Kentucky Derby Update: American Promise, Tappan Street Hit the Track; Coal Battle, Admire Daytona (JPN) Slated for Tuesday Works

Apr 21, 2025

WinStar Farm, CHC Inc. and Cold Press Racing’s Florida Derby (GI) winner Tappan Street and BC Stables’ Virginia Derby winner American Promise made their initial pre-Derby appearances on the main track at Churchill Downs Monday morning.

Scheduled for works Tuesday morning are Norman Stables’ Rebel Stakes (GII) winner Coal Battle and Junko Kondo’s UAE Derby (GII) winner Admire Daytona (JPN).

ADMIRE DAYTONA (JPN) – Junko Kondo’s UAE Derby (GII) winner continued light training Monday at Churchill Downs.

With exercise rider Yoshimitsu Miyashita aboard, the son of Drefong warmed up for about 15 minutes in the one-mile chute before walking clockwise to the finish line. He then had a light jog back to the chute before galloping about 1 ¼ miles.
Admire Daytona is scheduled to breeze Tuesday at 7:15 a.m.

AMERICAN PROMISE – BC Stables’ American Promise, who arrived at Churchill Downs from Oaklawn Park Sunday afternoon, was on the track at 6:20 a.m. (all times Eastern) to gallop over a sealed surface.

Tayja Smith was aboard the D. Wayne Lukas trainee, who breezed seven furlongs from the gate Friday in 1:25.20 at Oaklawn.

BUILT – Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners’ Built galloped at 5:45 a.m. Monday with trainer Wayne Catalano watching on from the backstretch.

BURNHAM SQUARE – Whitham Thoroughbreds’ Blue Grass Stakes (GI) winner jogged Monday morning with Mark Cutler aboard for trainer Ian Wilkes.

Burnham Square had a walk day Sunday following his half-mile work in :49.40 on Saturday.

CHUNK OF GOLD – Terry Stephens’ Louisiana Derby runner-up returned to the track at Turfway Park on Monday and is scheduled to have another maintenance work Friday before vanning to Churchill Downs.

“He was bouncing around and feeling good,” trainer Ethan West said.

CITIZEN BULL / RODRIGUEZ – Trainer Bob Baffert’s Kentucky Derby duo of Citizen Bull and Rodriguez are on track to arrive at Churchill Downs on Thursday.

Their flight is scheduled to land in Indianapolis at 1:30 p.m.

COAL BATTLE – Norman Stables’ Coal Battle visited the paddock under Bethany Taylor, then galloped 1 ¾ miles with trainer Lonnie Briley and jockey Juan Vargas observing.

“He did fine in the paddock,” Taylor said of the colt’s first schooling session. “He took everything in, was very professional. He’s a smart horse.”

Briley indicated Coal Battle “probably” would work Tuesday. Third in the Arkansas Derby (GI) in his most recent start, Coal Battle previously worked a half-mile in :48.40 on April 8 and returned a week later with a five-furlong breeze in 1:01.20.

EAST AVENUE – Godolphin’s Blue Grass Stakes (GI) runner-up returned to the track Monday following his half-mile breeze in :47.60 on Saturday.

East Avenue galloped under exercise rider Stephen Dolan.

FINAL GAMBIT / TAPPAN STREET – Tappan Street, who returned to Churchill Downs from South Florida early Sunday morning, had his first training session back beneath the Twin Spires on Monday.

The Florida Derby (GI) winner galloped about 1 ½ miles with trainer Brad Cox observing from the clocker’s stand.

“He had a good winter down in Florida and looks good from the van ride back to Kentucky,” Cox said. “He had a fairly easy morning.”

Juddmonte’s Jeff Ruby Steaks (GIII) winner Final Gambit also returned to the track Monday following his five-furlong move in 1:00.80 on Saturday.

FLYING MOHAWK – Two Eight Racing, Berry Family Racing and Kaleta Racing’s Flying Mohawk had an easy training day following his five-furlong move in 1:00 on Saturday.

Trainer Whit Beckman plans to breeze Flying Mohawk one more time before the Derby, likely on Saturday.

GRANDE – Repole Stable’s Grande is scheduled to breeze Friday at Keeneland and then van to Churchill Downs later that afternoon.

JOURNALISM – Likely Kentucky Derby favorite Journalism is scheduled to arrive at Churchill Downs on Tuesday evening.

The Santa Anita Derby (GI) winner breezed a half-mile in :47 on Saturday at Santa Anita.

LUXOR CAFÉ – Koichi Nishikawa’s Luxor Café is en route from Japan to Chicago, where he will complete a minimum 42-hour USDA quarantine.

He is tentatively scheduled to arrive at Churchill Downs Wednesday evening.

OWEN ALMIGHTY – Flying Dutchmen Breeding and Racing’s Owen Almighty had a walk day at trainer Brian Lynch’s barn.

PUBLISHER / TIZTASTIC – Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen’s duo returned to the track Monday following their five-furlong move in :59.60 on Saturday.

Publisher, under exercise rider Robert Howell, galloped about 1 ½ miles, while Tiztastic galloped about a mile under Carlos Rosas.

SANDMAN – D. J. Stable, St. Elias Stable, West Point Thoroughbreds and CJ Stables’ Sandman galloped 1 ½ miles at 7:15 a.m. with Froylan Garcia aboard.

Trainer Mark Casse is scheduled to be at the barn Tuesday morning.

SOVEREIGNTY – Godolphin’s Sovereignty galloped 1 ¼ miles under Guesler Cardona during the 7:15–7:30 a.m. training window for Kentucky Derby and Kentucky Oaks hopefuls.

“He had a nice gallop. It was his first day back,” trainer Bill Mott said of Sovereignty, who worked five furlongs in 1:00.60 on Saturday.

SHAPING UP: THE $5 MILLION KENTUCY DERBY PRESENTED BY WOODFORD RESERVE (GI) – Here is the top 20 preference list for the $5 million Kentucky Derby presented by Woodford Reserve (GI) in alphabetical order (with jockey and trainer): Admire Daytona (JPN) (Christophe Lemaire, Yukihiro Kato); American Promise (Nik Juarez, D. Wayne Lukas); Built (TBA, Wayne Catalano); Burnham Square (Brian Hernandez Jr., Ian Wilkes); Chunk of Gold (Jareth Loveberry, Ethan West); Citizen Bull (Martin Garcia, Bob Baffert); Coal Battle (Juan Vargas, Lonnie Briley); East Avenue (Manny Franco, Brendan Walsh); Final Gambit (Luan Machado, Brad Cox); Flying Mohawk (Joe Ramos, Whit Beckman); Grande (John Velazquez, Todd Pletcher); Journalism (Umberto Rispoli, Michael McCarthy); Luxor Café (Joao Moriera, Noriyuki Hori); Owen Almighty (Javier Castellano, Brian Lynch); Publisher (Irad Ortiz Jr., Steve Asmussen); Rodriguez (Mike Smith, Bob Baffert); Sandman (Jose Ortiz, Mark Casse); Sovereignty (Junior Alvarado, Bill Mott); Tappan Street (Luis Saez, Brad Cox); Tiztastic (Joel Rosario, Steve Asmussen). Also-Eligibles: Neoequos (TBA, Saffie Joseph Jr.); Render Judgment (TBA, Kenny McPeek); Baeza (Flavien Prat, John Shirreffs); California Burrito (Irving Moncada, Tom Drury Jr.).

LONGINES KENTUCKY OAKS UPDATE – It was a quiet Monday morning at Churchill Downs with Drexel Hill, Good Cheer, La Cara, Quickick and Simply Joking all having easy training sessions.

Rodeo Creek Racing’s Gazelle (GIII) winner Ballerina d’Oro arrived at Churchill Downs Monday from Belmont Park and is stabled in Barn 25.

SHAPING UP: THE $1.5 MILLION LONGINES KENTUCKY OAKS (GI) – Here is the expected field for the Longines Kentucky Oaks (GI) (with jockey and trainer): Anna’s Promise (Junior Alvarado, Carlos David); Ballerina d’Oro (Flavien Prat, Chad Brown); Bless the Broken (John Velazquez, Will Walden); Drexel Hill (Ben Curtis, Whit Beckman); Early On (Javier Castellano, Saffie Joseph Jr.); Five G (Manny Franco, George Weaver); Fondly (Irad Ortiz Jr., Graham Motion); Good Cheer (Luis Saez, Brad Cox); La Cara (Dylan Davis, Mark Casse); Quietside (Jose Ortiz, John Ortiz); Quickick (Edgar Morales, Tom Amoss); Simply Joking (Florent Geroux, Whit Beckman); Take Charge Milady (Brian Hernandez Jr., Kenny McPeek); Tenma (Juan Hernandez, Bob Baffert).

KENTUCKY DERBY MORNING WORKS SHOW OFFERS BEHIND-THE-SCENES ACCESS TO DERBY, OAKS TRAINING – The Kentucky Derby Morning Workouts Show presented by TwinSpires.com will air until Thursday, May 1 and offer fans an exclusive look at the final preparations of Kentucky Derby and Oaks contenders.

Airing daily from 6:45-7:45 a.m, the one-hour program will be streamed live on the Kentucky Derby Facebook, X and YouTube accounts. The show will highlight the 15-minute exclusive training window from 7:15-7:30 a.m. for horses preparing for the $5 million Kentucky Derby presented by Woodford Reserve (Grade I) and the $1.5 million Longines Kentucky Oaks (GI).

Hosted by Churchill Downs’ expert handicappers Joe Kristufek, Kaitlin Free, Tony Calo and Kevin Kilroy, the show will include insight, commentary and exclusive interviews from notable figures such as former leading rider Rosie Napravnik, Churchill Downs track announcer Travis Stone, TwinSpires.com handicapper James Scully and Churchill Downs racing analyst Megan Burgess.

All Kentucky Derby and Oaks contenders are required to be on-site by Saturday, April 26. The show will continue through Thursday, May 1, showcasing every contender’s final training sessions leading into Kentucky Derby and Longines Kentucky Oaks.

For more information, visit www.kentuckyderby.com

COADY PHOTOGRAPHY MEDIA PORTAL – Media members can access photos of Kentucky Derby and Oaks contenders here:

https://www.coadyplus.com/gallery/Churchill-Downs-Spring-2025-Media/G0000mObeZBZmx8U/C0000PLb2ljPK8UQ.

Please credit all photos to Coady Media/Churchill Downs.

Churchill Downs Racing Communications/Notes Team

Darren Rogers | Senior Director, Communications & Media Services| (502) 636-4461 (office) | (502) 345-1030 (mobile) | Darren.Rogers@KyDerby.com | @ DerbyMedia

Kevin Kerstein | Ky Racing Communications | (502) 635-4712 (office) |

(610) 420-6971 (mobile) | Kevin.Kerstein@KyDerby.com| @HorseRacingKK

Gary Yunt | Notes Team Captain | (502) 636-4460 (office) |

(303) 981-5629 (mobile) | Gary.Yunt@KyDerby.com|

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