Kentucky Derby Update for Monday, April 29, 2024: Quiet Morning Beneath Twin Spires; Japanese Hopefuls Scheduled to Work Tuesday

Apr 29, 2024 Kevin Kerstein

KENTUCKY DERBY PRESENTED BY WOODFORD RESERVE UPDATES

Kentucky Derby Week is officially here and most horses running in the $5 million Kentucky Derby presented by Woodford Reserve (Grade I) and $1.5 million Longines Kentucky Oaks (GI) had all their major training sessions complete minus a few gallop days until their respective races.

Monday’s special 7:30 a.m. training session included several top contenders for this year’s Derby and Oaks including Fierceness, Sierra Leone and Tarifa who all had easy jogs or gallops.

Only two horses for the Kentucky Derby are scheduled to have published workouts this week – Japan’s Forever Young (JPN) and T O Password (JPN) who are on tap to work Tuesday at 7:30 a.m.

CATALYTIC – Tami Bobo, Julie Davies and George Isaacs’ Catalytic walked the shedrow on Monday following a Sunday workout.

“That’s the routine we follow after a breeze,” trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. said. “He’ll be back out tomorrow.”

With jockey Jose Ortiz aboard, Catalytic was timed in :47.80 for the half-mile on Sunday. Ortiz will ride Catalytic in the Derby, starting from the No. 5 post as a 30-1 shot.

CATCHING FREEDOM/ENCINO/JUST A TOUCH – Trainer Brad Cox’s Derby trio of Catching Freedom, Encino and Just a Touch all returned to the track Monday around 6:45 a.m. for easy one-mile jogs following their respective breezes Saturday.

“All three horses exited their works in good shape,” Cox said. “They’ll gallop the rest of the week and be ready for Saturday.”

Jockey Florent Geroux was on hand Monday to watch his mount in the Derby, Just a Touch, train.

“I’m really excited about his chances,” said Geroux, who won the Derby in 2021 via disqualification aboard Mandaloun. “He’s light on experience but he’s a very talented colt. I think he’s ready to run a big race.”

Jockey Flavien Prat will ride Catching Freedom while Axel Concepcion will be in the irons for Encino.

DOMESTIC PRODUCT/SIERRA LEONE – Stablemates Sierra Leone and Domestic Product both returned to the track Monday for the first time since working five furlongs in company on April 17. The Chad Brown-trained Kentucky Derby contenders each jogged the wrong way once around the Churchill Downs oval during the 7:30 a.m. training period.

“Everyone’s good,” Brown said.

While Brown already has most of the sport’s top races on his resume, the four-time Eclipse Award winning trainer will be seeking his first victory in the Kentucky Derby. He has come into the Derby with strong chances before, saddling champion Good Magic to a runner-up finish in 2018 and having Grade I winner Zandon run third in 2022. What Brown hasn’t had prior to this year is the 1-2 punch for the classic he believes he currently possesses.

While Sierra Leone casts a long shadow off the strength of his victories in the Blue Grass (GI) and Risen Star (GII) Stakes, Domestic Product could be right in the mix in his own right if race conditions set up in his favor. Having closed into slow fractions while running second in the Holy Bull Stakes (GIII) and winning the Tampa Bay Derby (GIII), Domestic Product looms a real threat if he gets a halfway decent pace on the front end.

“I’m thinking the same way. The horse has really been giving a great appearance here at Churchill, he’s really glowing and beaming with energy,” Brown said. “I couldn’t be more pleased with both of the Derby colts. Knock on wood they just go into the race this way. (Domestic Product), he’s a hell of a nice horse. He just looks terrific.”

DORNOCH/SOCIETY MAN – It was back to business for trainer Danny Gargan’s duo of Dornoch and Society Man on Monday with each returning to the track after putting in their final work April 27 when they breezed four furlongs.

Society Man was the first to the track on Monday, heading out just after 6 a.m. for a light jog. The chestnut son of Good Magic was especially easy to spot and he wore what Gargan calls a unicorn light between his ears.

“Churchill has really bright lights but most of the tracks — Palm Meadows, Saratoga — there’s not a bunch of lights. So we put that on all the horses so we know where they are,” Gargan said.

Dornoch took the track during the 7:30 a.m. training period, coming out for a jog the wrong way while also having a session of gate schooling that Gargan deemed “perfect.”

“Society Man always bounces right back out of his race,” Gargan said. “Dornoch struggles a little bit sometimes, but he’s come out of the Blue Grass better than he’s come out of any race, I think. We didn’t really have to ship this time or go anywhere, so I’m real pleased with him. But Society Man, he never has a bad day. He’s one of those horses where day in and day out, he’s a happy kind of guy. Just always the same, real level.”

ENDLESSLY – Trainer Mike McCarthy had his handsome bay Endlessly dressed out and ready to roll shortly after 6 a.m. Monday and he sent him and exercise rider Walter Davila trackside for a mile and one-quarter tour of the Churchill Downs oval.

“He’s happy,” reported the exercise rider after returning from the exercise. “I’m happy, too,” noted McCarthy regarding the homebred son of Oscar Performance that he conditions for the Amerman Racing couple of John and Jerry Amerman.

The conditioner has guided his good-looking bay charge through an interesting platform that has seen him win four stakes – two on grass, two on all-weather – though he’s yet to race on a dirt surface. He’s trained well on the loam, but Saturday will be his initial chunk of competition on it.

Jockey Umberto Rispoli will be making his second Derby start having finished 14th on Brooklyn Strong in 2021.

FIERCENESS – Repole Stable’s Kentucky Derby favorite Fierceness looked a picture Monday morning moving  smoothly through a gallop of a mile and three-eighths during the special 7:30-7:45 training session for Derby and Oaks runners.

The City of Light colt, bred by his owner, once again had the former Brit jockey Danny Wright in the saddle as he took another step forward toward his date with destiny in the mile and a quarter classic scheduled to go off at 6:57 p.m. Saturday.

Should he run to his 5-2 morning line odds, he’d add $3.1 million to his healthy bankroll that already reads $1,703,850. He’d also pick up a spectacular gold trophy to go alongside his championship hardware for being named America’s top 2-year-old of 2023.

His Hall of Fame trainer, Todd Pletcher, has named Hall of Fame rider John Velazquez to handle the riding duties on Saturday.

FOREVER YOUNG (JPN) – Susumu Fujita’s Forever Young (JPN) warmed up in the mile chute for a half-hour before galloping a mile and a half under Yusaku Oka. Following the gallop, Forever Young returned to the chute to cool down before walking back to the Quarantine Barn.

Trained by Yoshito Yahagi, Forever Young is scheduled to work Tuesday morning with fellow Derby entrant T O Password (JPN).

Yahagi is scheduled to arrive in Louisville Tuesday night.

GRAND MO THE FIRST – Granpollo Stables’ Grand Mo the First galloped two miles at 6:30 under Amel Macias for trainer Victor Barboza Jr.

The Kentucky-bred son of Uncle Mo comes into Derby 150 off a third-place finish behind Derby favorite Fierceness in the Florida Derby (GI).

Grand Mo the First finished 16 lengths behind Fierceness that day, so the question is how to make up that margin.

“This time it will be different, a different race,” Barboza said. “The pace will be quicker this time. The last time, nobody fought him (Fierceness). He got away with :24 and :49 and nobody fought him. This will be different.”

HONOR MARIE – Ribble Farms, Michael Eisterman, Earl Silver, Kenneth and Dave Fishbein’s Honor Marie galloped 1 ½ miles at 7:30 a.m. Monday under regular rider Maurilio Garcia.

Jockey Ben Curtis will ride in his first Kentucky Derby aboard Honor Marie.

“I came over to North America in November and I never thought I’d be riding in the Kentucky Derby,” said Curtis, a native of Ireland who was riding in Europe. “It’s a fantastic opportunity on a horse who I think could show up brilliantly on Derby Day. His stamina is there, his pedigree is there and everything he’s shown to this point says he will stay for the mile-and-a-quarter trip. There’s question marks on others in the race but he crosses off a lot of those question marks.

“He’s a very laid back, professional horse. A lot of the good ones are. They know how to keep their cool and use the right energy when it matters when the gates open. The way he goes through a race he likes to warm up into it. He puts himself in the right spots. There’s a long stretch here and I think it will suit his running style very well.”

JUST STEEL – BC Stables, LLC and Henry Schmueckle’s Just Steel walked the shedrow one day after breezing four furlongs in his final serious preparation for the Kentucky Derby (GI)

Among the intangibles trainer D. Wayne Lukas believes is a key aspect toward having success in the Derby is having an entrant with the pedigree to handle the first leg of the Triple Crown. As the Hall of Famer prepares to saddle his 50th Kentucky Derby starter with Just Steel, both of his equine protege and his jockey check that box.

Just Steel, a son of Triple Crown winner and newly minted Hall of Fame Justify, will be ridden in the 1 1/4-miles classic by Keith Asmussen, son of Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen. The younger Asmussen began his career in saddle in 2020 and is coming off a 2023 season in which he rode 60 winners while earning more than $3.2 million.

This year, the 25-year-old Asmussen  -- who has a Master’s Degree in accounting -- already has ridden 53 winners through Sunday, including his first graded stakes victory when he guided Lukas trainee Lemon Muffin to victory in the Honeybee Stakes (GIII). Not only is Asmussen keeping the mount on Lemon Muffin in the Kentucky Oaks (GI), Lukas is giving him a chance go to one better on Just Steel after the duo most recently finished second in the Arkansas Derby (GI) on March 30.

“He has a really good pedigree to be a horseman,” Lukas said of Keith Asmussen. “Physically, he doesn’t fit. He’s too tall, too skinny but he’s got so much horsemanship that he overcomes it. We used to say in athletics they look good in the lobby, he doesn’t look good in the lobby, he looks better on the horse. He’s very smart. He’s got a lot of confidence and it’s not going to bother him to get out there with those guys.”

If Just Steel is able to pull the upset on Derby Day, Keith Asmussen will beat his father to the punch in achieving a victory in the first leg of the Triple Crown as Steve Asmussen is winless with 25 starters.

'I do make the comment to these jockeys in these big races, that I don’t want them to embarrass me,” Lukas said. “I feel real comfortable that this is really solid young man who is going to carry himself well through it all.”

MYSTIK DAN – Lance Gasaway, 4 G Racing and Daniel Hamby III’s Mystik Dan was out for trainer Kenny McPeek for a typical gallop with Martin Reyes on Monday.

“He jogged one (mile) and galloped one,” said McPeek, who was satisfied in drawing the No. 3 post position in the Derby. The 20-1 morning-line shot will have Brian Hernandez Jr. on board for the Derby.

On Saturday, Mystik Dan was timed for the five furlongs in 1:01.20 with Hernandez.

RESILIENCE – With another morning of ideal weather providing the perfect backdrop, Emily Bushnell and Ric Waldman’s Resilience kept to his routine as well, returning to the track to loosen his legs up with an easy jog under the watch of trainer Bill Mott one day after putting in a half-mile breeze in preparation for the Kentucky Derby (GI).

When Resilience makes his way into the starting gate for the 150th Kentucky Derby, the son of Into Mischief will have a new pilot at the helm in jockey Junior Alvarado as John Velazquez -- who rode the colt to victory in the Wood Memorial (GII) -- is committed to morning-line favorite Fierceness. While Alvarado hasn’t yet guided the bay colt in a race setting, few riders are more familiar with what it takes to get a Mott trainee to succeed in a big spot.

Alvarado is coming off a career-best year in 2023 in which he notched more than $13.3 million in earnings and 16 graded stakes victories. A major of those graded wins came aboard horses for Mott, including his most notable mount, 2023 Horse of the Year Cody’s Wish.

In addition to guiding Cody’s Wish, Alvarado has also been trusted by Mott to handle the duties for such Grade 1 winners as War Like Goddess, the late Art Collector, Olympiad, and reigning juvenile filly champion and Oaks contender, Just F Y I. If momentum contributes anything toward racing luck, Alvarado has that in spades whenever Mott is the one legging him up.

“I’ve been riding for Mott the last 11 years and the last couple years, we’ve been on a great run in big races,” said Alvarado, who also won the $20 million Saudi Cup (GI) this year aboard Todd Fincher trainee Senor Buscador. “Hopefully it can continue this week. I think I am lucky right now. I think I’ve been on a hell for a run for the last three years. I wouldn’t change anything.”

Alvarado did get on Resilience when the colt was a juvenile up in Saratoga and the impression his future mount left on him then is one he hopes will be fully validated in the 10-furlong classic on May 4.

“I worked him in Saratoga before he ever ran. We always thought he was very nice, we just always thought he would be a late developer,” Alvarado said of Resilience. “He was a little awkward at that time, but the talent always was there. He’s been showing that in every race he runs since, he’s been progressing and running faster numbers. Hopefully this race, he gets a little faster.”

STRONGHOLD – The Ghostzapper colt Stronghold merely walked the shedrow at Barn 48 Monday morning one day after he had drilled five furlongs in :59.80 in company as his final prep for his date in Saturday’s $5 million Kentucky Derby.

“He’s doing fine today,” reported Sherri Alexander, the wife, exercise rider and No. 1 assistant to Stronghold’s conditioner, Phil D’Amato. “He ate up last night and he’s looking for mints this morning.”

Following Sunday’s exercise with the barn’s stakes horse Motorious, Alexander turned wheelman to rush her husband to the Louisville airport and a flight back to their Los Angeles headquarters at Santa Anita Park. The stable ran two horses at the California track yesterday, winning one and running third with the other.

Rider Antonio Fresu is scheduled to arrive in Louisville today. D’Amato is planning to return Tuesday.

Stronghold, the Santa Anita Derby winner, is slated to start his Kentucky Derby journey from post 18 in the 20-horse lineup.

T O PASSWORD (JPN) –Tomoya Ozasa’s T O Password (JPN) wamed up in the mile chute for a half-hour and then galloped a mile and a half under jockey Kazushi Kimura. Following the gallop, T O Password returned to the chute to visit the starting gate and cool down before walking back to the Quarantine Barn.

T O Password is scheduled to work with fellow Derby entrant Forever Young (JPN) Tuesday morning.

Trainer Daisuke Takayanagi is scheduled to arrive in Louisville tonight.

TRACK PHANTOM – Lecomte Stakes (GIII) winner Track Phantom had a scheduled walk day in trainer Steve Asmussen’s Barn 38 following his five-eighths work in 1:00 Sunday morning.

WEST SARATOGA – Harry Veruchi’s West Saratoga galloped a mile under Donte Lowery and then visited the starting gate Monday morning.

“He’s feeling good this morning,” trainer Larry Demeritte said. “He will probably go to the paddock Tuesday and possibly Wednesday.”

ALSO ELIGIBLES – Welch Racing’s Epic Ride (No. 21) jogged for 10 minutes in the mile chute under Sophie Doyle.

Average Joe Racing Stables and Dan Wells’ Mugatu (No. 22) galloped a mile and half at 6:30 under jockey Joe Talamo for trainer Jeff Engler.

THE KENTUCKY DERBY FIELD – Here is the field for the 150th running of the $5 million Kentucky Derby presented by Woodford Reserve (Grade I) in order of post positions (with rider and morning line odds): Dornoch (Luis Saez, 20-1), Sierra Leone (Tyler Gaffalione, 3-1), Mystik Dan (Brian Hernandez Jr., 20-1), Catching Freedom (Flavien Prat, 8-1), Catalytic (Jose Ortiz, 30-1), Just Steel (Keith Asmussen, 20-1), Honor Marie (Ben Curtis, 20-1), Just a Touch (Florent Geroux, 10-1), Encino (Axel Concepcion, 20-1), T O Password (JPN) (Kazuski Kimura, 30-1), Forever Young (JPN) (Ryusei Sakai. 10-1), Track Phantom (Joel Rosario, 20-1), West Saratoga (Jesus Castanon, 30-1), Endlessly (Umberto Rispoli, 30-1), Domestic Product (Irad Ortiz Jr., 30-1), Grand Mo the First (Emisael Jaramillo, 50-1), Fierceness (John Velasquez, 5-2), Stronghold (Antonio Fresu, 20-1), Resilience (Junior Alvarado, 20-1), Society Man (Frankie Dettori, 50-1). Also-Eligible: Epic Ride (Adam Beschizza, 50-1), Mugatu (Joe Talamo, 50-1). All starters will carry 126 pounds.

LONGINES KENTUCKY OAKS UPDATE

EVERLAND – Foster Family Racing, William Wargel, R.K. Eckrich Racing and Maxis Stable’s Everland, winner of the Bourbonette Oaks (Listed) in her most recent start for trainer Eric Foster, had a Monday morning assignment of walking the shedrow.

“Everything is good so far,” said Foster of the daughter of Arrogate, claimed by Foster for $30,000 in a Dec. 30, 2023, race at Turfway Park. She drew the No. 9 post, and was listed on the morning line at 30-1, with Abel Cedillo to ride.

Foster has 10 horses entered in races at Churchill Downs this week, including Maxisuperfly in the $600,000 Edgewood (GII), a turf race preceding the Oaks.

FIONA’S MAGIC – Stonehedge LLC’s homebred Fiona’s Magic galloped a mile and three-eighths and visited the starting gate shortly after 9 o’clock Monday morning under exercise rider Alejandro Mariano.

“She did well at the gate,” trainer Michael Yates said of the winner of the Davona Dale (GII).

In her most recent start, the Gulfstream Park Oaks (GII), Fiona’s Magic finished eighth, beaten 44 ¾ lengths.

“We learned absolutely nothing from that race,” Yates said. “We breezed her eight days before the race and scoped her. She scoped clean. Everything looked to be on 'go.' She had no nasal discharge. Everything was normal, but after the race, we scoped her, and she was loaded with mucus.”

Fiona’s Magic had three wins and two seconds before that race and Yates knew his filly was in trouble on the backstretch.

“When Chad (Brown’s) filly (Ways and Means) ran right by us between the half-mile pole and the three-eighths,” Yates said of when he knew something was wrong.

Last Tuesday at Gulfstream Park, Fiona’s Magic worked six furlongs in 1:15.16.

“The day after she worked, she scoped clean and everything looked good and that’s when we made the decision to come here,” said Yates, who has 28 horses stabled at Gulfstream Park and another 25 in training at his farm in Ocala, Florida.

GIN GIN/TARIFA – Calumet Farm’s Gin Gin along with Godolphin’s Tarifa both galloped about 1 ½ miles Monday at 7:30 a.m. for trainer Brad Cox.

“Just going through the normal motions right now,” Cox said. “All good.”

INTO CHAMPAGNE – Six Column Stables, Randy Bloch, Jim Gladden, Mike Davis and Michael Steele’s Into Champagne walked the shedrow on Monday for trainer Ian Wilkes.

“She’s been doing fine since she got here,” Wilkes said of his filly, who drew the No. 10 post with jockey Julian Leparoux and is a 30-1 shot on the morning line. “Monday’s always a walk day at our barn so nothing different today.

Following morning training, Into Champagne had a paddock schooling session.

JUST F Y I – One day after breezing a half mile in :49.40, reigning juvenile filly champion Just F Y I stretched her legs with a jog once around during the 7:30 a.m. training period.

Instead of a walk day, trainer Bill Mott wanted to give his Oaks contender and her stablemate, Kentucky Derby entrant Resilience, a chance to “loosen up” a day after their respective breezes.

“They’re both good,” the Hall of Fame trainer said.

LEMON MUFFIN -- It was an early morning for Honeybee Stakes (GIII) winner Lemon Muffin on Monday. With assistant trainer Sebastian 'Bas' Nicholl keeping an eye on things for trainer D. Wayne Lukas, Lemon Muffin returned to the track around 5:30 a.m. for a jog once around.

The daughter of Collected put in a swift final work on April 27 in advance of the Kentucky Oaks (GI), going five furlongs in :58.20. Owned by Aaron Sones, Julie Gilbert, and Harrison Sones, Lemon Muffin won the Honeybee on Feb. 24 before most recently finishing seventh in the Fantasy Stakes (GII).

LESLIE’S ROSE/CANDIED – Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher is a clockwork guy.

Steady, steady, steady is what you get. His horses like it and, in the end, that’s what it’s all about.

His two potential Kentucky Oaks fillies – Leslie’s Rose and Candied – followed pattern Monday morning and went about the business of preparing for Friday’s Grade I Kentucky Oaks with a mile and three-eighths gallop during the 7:30-7:45 special Oaks/Derby training period that Churchill Downs provides for those runners aiming for the two classics.

As he has on a regular basis, the conditioner assigned the horses’ regular exercise riders – Joel Osorio on Leslie’s Rose and Carlos Quevedo on Candied – to the two well-bred fillies for their exercise. The two covered a mile and three-eighths, then headed back to Barn 39.

Leslie’s Rose is already in the $1.5 million field and drew Post 14; Candied is on the also-eligible list and will need two withdrawals this week if she’s to go.

“No gate work for these two today,” Pletcher said. “We’re all good.”

POWER SQUEEZE – Lea Farms’ Kentucky-bred Power Squeeze visited the Churchill Downs track for a gallop Monday with exercise rider Edwin Castro. Trainer Jorge Delgado arrived in Louisville on Sunday from South Florida to oversee the final preparations of the Union Rags filly for the Oaks.

“She’s doing pretty good,” said Delgado, a nephew of Gustavo Delgado, the winning trainer of last year’s Derby with Mage. “Since she traveled on Thursday, she’s gone to the track now three times.”

Last Wednesday, she was timed by Gulfstream Park clockers going four furlongs in 49 seconds, in her last major work in preparation for the Oaks. Delgado said that because of travel plans, he decided to work her before shipping north. “We had to go with the cards we were dealt, and felt that it was the best way to give her time to recuperate,” he said.

“She’s very fit, and after a very busy winter, it’s a matter of maintenance here,” said Delgado, who had her ready to pull off an 11-1 upset in the Gulfstream Park Oaks (GII) that earned her a trip to the Kentucky Oaks – which was her fourth win in a row.

“Hopefully we can keep her as happy as she looks now right through the day of the race,” he added about the filly, a 12-1 morning-line pick who breaks from the No. 12 post with Daniel Centeno.

Delgado thinks the mile-and-an-eighth distance of the Oaks will suit Power Squeeze. “She’s a long-legged filly, with a long stride,” he said. “I believe the farther we go, the better it will be for her. I feel confident with the way she’s acting, the way she’s training.”

If there’s rain for the Oaks, Delgado believes she can handle any kickback. “She ran a second place sprinting in the slop,” he said, “and she won at Delaware, main track only, when it came off the turf. So I don’t think she cares about the slop. As long as she has a clean trip, I think she has a good chance.”

REGULATORY RISK/WAYS AND MEANS -- Trainer Chad Brown’s two Oaks contenders were both on the track during the 7:30 a.m. training period.

Klaravich Stables’ Regulatory Risk returned to the track for a jog once around after putting in a half-mile work on April 27, while Grade I-placed Ways and Means, who is also owned by Klaravich, was back galloping for the first time since her blazing half-mile breeze on April 26.

TAPIT JENALLIE – Willis Horton Racing’s Tapit Jenallie was on the track early Monday for trainer Eddie Milligan Jr. in preparation for the Oaks.

“Basically I just walked her around, walked her to the paddock, then galloped her to the half-mile pole and then came back,” said Milligan.

Tapit Jenallie is the only horse that he’s training at a racetrack for Horton.

“I actually broke her,” he said. “At that time, I was breaking yearlings for people. I broke most of her family, and I had broke horses for Mr. Horton for about 20 years. When I broke her, I really liked her and thought she was a pretty nice filly.”

Working with Tapit Jenallie marks a career change for Milligan. “This is my first year to train for Mr. Horton at the track. I broke horses for 30 years, that’s all that I’ve done. Before that, I trained at the track, and was a jockey before that. Last July, I was quitting breaking babies anyway, and he asked me if I’d train for him at the racetrack.

“I had a training center in East Texas where I raised my two boys, and when they went off to college, we decided to do something different. I sold that place and moved up to Hot Springs, broke babies there for three years, then started this deal with Mr. Horton.”

Tapit Jenallie worked a half-mile Thursday with jockey Manny Esquivel, in :49.40.

THORPEDO ANNA – Brookdale Racing, Mark Edwards, Judy Hicks and Magdalena Racing’s Thorpedo Anna went out in the second set of workers for trainer Kenny McPeek on Monday with Martin Reyes.

“She went out a seven and a four – a mile-and-three-eighths gallop,” McPeek said.

Thorpedo Anna, who will have Brian Hernandez Jr. on board, drew the No. 5 post for the Oaks, and is at 5-1 on the morning line. On Friday, Hernandez guided her to a five-furlong work in :59.40.

WHERE’S MY RING – Michael McMillan’s Gazelle Stakes (GIII) winner Where’s My Ring had a quiet Monday morning with her key bit of activity being a nice gallop during the special 7:30-7:45 training period for Derby and Oaks runners.

Trainer Val Brinkerhoff put regular exercise rider David Rodriguez up on his Twirling Candy filly, then watched them tour the big oval once, then half again in smart fashion.

The conditioner offered a nod of approval and noted: “She’ll go back (to stand in) the gate again at some point this week.”

Where’s My Ring drew post 3 for the $1.5-million Kentucky Oaks this Friday. Her Gazelle partner, veteran New York rider Jose Lezcano, once again will be in the saddle.

ALSO ELIGIBES – Our Pretty Woman jogged one mile at 5:30 a.m. under regular rider Wilson Fabianfor trainer Steve Asmussen. The filly still needs one defection to make the body of the Oaks.

SHAPING UP: THE KENTUCKY OAKS – Here is the field for the $1.5 million Longines Kentucky Oaks (Grade I) in order of post position (with jockey and morning line odds): The field for the Kentucky Oaks, from the rail out with riders and morning line odds, is: Tapit Jenallie (Manny Esquivel, 30-1), Gin Gin (Florent Geroux, 30-1), Where’s My Ring (Jose Lezcano, 15-1), Regulatory Risk (Jose Ortiz, 20-1), Thorpedo Anna (Brian Hernandez Jr., 5-1), Lemon Muffin (Keith Asmussen, 30-1), Fiona’s Magic (Luis Saez, 30-1), Tarifa (Flavien Prat, 7-2), Everland (Abel Cedillo, 30-1), Into Champagne (Julien Leparoux, 30-1), Ways and Means (Tyler Gaffalione, 5-1), Power Squeeze (Daniel Centeno, 12-1), Just F Y I (Junior Alvarado, 9-2), Leslie’s Rose (Irad Ortiz Jr., 4-1). Also-eligible: Our Pretty Woman (Joel Rosario, 15-1), Candied (Luis Saez, 20-1).

KENTUCKY DERBY MORNING WORKS PROGRAM AIRS DAILY – The Kentucky Derby Morning Works Show will air daily through Thurby and feature Churchill Downs’ expert handicappers Joe Kristufek, Kaitlin Free, Tony Calo and Kevin Kilroy along with an array of popular industry figures such as former leading rider Rosie Napravnik and Churchill Downs Track Announcer Travis Stone.

The 20-minute program will be streamed live on @KentuckyDerby on YouTube, Facebook and X.