On the Derby Trail: Morning Works

Since the prep races are now all finished I'd thought I'd highlight some of the recent morning works for a few Derby contenders.  

I am certainly no expert when it comes to analyzing morning workouts or training regimens, but I do know that I like to see a horse running sharp works leading up to race day, especially if that horse generally runs well off of a similar work pattern.  We all know that Bob Baffert likes to work his horses fast in the mornings, so a slow work from one of his contenders might be something to take note of, especially if we don't see a quick move prior to May 1st.  On the other hand, a horse that normally works slow that suddenly shows a great deal of interest in the morning could be a colt coming into the race in razor sharp form.  

It's tough to judge a work just from the numbers without seeing how the horse is moving under the rider, but I certainly like the five furlong breeze from Awesome Act over the Belmont training surface.  Awesome Act is a colt that could bounce back big after a tough Wood Memorial where he didn't get a whole heck of a lot to run at.

Dean's Kitten appears to be training well heading into the final two weeks before the Derby; his five furlong breeze over the Churchill training track yesterday was the fastest of ten.  As I've written before, I really like this colt to grab a share of the deep exotics.

Derby favorites Eskendereya and Lookin At Lucky both put in five furlong breezes in the last several day.  I would anticipate that Baffert is going to gear Lucky up for a quick move next time out.

If you'd like to search the recent works for a Derby contenders, or any other horse, DRF.com has a great Workouts Search page on their website.

A summary of recent works can be found below the jump...