Saturday's Kentucky Derby update: Maiden Bodexpress awaits a spot

On a clear, mild morning at Churchill Downs, three hopefuls for next Saturday’s 2019 Kentucky Derby, including probable morning line favorite Omaha Beach, put in their final works for the Run for the Roses.

Omaha Beach worked five furlongs in company in :59 (second best of 43 at the distance); War of Will worked a half-mile in :47.60 (best of 78) in company and Plus Que Parfait worked five furlongs, also in company, in 1:02 (28th best of 43). Also working at Churchill Downs was Signalman, who worked five furlongs in 1:00, sixth best of 43.

At San Luis Rey Training Center in Southern California, Gray Magician worked five furlongs in 1:00.40

Five Derby hopefuls are scheduled to work Sunday at Churchill Downs: By My Standards, Code of Honor, Win Win Win and the Bill Mott-trained duo of Tacitus and Country House.

BODEXPRESS – Top Racing, Global Thoroughbred and GDS Racing Stable's Bodexpress, training at Gulfstream Park West, is scheduled to work there Monday for trainer Gustavo Delgado and ship Tuesday.

Bodexpress would need one defection to make the Kentucky Derby field.

“If he doesn’t get in the Derby, he’ll run in the Preakness,” said Gustavo Delgado Jr., son and assistant to Delgado. “He’s doing really well.”

Bodexpress, a maiden, ran second to Maximum Security in the Florida Derby (G1) in his most-recent start. Maidens are 0-for-11 in the Derby since such records started being kept in 1937, with the most recent non-winner to run Sonneteer, who was 16th in 2017.

BY MY STANDARDS – Allied Racing Stables’ By My Standards visited the starting gate and galloped 1 ½ miles Saturday morning for trainer Bret Calhoun.

“We’re just trying to enjoy the ride,” Calhoun said. “The horse couldn’t be doing any better and I’m trying to have as much fun as we can along the way. We really thought this horse was special when he debuted. It got a little frustrating that it took him so long to break his maiden. Since then, he’s really taken every step forward possible.”

One major piece of the By My Standards team was missing Saturday morning during training. Calhoun’s assistant, St. Xavier High School graduate Tom Morgan, had the morning off to run in the Kentucky Derby Festival Mini Marathon. 

By My Standards is scheduled to breeze Sunday at 7:30 a.m.

CODE OF HONOR – William S. Farish’s Code of Honor jogged five furlongs and then galloped a mile and a quarter under exercise rider Brian Duggan for trainer Shug McGaughey.

Code of Honor is scheduled to work Sunday morning with Duggan slated to be aboard. Two-time Derby-winning rider John Velazquez has the call next Saturday.

Third in the March 30 Florida Derby (GI) in his most recent start, Code of Honor has spent most of the month in Kentucky, first at Keeneland where he had two works and then here where he arrived Wednesday.

“I am glad I brought him up early because it’s quiet and gives him time to settle in,” McGaughey said. “It also gives me time to settle in.”

COUNTRY HOUSE/TACITUS – Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott’s Kentucky Derby duo of Wood Memorial (G2) winner Tacitus and Arkansas Derby (G1) third-place finisher Country House left Barn 19 and continued their preparation over the Churchill Downs main track. They went through their paces during the special Kentucky Derby-Oaks 7:30-7:45 a.m. session Saturday.

“They both jogged today and will work, perhaps, tomorrow,” Mott said. “They’re both doing well, look well and are eating well. We just have to get through this last work tomorrow. Sometimes you like to do it a day earlier just to get it over with.”

Tacitus and Country House will be Mott’s ninth and 10th starters in the 10-furlong affair—a rare American classic the decorated conditioner has not claimed. Indeed, he has yet to hit the board, with his best finish a seventh by Hofburg last year.

CUTTING HUMOR/SPINOFF – The Todd Pletcher-trained duo of Starlight Racing's Cutting Humor and Wertheimer and Frere’s Spinoff followed up their Friday works with easy jogs Saturday morning at Palm Beach Downs in Florida. Cutting Humor worked a half-mile in :48 and Spinoff went five furlongs in 1:00.60.

“They both came out of their exercise well,” Pletcher reported. “It’s all systems go.”

The conditioner said that his twosome would walk Sunday, then jog again Monday morning prior to making an early trip from Florida on Tuesday that should have them arriving at Churchill Downs somewhere between 8 and 8:30 a.m.

Rider Manny Franco is assigned the call on Spinoff. No rider has yet been made official for Cutting Humor, though Pletcher said they were very close to finalizing one. The next day or two should tell the tale, he suggested.

IMPROBABLE – The media scrum piling up outside of Churchill Downs’ Barn 33 was a surefire indicator that the white-haired one himself was back on the scene. As Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert emerged to hold court for more than 20 minutes Saturday morning, he led off his Derby week testimonials by giving a hat tip to how stout the lone classic hopeful of his already on the scene was handling the hoopla himself.

With his stablemates and fellow Derby contenders Game Winner and Roadster en route from California, Grade I winner Improbable put in an easy gallop under regular exercise rider Jose Contreras at Churchill Downs one day before his scheduled final workout in advance of the first leg of the Triple Crown.

Baffert feels the Churchill Downs main track actually may be conducive to bringing out the best in the chestnut colt.

“(Assistant trainer) Jimmy (Barnes) has been really happy with him,” Baffert said of Improbable. “He really likes this track. They’re coming from Santa Anita where it has been pretty deep, they’ve made it really, really deep. He’ll work tomorrow…but he’s really coming into this race pretty well.” 

Improbable turned in a half-mile breeze in :48 at Churchill Downs on April 22, a move that may have set the colt up to show more speed early on in his classic try.

“I do know that Bob feels like you do have to get out of the gate well, feels like you need to get into a rhythm.  And, you know, Improbable’s strength is his stride, so I think he does want him to get in a nice rhythm and not have too many obstacles in his path,” said Elliott Walden, president and CEO of WinStar Farm, which co-owns the colt along with China Horse Club International and Starlight Racing.

“It’s possible that he would show a little more speed, but he’s not a horse that’s going to drag you to the front end or you’re going to have to worry about slowing down. I see him somewhere in that first tier, probably four, five, six lengths off it.”

RELATED: Gray Magician gets green light for the Derby

HAIKAL – Shadwell Stable’s Haikal continues to fill trainer Kiaran McLaughlin with confidence heading toward the Kentucky Derby. The son of top miler and McLaughlin trainee Daaher put in his final serious drill two days ago at Belmont Park, breezing five furlongs in 1:01.20. The move came six days after blitzing a bullet four furlongs in 47.40.

“We’re excited and I loved his work,” McLaughlin said. “I even liked his work this week better than his bullet work. He was a little quicker last week, but this one was strong, in hand and he galloped out strong. With experience, he’s come forward. We’re not into consolation prizes so much. We really want to win this race.”

The three-time winner from five starts jogged Saturday morning and will ship to Churchill Downs from New York on Sunday after training. He will look to give McLaughlin his first win in the Run for the Roses. The conditioner finished second with Closing Argument in 2005 and has been fourth three times, most recently with Mohaymen in 2016.

LONG RANGE TODDY – Willis Horton’s Rebel Stakes (G2) winner Long Range Toddy galloped about 1 ½ miles Saturday for Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen.

Long Range Toddy is scheduled to breeze Monday.

MASTER FENCER – The first Japanese-bred horse to run in the Kentucky Derby, Master Fencer, has settled in nicely at Keeneland and quickly taken to his American surroundings. He is scheduled to make the short van ride from Lexington to Louisville on Monday evening.

He went through his paces Saturday morning under Yosuke Kono and the watchful eye of Mitsuoki Numamoto, racing manager and shipping agent for owners Katsumi and Yasuyo Yoshizawa.

The son of Dubai Turf (G1) winner Just A Way — the world’s top-rated horse of 2014 and Japan’s champion freshman sire of 2018 — did three circuits during the course of his morning routine.

“He jogged one lap around the training track, then went to the main track and did an easy gallop one time around and then a fast-paced gallop,” Numamoto said. “He’s working great and he was really enjoying the run.”

Master Fencer exits a second in the Fukuryu Stakes, the final leg of the Japan Road to the Kentucky Derby, and already has raced over the 1¼-mile distance two times in his six efforts. Both of those were his initial two starts, over the turf, netting a second and fourth. Switched to dirt, he subsequently won two nine-furlong affairs and was then fourth in the Hyacinth Stakes prior to his final prep.

“The dirt here is different than in Japan,” Numamoto explained. “It’s more sand in Japan and it is lighter here. It fits Master Fencer, who can run on dirt or turf, and the rider said he felt very good for him. We expected it to be wetter here, but the Keeneland track drains very well and the track was great.

“We are happy because the horse is enjoying it and he has looked good while doing it,” he continued. “He will work on Wednesday with Julien Leparoux at Churchill Downs.”

An exact distance of the breeze has not been determined. Leparoux is slated to ride in the Kentucky Derby.

Trainer Katsumi Tsunoda is expected to be on the grounds Tuesday after arriving with the owners Monday evening.

MAXIMUM SECURITY – Gary and Mary West’s undefeated Maximum Security galloped Saturday morning at Palm Meadows Training Center in south Florida for trainer Jason Servis.

Winner of the Florida Derby (G1) in his most recent start, Maximum Security is scheduled to work Monday at Palm Meadows and fly to Louisville Tuesday.

RELATED: Omaha Beach's work 'what we were looking for'

PLUS QUE PARFAIT – UAE Derby (G2) winner Plus Que Parfait put in his final serious breeze Saturday for the Kentucky Derby. The son of Point of Entry drilled five furlongs in 1:02 flat in company with Al Taweel, a last-out claiming winner for trainer Brendan Walsh at Tampa Bay Downs, with furlong splits of 12 flat, 23.60, 36.20 and 49.40. He galloped out six furlongs in 1:15.60. 

“He has become more aggressive now than how he used to be, which I think is a good thing to see,” Walsh said. “He went a little faster than we wanted early on and the last thing I wanted to do was do too much with him right now. Then, when he left the lead horse, he lazed a little bit and it was fine.

"I wanted 1:02 and out in 1:15 and that’s exactly how he went. We don’t need to see anything spectacular right now from him in the morning and he’s never going to do that anyway. I actually really like the way he was doing it. He did it so easy once he leveled off and was moving great.”

Assistant trainer Tom Molloy, who accompanied the chestnut to and from Dubai, as well, was aboard for the breeze. The move took place during the special Kentucky Derby/Oaks 7:30-7:45 a.m. training session.

SIGNALMAN – Kentucky Jockey Club (G2) winner and Blue Grass (G2) third Signalman worked Saturday morning with jockey Brian Hernandez Jr., but he has a slight cut above his left eye that will have to be evaluated, trainer Kenny McPeek said.

“He’s got a small cut over his eye, we’re going to have to clean it up and let him tell us if it’s bothering him,” McPeek said. “We’re on the bubble anyway. But he does everything right, he’s a good, solid colt and he put in a really good breeze.”

Despite the cut, the colt – worked five furlongs in 1:00. He galloped out six furlongs in 1:13.80. 

“It was good out there,” Hernandez said. “He kind of followed a workmate around, then when we got to the quarter pole, he went by him easily and finished up good. The cut didn’t seem to bug him any, they’ll clean it up and he’ll be good to go.”

Plans call for the colt to go on to the Preakness if he does or doesn’t make the Derby field.

SUENO – Silverton Hill LLC’s Sueno, currently No. 23 on the Kentucky Derby list, was out shortly after the track opened at 5:15 a.m. and jogged an easy two miles.

Trainer Keith Desormeaux, who continues to hold out hope that his charge might break into the list of 20 runners for the mile and a quarter classic, said he would “probably work him tomorrow.” 

No rider has been assigned for the son of the Medaglia d’Oro stallion Atreides.

TAX – Trainer Danny Gargan confirmed Saturday morning that New York-based Withers (G3) winner Tax is doing well and preparing to ship Sunday from Belmont Park to Churchill Downs. The son of Arch has two wins, two seconds and a third from five career starts and had his final serious breeze Thursday, going a half-mile in 47.80 (fourth-fastest of 79) over the Belmont training track.

“He worked really good the other day and we just jogged him today,” Gargan said. “We only worked him once, with only four weeks between races, since the Wood (Memorial). He’s been doing great, but it’s the best 20 3-year-olds in the country, so he’s going to have to be good. It’s all about the post and draw.

“I’d like to be closer to the rail,” he continued. “Churchill seems to be a track where you’re better drawn down inside and — like I said — it’s all about the post. If he’s drawn well, I’d like to see him in fourth or fifth early on. If he’s outside in 18 or 19, he’ll be third or so early and we’ll have to use him.”

Hailing from a deep Claiborne Farm pedigree, Tax is a grandson of multiple graded stakes-winning Yell, who was third in the 2003 Kentucky Oaks and second in the following year’s Louisville Breeders’ Cup (G2). He made his first two starts for Claiborne and Adele B. Dilschneider, while trained by Ben Colebrook, but was claimed by Gargan for owners R. A. Hill Stable, Reeves Thoroughbred Racing, Hugh Lynch and Corms Racing Stable. He has subsequently made three starts, including a third in the Remsen (GII), his aforementioned Withers win and a last-out runner-up effort to Tacitus in the Wood Memorial (G2).

“When I claimed him, I had seen his run first time out,” Gargan said. “I actually thought he was going to be a grass router, being an Arch out of a Giant’s Causeway mare, but when I breezed him, I saw that he was a dirt horse—and a good one. He showed he had speed when he ran first time out and a big horse who has that kind of speed is a good thing to have.”

Junior Alvarado, aboard for his past two runs, keeps the mount.

VEKOMA – R.A. Hill Stable and Gatsas Stables’ Blue Grass winner Vekoma came out of his five-furlong work in :59.95 on Friday at Palm Beach Downs in south Florida in good shape according to trainer George Weaver.

Vekoma worked in company Friday with the 4-year-old Majestic Dunhill who is graded stakes-placed. Majestic Dunhill traveled to Keeneland with Vekoma and finished sixth beaten three lengths in the Commonwealth (G3) there. Weaver said the $500,000 Churchill Downs (G1) next Saturday is under consideration.

Vekoma is scheduled to ship to Churchill Downs Tuesday. Javier Castellano, who was aboard for the Blue Grass victory as well as Friday’s work, has the Derby mount.

RELATED: War of Will reminds he's special in Saturday work

WIN WIN WIN – Live Oak Plantation’s Win Win Win galloped a mile and a half under exercise rider Melanie Williams. Saturday’s exercise was his second over the track and first here with trainer Mike Trombetta looking on in person.

“Everybody is happy with what he did this morning,” Trombetta said. “I could see he was checking things out yesterday and I can see why. He picked it up on the second day.”

Win Win Win is scheduled to work Sunday morning with jockey Julian Pimentel coming in for the breeze.

Win Win Win’s home base is the Fair Hill Training Center in Elkton, Maryland.

“It is a lot quieter there,” Trombetta said. “But he has been around. He wintered at Tampa Bay Downs, came back to Fair Hill, went to Keeneland and then came back to Fair Hill. He is getting used to the project.