Seven Blue Grass Entrants Have Routine Gallops Wednesday

Seven entrants in Saturday’s $1 million Toyota Blue Grass (G1) stabled at Keeneland had routine gallops on a brisk and breezy Wednesday morning.

Horses competing in the race are required to be on the Keeneland grounds 54 hours in advance of the race, no later than noon Thursday.

Here is the rundown of Wednesday’s activity for Toyota Blue Grass horses at Keeneland:

Post 2 – Donegal Moon/Post 4 – Zulu: Two of trainer Todd Pletcher’s three entrants in the Toyota Blue Grass -- Donegal Moon and Zulu -- galloped about 1 3/8 miles. The third runner, Cards of Stone, is to arrive today from New York.

Zulu, the 5-2 morning-line favorite in the Toyota Blue Grass who was second to e in the Xpressbet.com Fountain of Youth (G2), arrived at Keeneland Tuesday from Palm Beach Downs in South Florida. Owned by Michael B. Tabor, Susan Magnier, Derrick Smith and Stonestreet Stables, the Bernardini colt made his first appearance on the track Wednesday just before the renovation break.

Donegal Racing’s Donegal Moon, a son of Malibu Moon who arrived at Keeneland Monday, was on the track after the break.

“Everybody went well,” assistant Tristan Barry said.

Pletcher has sent out 21 horses in previous runnings of the Toyota Blue Grass, including three starters in 2011. He won the race with Bandini (2005), Monba (2008) and Carpe Diem (2015). Carpe Diem raced for Stonestreet and WinStar Farm.

Zulu has 20 Kentucky Derby qualifying points. Donegal Moon and Cards of Stone have no Derby qualifying points.

Pletcher’s Toyota Blue Grass hopefuls might be overshadowed by two other horses he has entered Saturday. He will send out Rachel’s Valentina in the Central Bank Ashland (G1) and Stopchargingmaria in the Madison (G1). The former is a Grade 1 winner who was second in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1) last October at Keeneland. The latter won the Breeders’ Cup Distaff (G1) here.

Both runners will be making their 2016 debuts Saturday.

“It fit their time schedules, and obviously they like the track,” Barry said. “(The races always are (tough) at Keeneland in the spring. There are no easy spots.”

Post 5 – Crescent Drive: Paul Van Doren’s Crescent Drive galloped before the morning renovation break.

A Flower Alley colt trained by Tom Amoss, Crescent Drive will be making his graded stakes and dirt debut Saturday. Crescent Drive has no Kentucky Derby points.

Post 7 – Laoban: “He’s high as a kite, higher than a Georgia pine,” trainer Eric Guillot said about Laoban, who was feeling good in the cool weather when he made his first appearance on the track at 6:30 a.m. on a windy Wednesday. The Uncle Mo colt, who arrived from Southern California Tuesday, jogged two miles.

Guillot said Laoban, whose last work was a six-furlong move in 1:11.20 at Los Alamitos on March 30, would school in the starting gate Thursday.

“He’s not bad in the gates,” the trainer said about the colt, second to Shagaf in the March 5 Gotham (G3) at Aqueduct. “He’s just slow in the gates. He’s so big. I want him to be sharp, focused.”

Owned by McCormick Racing and Southern Equine Stable, Laoban is set to become Guillot’s first starter in the Toyota Blue Grass. With a win, he would give the trainer his first victory at Keeneland and become the first horse in race history to break his maiden in the race.

Laoban has 22 Kentucky Derby points thanks to a third-place finish in the Sham (G3) and a runner-up finish in the Gotham.

Post 10 – American Dubai: Richard Keith’s American Dubai walked through the Paddock and galloped after the renovation break.

The E Dubai colt has two Kentucky Derby points thanks to a third-place finish in the Southwest (G3).

Trainer Rodney Richards is scheduled to return to Keeneland Thursday morning from Oaklawn Park. American Dubai would be the second horse he has raced at Keeneland.

Post 13 – Star Hill: Calumet Farm’s homebred Star Hill galloped before the renovation break.

Trained by Rusty Arnold, the Elusive Quality colt has 10 Kentucky Derby points thanks to a third-place finish in the Tampa Bay Derby (G2) in his most recent start.

Post 14 – My Man Sam: About 9 a.m., maiden winner My Man Sam accompanied Wavell Avenue, winner of the TwinSpires Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint (G1) who is making her 2016 debut in Saturday’s Madison (G1), and stakes winner Ava’s Kitten to the track for 1 3/8-mile gallops for trainer Chad Brown.

Owned by Sheep Pond Partners, Newport Stables and breeder Jay W. Bligh, My Man Sam will become the third Toyota Blue Grass starter for Brown, following Balance the Books (6th in 2013) and Bobby’s Kitten (12th in 2014). The race was run on Polytrack from 2007-2014.

Brown’s assistants Baldo Hernandez and Whit Beckman are overseeing his Keeneland string while he remains in New York. On Saturday, Brown is to be at Aqueduct to saddle Shagaf in the Wood Memorial (G1).