go.”

If all continues to go well, Orb will be only the second Kentucky Derby starter for McGaughey since he saddled Easy Goer for a second-place finish behind Sunday Silence in 1989. A native of Lexington, Ky., McGaughey has always dreamed of winning the Kentucky Derby.

“It’s on top of my list and it has been for a long time. Even though we haven’t been here that many times, every year when we get a bunch of 2-year-olds, I’m hoping that one of them will be the horse that can give us the opportunity,” said McGaughey, who saddled Saarland for a 10^th-place finish in 2002. “All we want is the opportunity. I feel what will be will be when race day comes.”

“I’m excited. I have been since the Florida Derby. We came here with the idea that we’re going to be excited and try to have fun with it. I know Wednesday or Thursday, the nerves are going to set in – not that they weren’t last night anticipating this morning,” McGaughey said. “I’m having a good time. I’m comfortable in Louisville. I’ve stabled at Churchill and was in this barn (No. 43). I lived here for three or four years.”

Oxbow’s time was :59.80, the fastest of 34 workouts at the distance. His fractions were 11.80, :23.40, :35.20, and :47.40, and he  galloped out six furlongs in 1:14.80.

Will Take Charge’s time was 1:01, the 12^th fastest of the morning. His fractions were :11.60, 23.20 and 35.20. Will Take Charge galloped out six furlongs in 1:17.40.

“A work’s a work,’’ Lukas said. “I’ve always said we put a little too much emphasis on works. When you do it at 8 in the morning, it’s a lot different from the afternoon, but it’s a barometer of where you’re at with a horse in a lot of ways. As a trainer you get a chance to evaluate maybe the energy level of where you’re at, the soundness, all the things that go into maybe winning the darn thing.

“I don’t get caught into it so much, but I told Gary in the tack room here, I said, ‘59-and-4 to a minute would fit me today,’ and that’s my opinion – I didn’t discuss it with the horse at all – and he hit it right on the head, which I know is an accident, but it was good. Will, I thought worked a little bit slower, but Rudy was afraid. I’d pretty much beat up on him in there about going too fast this close (to the race), so less is always better. Always better. If you’re going to err on any side of a work, you always err on the slow side, never err on the fast side.’’

Stevens, 50, will be riding in his 19^th Derby but first since 2005. In January, Stevens came out of seven-year retirement.

His three Derby victories include two for Lukas – on Winning Colors in 1988 and Thunder Gulch in 2005. Silver Charm (1997) was Stevens’ other Derby winner.

The experience factor – you cannot downplay it in this one, with 20 horses especially,’’ Lukas said of having Stevens on Oxbow. “I would be very concerned in the race about somebody that had never ridden one. There are some in there, and I’m not second-guessing Doug O’Neill with a first-time guy, or anybody else. But experience is big.’’

“It never gets old,’’ Stevens said of participating in the Derby. “It’s no different than from when I was here for my first Derby, except I know what it’s all about. I don’t prepare for it any differently now than I did was I was 23 years old, but it’s exciting, and it’s exciting going in there knowing you have a chance.”

Stevens expressed gratitude for the support he has received from trainers and owners since he returned to riding.

“Wayne called me back in January after I’d ridden for just the first week, and he said, ‘I’ve got a couple of colts that I think you’ll be wanting to ride one of them the first Saturday in May.’ And here we are. He’s a Hall of Famer for a reason, and his record in the Derby speaks for itself.’’

Lukas, who was listening, took a wad of bills out of his pocket and acted as if he would hand money to Stevens. “Don’t let me interrupt, Gary,’’ Lukas said. “Just roll with it.’’

“Owner has decided not to go,” Aguirre texted.

Tiz a Minister, owned by S.A.Y. Racing (Stephen Young), ran third in Saturday’s Snow Chief at Betfair Hollywood Park.