Ky. Derby: Practical Move, Reincarnate, Lord Miles work

All the training action for Kentucky Derby 2023 and Kentucky Oaks occurred far from Churchill Downs on Friday, where overnight rain left a sealed and muddy track for  horses to navigate Friday morning.

But, no harm; no foul. No works were scheduled at Churchill Downs and routine gallops were the norm of the day.

Saturday figures to be much different with rain clearing out of the Louisville area and as many as 12 Derby works and two Oaks works scheduled. Temperatures are forecast to be in the low 50s under cloudy skies.

Trainers Todd Pletcher and Brad Cox fill eight of those spots with the breezes scheduled during the 7:30-7:45 a.m. EDT training window for Derby and Oaks horses.

Pletcher has half-mile works scheduled for Kingsbarns and Major Dude, who will work together, plus Forte and Tapit Trice, who will work at the same time but not in company.

Cox plans to work Angel of Empire with Jace’s Road and Hit Show with Verifying.

Also expected to work are Mage for Gustavo Delgado, Confidence Game for Keith Desormeaux and Cyclone Mischief for Dale Romans. Bill Mott has penciled Rocket Can in for Saturday but could wait until Sunday depending on track condition.

Scheduled to work for the Oaks is Mimi Kakushi for trainer Salem bin Ghadayer and Defining Purpose for trainer Kenny McPeek.

Three Kentucky Derby works took place Friday, though not under the twin spires.

Trainer Tim Yakteen worked Practical Move five furlongs in 59.6 seconds and Reincarnate a half-mile in 46.4 seconds at Santa Anita.

At Gulfstream Park, Lord Miles worked five furlongs in 1:02.4 for trainer Saffie Joseph Jr.

At Belmont Park, Promiseher America worked a half-mile in company in 49.6 seconds over the training track for trainer Ray Handal in preparation for the Kentucky Oaks.

At the San Luis Rey Training Center, And Tell Me Nolies worked five furlongs in 1:01.80 for trainer Peter Miller.

Here's the daily rundown on the likely Kentucky Derby runners: 

Angel of Empire, Hit Show, Jace's Road and Verifying – With the sloppy track condition, trainer Brad Cox’s Derby quartet had a lighter training day ahead of their final Derby works Saturday.

Angel of Empire trained at 5:30 a.m. (all times EDT) and jogged about two miles.

At 7:30 a.m., Hit Show, Jace’s Road and Verifying all had light gallops.

All four horses are scheduled to work Saturday at 7:30 a.m. EDT.

Confidence Game – Don’t Tell My Wife Stables and Ocean Reef Racing’s Confidence Game returned to the track to gallop Friday morning after walking the shedrow on Thursday. Alex Cano, the regular exercise rider and assistant trainer for Keith Desormeaux, guided Confidence Game one mile and a quarter over the sloppy sealed track.

The barn confirmed that Confidence Game will put in his last breeze ahead of the Derby on Saturday at 7:30 a.m. In his prior workout at Churchill Downs on April 14, the son of Candy Ride by the Bernardini dam Eblouissante traveled a mile from the gate in 1:38.2 with company.

“He had someone come with him from the gate and then on the backside another horse picked him up,” assistant trainer Julie Clark said. “We liked how he looked today ahead of his next work.”

Continuar – Lion Race Horse Co.’s Continuar spent an hour in the mile chute under Kazunari Yoshida before returning to the quarantine barn.

The Japan Road to the Kentucky Derby invitee is trained by Yoshito Yahagi, who is scheduled to arrive in Louisville Monday.

Continuar, who will be ridden in the Kentucky Derby by Ryusei Sakai, is expected to work Tuesday.

Derma Sotogake – Hiroyuki Asanuma’s Derma Sotogake spent an hour in the mile chute under Masatoshi Segawa before turning to the quarantine barn.

Winner of the UAE Derby in his most recent start for trainer Hidetaka Otonashi, Derma Sotogake will be ridden in the Derby by Christophe Lemaire. He is expected to work Tuesday.

Disarm – Winchell Thoroughbreds’ Disarm had a routine training session Friday in which he was accompanied to the track by assistant trainer Scott Blasi on his pony and galloped 1 1/2 miles with rider Roberto Howell in the irons.

The son of Gun Runner is scheduled to work Monday.

Forte, Kingsbarns, Major Dude and Tapit Trice – Trainer Todd Pletcher’s Kentucky Derby trio of Repole Stable and St. Elias Stable’s Forte, Whisper Hill Farm and Gainesway Stable’s Tapit Trice and Spendthrift Farm’s Kingsbarns all galloped “a mile and a quarterish” over a sealed track at 7:30 a.m. .

The Hall of Famer and two-time Kentucky Derby-winning conditioner plans to give his charges half-mile breezes Saturday morning with Forte and Tapit Trice scheduled to work in company but not together. Kingsbarns will work with Spendthrift’s Major Dude, who is on the Derby waiting list.

Lord Miles – Vegso Racing Stable’s Lord Miles worked five furlongs in 1:02.4 Friday morning over the fast main track at Gulfstream with exercise rider Andrew Thomas in the saddle.

“We just wanted a steady five-eighths. We got what we wanted. He went well,” trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. said.

Lord Miles is scheduled to ship to Churchill Downs on Saturday.

Winner of the Wood Memorial (G2) in his most recent start, Lord Miles will be ridden in Derby 149 by Paco Lopez and represent the third Derby mount for Lopez.

Joseph said Lord Miles, who had only a maiden victory to his credit before winning the Wood Memorial, will need to step up if he is to win the Derby.

“He’ll need to improve a lot to have a chance. Hopefully, he has a good week and runs the race of his life,” he said.

Mage – The Good Magic colt, owned by OGMA Investments, Ramiro Restrepo, Sterling Racing and CMNWLTH, is expected to have a final breeze on Saturday morning.

“That’s the plan, yes,” said Gustavo Delgado Jr., assistant trainer to his father, Gustavo Delgado. “It would have to be really bad (track conditions) for him not to go out tomorrow.”

The Delgados watched the Florida Derby (G1) runner-up gallop again on Friday morning during the session reserved for Derby and Oaks horses. Regular exercise rider J.J. Delgado was aboard him for a trip to the paddock for schooling, and then a routine gallop. J.J. Delgado is expected to ride him in the planned breeze.

Practical Move and Reincarnate – Trainer Tim Yakteen worked both of his Kentucky Derby hopefuls at Santa Anita.

Pierre Jean Amestoy Jr., Leslie Amestoy and Roger Beasley’s Santa Anita Derby (G1) winner Practical Move breezed five furlongs in 59.6 seconds.

Later in the morning, Reincarnate breezed a half-mile in 46.4 seconds for the partnership of SF Racing, Starlight Racing, Madaket Stables, Robert Masterson, Stonestreet Stables, Jay Schoenfarber, Warren Edge Capital and Catherine Donovan.

“Reincarnate went great. He had some outside company and looked really nice,” Yakteen said. “Practical Move went really nice as well. We’re very happy with what we saw.”

The two colts are scheduled to fly to Louisville Saturday.

Practical Move will be ridden in the Derby by Ramon Vazquez and Reincarnate will have Hall of Famer John Velazquez in the irons. 

Rocket Can – Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott is going to call an audible, as far as when the colt owned by Frank Fletcher Racing Operations prepares for the Derby with a final breeze on Saturday or Sunday.

On Friday, the Into Mischief colt was out for a gallop with regular exercise rider Guelser Cardona aboard. A final breeze ahead of the Derby is still planned for this weekend, but track conditions will determine the day.

“I’m waiting to see how the track is,” said Mott. “I’d rather wait another day, if we can give him a better track.”

Sun Thunder – The runner-up in the Risen Star (G2) at the Fair Grounds was out for a gallop on the sealed track with exercise rider Martin Vargas. R.T Racing Stable and Cypress Creek Equine’s Derby hopeful breezed a half-mile in 48.6 seconds with jockey Brian Hernandez Jr. on Wednesday.

The Into Mischief colt, a $400,000 purchase at the Fasig-Tipton Kentucky November sale in 2020, will have maintenance work looking ahead to the Derby in eight days, said Greg Geier, assistant to trainer Kenny McPeek. He said the fourth-place finisher in the Blue Grass Stakes (G1) at Keeneland is training well.

Two Phil's – After putting in his final drill before the Derby on Thursday, Patricia’s Hope and Phillip Sagan’s Two Phil’s had a walk day on Friday at Hawthorne Race Course.

Trained by Larry Rivelli, the son of Hard Spun by the General Quarters dam Mia Torri fired a 59.0-second five-furlong bullet on Thursday at Hawthorne, where he has been stabled since his win in the Jeff Ruby Steaks (G3). He will be piloted by Jareth Loveberry in the Derby, who traveled from Kentucky to Hawthorne for the work.  

“The track was fast and tight,” Loveberry said. “He was relaxed the whole work. We took him out with the pony and he stood there nice and calm watching horses for three or four minutes. He broke off from the pony nice and smooth and he worked the last 3/16ths really well.”

Loveberry has ridden Two Phil’s in every race but his first, piloted him in every win and has been aboard for many of the workouts.

“This work was his best, especially breaking from the pony,” Loveberry said. “I usually have to grab him and set him right behind a horse so he gets dirt and relaxes. He was relaxed the whole work yesterday.”

Waiting list – Albaugh Family Stables and Castleton Lyons’ Cyclone Mischief (No. 21 on the Kentucky Derby leaderboard) galloped 1 1/2 miles this morning under Faustino Herrarte and is scheduled to work Saturday morning for trainer Dale Romans with Tammy Fox aboard.

Spendthrift Farm’s Major Dude (No. 22) galloped about 1 1/4 miles under Joel Osorio for trainer Todd Pletcher. Major Dude is scheduled to work Saturday morning in company with Kingsbarns.

Hiroaki Arai’s Mandarin Hero (No. 23) arrived at Churchill Downs Thursday afternoon after 4 o’clock and settled into the quarantine barn.

Runner-up in the Santa Anita Derby (G1) in his U.S. debut, Mandarin Hero walked the shedrow at the quarantine barn and is scheduled to go to the track Saturday morning. Mandarin Hero is trained by Terunobu Fujita.