Kentucky Derby 2023: Contenders finalize preparations

Less than 48 hours remain until the first Saturday in May, and trainers are eagerly watching as their Kentucky Derby 2023 contenders log their final training sessions before the run for the roses.

With Practical Move scratched because of a fever, Cyclone Mischief moved into the field. Later Thursday, Lord Miles was scratched and trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. was suspended, allowing Mandarin Hero into the field. Read more here.

Trainer Dale Romans already was making sure Cyclone Mischief is fresh, fit and ready to step into the 20th starting gate Saturday.

“He went out to school in the gate, and will stand in the paddock today,” Romans said Thursday after a gallop of about 1 3/8 miles with exercise rider Faustino Herrarte. “He galloped super today.”

Cyclone Mischief will break from the outside post 20, but his program number will remain No. 21.

All other horses program numbers also will remain the same, but those who were drawn outside of Practical Move's post 10 will break from one gate to their inside.

It was an eventful morning for trainer Brad Cox, with three of his four Derby contenders scheduled to gallop at 7:30 a.m. EDT. Two of three contenders were completing their final circuit around the racetrack when the third runner, Verifying, passed the five-furlong marker and got loose from his rider. He was apprehended at the quarter pole by outriders Greg Blasi and Lee Lockwood.

Cox reported Verifying was fine following the training mishap.

Moments later, Peter Miller’s filly And Tell Me Nolies reared as she was walking off the track and ran off the gap back to her Barn 24.

Miller stated And Tell Me Nolies was OK.

There will be special training hours Friday and Saturday with training from 5:30 to 7:30 a.m. Friday’s 7:45 to 8 slot will be reserved for Oaks and Derby horses and the same time Saturday for Derby horses.

Angel of Empire, Hit Show, Jace's Road, Verifying. Hit Show went out to train at 5:15 a.m., and his other three Derby running stablemates, Angel of Empire, Jace’s Road and Verifying went to out to train at 7:30 a.m. during the special training time Thursday.

Three of the four had routine 1 1/2-mile gallops, but Verifying had a little more eventful training session. He dumped his exercise rider and had to be caught by outrider Greg Blasi and Lee Lockwood. About an hour later, Cox reported Verifying was “fine.”

In addition to the four horses in the Kentucky Derby, Cox also has three fillies in the Kentucky Oaks as he seeks his third win in that race. When asked how he was holding up from the pressures of the week, the Louisville native said, “I’m great. It’s cool, it’s great. Since we got all of our works in and our gate schooling in, I’m just ready for race day to get here.”

All four of the Cox Derby runners will school in the paddock during the first race Thursday.

Confidence Game. Confidence Game walked the shedrow of barn 24 as is the normal routine for the Keith Desormeaux stable. He will return to the track Friday to gallop and is likely to also gallop Saturday morning, race day.

A lot has been made of the fact that Confidence Game has not run since winning the Rebel Stakes (G2) on Feb. 25 at Oaklawn, but the only ones not concerned are his trainer and owner.

“The answer is simple, it took the ownership a month to sober up,” Desormeaux said. “That’s the funny answer. How do you want me to make a decision when the ownership was still partying a month later? It was awesome. The Rebel was fun for those guys.

"The serious answer is it was 40 degrees all weekend in Hot Springs that week, he ran in that kind of weather and then we shipped back to New Orleans on Sunday and it’s 80 degrees. In New Orleans it was 80 degrees all week. So, he went from 40 to 80. And, it zapped him. I knew I was going to give him a couple of light weeks. And, right when I got him up to race readiness again, which was around Louisiana Derby time, around Arkansas Derby time, Blue Grass time, it was time to ship here. And horses need to acclimate. He was going from New Orleans to Louisville, changing homes, changing routine. I just didn’t think adding a race on top of that was beneficial to what I wanted to do Saturday, so we chose not to run and I feel very comfortable with that decision. The horse is just thriving right now.”

Kirk Godby, managing partner of owner Don't Tell My Wife Stables, said, “10 weeks, there’s been a lot of talk about this, but Keith and I talked about it and we felt it was in the best interest of the horse. We wanted to have him fresh and ready to run in the Triple Crown. We felt this gives him the best chance to compete in this race and then go on from there. We’re excited.”

Continuar. Continuar walked from the quarantine barn to the front of the grandstand and then went to the mile chute, where he warmed up during the first harrow break of the morning.

When the track reopened for training at 7:30, Continuar cantered a mile with trainer Yoshito Yahagi looking on.

Ryusei Sakai will be aboard Continuar for his first Derby mount and will break from post 19.

Derma Sotogake. Derma Sotogake walked from the quarantine barn to the front of the grandstand and then went to the mile chute where he warmed up during the first harrow break of the morning.

When the track reopened at 7:30, the UAE Derby (G2) winner galloped a mile and a quarter as trainer Hidetaka Otonashi and jockey Christophe Lemaire looked on.

Derma Sotogake will be the second Derby mount for Lemaire, who was aboard Crown Pride last year when that runner finished 13th.

Lemaire rode the son of Mind Your Biscuits for the first time in the UAE Derby, a front-running 5 1/2-length victory that propelled Derma Sotogake to the co-fourth choice on the Derby 149 morning line at 10-1.

Disarm. Disarm galloped Thursday at 7:30 a.m. for Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen.

Forte, Kingsbarns, Tapit Trice. As usual, Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher had his Derby trio trackside and ready to roll for the 7:30 to 7:45 training period for Derby and Oaks runners. They all went about their business by galloping about a mile and three eighths around the Churchill oval.

The threesome consisted of Derby favorite Forte with exercise rider Hector Ramos up, undefeated Kingsbarns with Elder Flores and Blue Grass Stakes (G1) star Tapit Trice with Amelia Green.

Green, a young English horsewoman who has worked for Pletcher for the last six years, was asked about the possibility of the gray Tapit Trice winning Saturday’s Derby and what that would mean to her.

“Well, I’m lucky to be working in a good barn with good horses,” she said. “All our horses are working well, including mine. But I don’t think you’re going to find anyone here this week with a Derby horse that wouldn’t tell you their horse is training well.

“If one of the horses from our barn were to win, I’d be delighted. We’re a team here and we root for each other and want the others to do well. But probably, deep in my heart, there’s a place that would feel very warm if my horse was to win the Derby. That would be special.”

Pletcher said “All is good so far,” when asked about his Derby hopefuls. He’s scheduled them for a visit to the paddock with the horses for Thursday’s race 6 and indicated his runners would be ready to train again Friday in the 7:45 to 8 a.m. training session for Derby and Oaks runners.

Mage. The Good Magic colt, runner-up to Forte in the Florida Derby (GI), galloped Thursday with regular exercise rider J.J. Delgado.

“Today he was schooling at the gate, and he looked really, really good on the track,” said trainer Gustavo Delgado. “There wasn’t any problem when the horse (Verifying) got loose. Today he’s probably going to the paddock, too.”

“The talent he’s showing is very great,” Delgado added after lightly raced Mage galloped a strong mile-and-a-half.

Javier Castellano will ride the colt out of post eight. He’s listed at 15-1 on the morning line.

Reincarnate. Trainer Tim Yakteen sent his Santa Anita Derby winner Practical Move out for a good gallop at the start of the special 7:30 to 7:45 training session Thursday morning at Churchill Downs. The big colt by Practical Joke galloped under exercise rider Baltazar Contreras for 1 3/8 miles schooled in the starting gate as well. His fever was detected after he returned to the barn and didn't want to eat.

At 7:55 Contreras got a leg up on Reincarnate, the Sham Stakes (G3) winner, and he, too, headed to the racetrack for a good gallop, covering a mile and a quarter when all was said and done.

Reincarnate will come out of post seven and have Hall of Fame jockey John Velazquez in the saddle.

Raise Cain. Andrew and Rania Warren’s Raise Cain galloped 1 1/2 miles under Rene Morales for trainer Ben Colebrook.

“This morning was as good as he ever trained,” Colebrook said. “His ears were pricked.”

Raise Cain will be the first Derby starter for the 45-year-old Colebrook, who went out on his own in 2012.

“The first Derby I saw in person was Thunder Gulch in 1995,” Colebrook said. “The first Derby I really remember was Alysheba (in 1987). He was my favorite horse.”

Rocket Can. The Into Mischief colt was on the track Thursday morning for a gallop of about 1 3/8 miles with regular exercise rider Guelser Cardona.

“We got held up a bit, but it turned out OK,” said Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott, referring to Verifying dumping his exercise rider and taking off.

Rocket Can, who will break from post 17 and was listed at morning-line odds of 30-1, will have Junior Alvarado aboard in the Derby. He’ll wear blinkers and has trained with them on.

Skinner. Following a pattern he set on his first Churchill training morning this past Monday, trainer John Shirreffs sent his colt Skinner to the racetrack at 9 a.m. for his morning exercise.

The Curlin colt, a $510,000 2-year-old-in-training purchase, had exercise rider Donnie Balthazar up and a stable pony alongside as they came through the six-furlong gap and backtracked to the finish line and into the paddock. The rider then took the bay onto the racetrack from there for a strong 1 1/2-mile gallop, moving smartly in the middle of the racetrack. Skinner was on the bit and wanting to run.

“Oh, yeah, happy with that strong move,” said Shirreffs, who watched he drill from a viewing stand on the backside.

Skinner was escorted by veteran pony lady Monnie Goetz. She took Shirreffs's previous Kentucky Derby winner, Giacomo, to the post for the 2005 Kentucky Derby. She was asked whether she had happy memories of that experience.

“Oh, yes,” she said. “That’s always fun when you’re working with a winner. I’ve had a couple of others that I took to the post, too – Orb in 2013 and California Chrome in 2014.”

Who will she take postward for Derby 149?

“Don’t know yet,” she said. “I’ve been working with about 13 of them leading up to the race. I’ll wind up with one of them.”

Made aware of the special training hours in place for Friday because of the Kentucky Oaks card, Shirreffs indicated that he would send his charge out during the 7:45 to 8 a.m. training period set aside for Derby and Oaks runners. The track closes for training after that.

Sun Thunder. Trainer Kenny McPeek had his colt back on the track Thursday with regular exercise rider Martin Vargas, galloping slightly more than a mile.

On Oaks day, McPeek plans to send Sun Thunder out in the first set when the track opens at 5:15 a.m.

Riding Sun Thunder in his breeze was his Derby jockey, Brian Hernandez Jr. The colt has been training with blinkers on, and will wear them in the Derby. Sun Thunder and Hernandez will leave the Derby starting gate from post position 12. He’s listed at 50-1 on the morning line.

McPeek has made headlines throughout the week sporting University of Kentucky and University of Louisville gear. But Wednesday night McPeek and his family attended the Davenport Derby Dash, a benefit for the Scott Davenport Foundation at Bellarmine University.

When asked at the event his instructions to Hernandez in the Derby, McPeek stated, “I’m just watching along. I’ll let Brian decide what to do.”

Two Phil's. Two Phil’s visited the track earlier than usual on Thursday, galloping his standard 1 and 1/4 miles at 6 a.m. under exercise rider Gonzalo Gonzales. The son of Hard Spun by the General Quarters mare Mia Torri was bred by the father-and-son team of Chicago natives Philip and Anthony Sagan, who have retained 10 percent ownership.

One of the two eponymous Phils, Phil Sagan arrived in Louisville on Wednesday and joined Anthony on the backside Thursday morning.

“Two Phil’s is the first horse we ever bred, and nobody wanted him,” Anthony Sagan said. “His mother is a Florida-bred and we actually bought her off Michael “Bo” Yates (trainer of Oaks filly Dorth Vader). She was the first horse we ever bought. The mom is the same type of horse, relaxed, easy going, nothing bothered her, she didn't lose her mind in the paddock, so he got that from her. How many guys get involved in the game with one horse and then after she’s done racing, breed that horse, and the first horse she has is now in the Derby?”

Two Phil’s has two brothers, a 2-year-old by Omaha Beach and a baby by McKenzie. The chestnut colt will school in the paddock ahead of Race three on Thursday.

Also-eligibles

Mandarin Hero galloped two miles under Yuji Horita.

King Russell galloped 1 1/2 miles Thursday at 7:30 a.m.