Justify Continues Progress Toward Preakness
Kentucky Derby (G1) winner galloped 1 1/2 miles May 11 at Churchill Downs.
Undefeated Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (G1) winner Justify continued his preparations for the middle jewel of the Triple Crown, the May 19 Preakness Stakes (G1), when he galloped 1 1/2 miles May 11 at Churchill Downs.
“He’s back to his normal self,” assistant trainer Jimmy Barnes said of the colt, who was treated for a foot bruise in his left hind following his Kentucky Derby score. “He’s feeling good and has a good bounce in his step.”
Among those watching Justify gallop was veterinarian Kevin Dunlavy, who is overseeing Baffert’s veterinary care at Churchill.
“One of the most remarkable things about him is his capacity for recovery, respiratory-wise,” Dunlavy said. “He’ll go out and train—it could be a strong gallop—and within minutes he’s completely caught his breath. His recovery seems maybe superior to the average horse.
“I think it was Jimmy who remarked that even in the winner’s circle after the Derby, the horse wasn’t out of breath. He’d run a mile and a quarter like that, and to really catch his breath that quickly, it’s unique. That’s for sure. What makes him maybe a little more elite than another horse … you have to wonder that, cardiovascular-wise, if he’s not a little superior.”
Owned by WinStar Farm, China Horse Club, Starlight Racing, and Head of Plains Partners, Justify was the first horse on the track at 7:30 a.m. EDT following the first track maintenance renovation break and had exercise rider Humberto Gomez aboard.
“High energy level, feeling very good, had a good bounce in his step, going over the track perfect,” was how Barnes described Justify’s Friday action. “Couldn’t fault anything he’s doing right now. Everything looks great.
“He’s come out of all his races quick. He’s one that on that third day (off), he’s wanting to go back to the track. He tells me in the barn and stall; he gets real pushy and that it’s time to go. He got four days this time, but he’s full of himself out there. He’s happy.”
Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert is expected to fly to Louisville Sunday night and watch the colt train Monday and Tuesday before Justify flies to Maryland Wednesday.
Justify is joined by four Churchill-based horses under consideration for the Preakness: Kentucky Derby sixth-place finisher Bravazo and Pat Day Mile Stakes presented by LG and E and KU Stakes (G3) fourth-place finisher Sporting Chance, both trained by D. Wayne Lukas; Derby eighth-place finisher Lone Sailor (Tom Amoss); and Arkansas Derby (G1) fifth-place finisher Tenfold (Steve Asmussen).
Bravazo, campaigned by Calumet Farm, and Robert Baker and William Mack’s Sporting Chance went out for a gallop as soon as the track opened at 5:30 a.m. Friday. Both colts are slated to van to Baltimore Monday, with Lukas estimating an arrival time at Pimlico of 5 p.m.
Lone Sailor and Tenfold also had routine gallops at Churchill Downs.
At Keeneland, Tampa Bay Derby (G2) winner Quip, runner-up in the Arkansas Derby (G1), galloped 1 1/2 miles under trainer Rodolphe Brisset.
Quip had enough points to get into the Derby but was withheld in order to give him extra time before the Preakness. Quip and Justify share ownership with WinStar Farm and China Horse Club. The colt is scheduled to work early Sunday morning at Keeneland with Brisset aboard. Florent Geroux has the Preakness mount.
Trainer Dallas Stewart reported Friday morning that Givemeaminit, third place in the Pat Day Mile, will bypass the Preakness and target the seven-furlong Woody Stephens Stakes (G2) on the June 9 Belmont Stakes (G1) undercard at Belmont Park. Trainer Chad Brown said he plans to make a decision Monday on whether Derby runner-up Good Magic will contest the Preakness.
Should Good Magic run in the Preakness, he could become the eighth 2-year-old male champion to win the race since the advent of the Eclipse Awards in 1971. The 2015 Triple Crown champion American Pharoah is the most recent juvenile champ to win the middle jewel of the Triple Crown.
Tratto da ANAC NEWS; di Gabriele Candi: Kentucky Derby 2018
Il weekend appena trascorso è stato frenetico ed intenso, un po’ come l’atmosfera che ha trovato Aidan O’Brien a Louisville, in Kentucky, sotto le luci artificiali delle Twin Spires di Churchill Downs, a causa delle cattive condizioni meteo. Già, partiamo da li per dire che come ogni primo sabato di Maggio si sono disputati i 2 minuti più elettrizzanti dello sport americano sotto un diluvio torrenziale ed un terreno viscido, fangoso, sul quale si è fatta in un certo senso la storia con un figlio del compianto Scat Daddy.
Ma non è stato Mendelssohn a sfatare il tabu europei per una corsa tostissima in ogni senso, bensì Justify che ha sconfitto la cosiddetta “maledizione di Apollo” che non voleva, dal 1882, un vincitore di Derby, inedito a 2 anni. Justify, che aveva debuttato nel Febbraio 2018 a Santa Anita ma aveva già fatto capire di che pasta fosse fatto, ha superato questo anatema di forza, facendo perno sulla abitudine della propria scuderia a creare imprese. Quattro su quattro ora per lui ed il solito tormentone (in senso positivo) della triple crown, che è ufficialmente iniziato. Justify è frutto dell’intuito di un gruppo come China Horse Club, Head Of Plains Partners Llc Et Al, che aveva acquistato il “pacchetto” classico per $500,000 a Keeneland. Nella stessa corsa, la storia nella storia, è rappresentata dal fatto che uno dei comproprietari è Sol Kumin diventato il primo proprietario, dopo Calumet nel 1952, a possedere sia il vincitore del Kentucky Derby, sia quello delle Kentucky Oaks. Kumin infatti possiede partecipazioni in Monomoy Girl (Tapizar), vincitrice il giorno precedente.
Alla vittoria di Justify ha fatto da contraltare la sconfitta, con molte recriminazioni, per Mendelssohn, il quale, pur essendo yankee al 100% (pur sempre uno Scat Daddy fratellastro della campionessa Beholder) è rimasto completamente imbambolato dal trambusto di Churchill Downs e, complici un bel po’ di problemi sul percorso, non ha dato prestazione finendo ultimo senza mai essere nel vivo della corsa. Molti hanno criticato la scelta di Aidan O’Brien di correre con metodi europei una corsa sul campo di battaglia americano, completamente differente.
(Il video della corsa QUI)
Tanto che poi Padre Aidan ha fatto ammenda pubblica ammettendo di non aspettarsi tutto quel “caos” e quella grande aggressività fin dall’apertura delle gabbie, di fronte a 160,000 persone urlanti e con dei poncho impermeabili coloratissimi e quella superficie sulla quale batteva copiosa la pioggia, tutti fattori che hanno stordito il suo eroe. Forse non sarebbe cambiato nulla nemmeno con un fantino americano a bordo, perché Mendelssohn non è proprio abituato a correre in maniera sfacciata e prepotente, ma Ryan Moore pensava di essere sulle tranquille colline del Surrey invece del toboga americano. Un po’ come Icaro, Padre Aidan si è bruciato le ali cercando di toccare il sole con le mani.
fonte : ANAC
The Kentucky Derby is in our rearview and the racing world was treated to a special performance in the slop by unbeaten ‘TDN Rising Star’ Justify (Scat Daddy).
In the aftermath of the race, Bill Finley and T.D. Thornton took a look at the historic implications of the race, with Justify not only breaking the “Curse of Apollo,” but also coming home as the sixth consecutive winning favorite. The focus now shifts to Baltimore, where Justify will attempt to add the Middle Jewel of the Triple Crown in the May 19 GI Preakness S.
Those stories, and more, appear below.
|
|
|
|
Justify’s Derby, Beyond Extraordinary
|
|
Bill Finley takes a look at a memorable Kentucky Derby, which amounted to the crowning of a superstar at rain-soaked Churchill Downs.
|
|
|
|
|
Favorites in Vogue After Long Derby Drought
|
|
It’s getting tougher to be a contrarian in the GI Kentucky Derby after Justify (Scat Daddy) became the sixth straight winning favorite in the race, writes T.D. Thornton in “The Week in Review.”
|
|
|
|
|
Op/Ed: PETA’s Statement on Justify More Counterproductive Gibberish
|
|
Bill Finley offers his take on PETA and the drive to protect the best interests of horses.
|
|
|
|
|
Tapizar Makes for Memorable Oaks Day for Hernon
|
|
From the arrival of a new foal to the GI Kentucky Oaks winner’s circle with Monomoy Girl (Tapizar), Michael Hernon had a memorable Friday.
|
|
|
|
|
Why the Pushback Against Trainer Continuing Education?
|
|
In some jurisdictions, trainers are required to attend additional education courses to maintain their license status–but why the resistance from others?
|
|
|
fonte : TDN
