April 27 - On Saturday, the first day of the Churchill Downs Spring meet in Louisville, five possible Kentucky Derby starters delivered early morning workouts, and on Sunday even more were put through their paces, including Hold Me Back, Square Eddie, Advice, Flying Private, Win Willy and most notably General Quarters.

Hold Me Back started off the proceedings by covering five furlongs in a time of 1:01.15 with regular rider and champion jockey Kent Desormeaux aboard. With a nudge or two from Desormeaux close to the eighth pole, the impressive colt galloped out six furlongs in a time of 1:14.66, boding well for the Derby.

After fading in the final stages to finish third behind fellow Kentucky Derby contender Advice in the $300,000 Lexington Stakes just over a week ago at Keeneland, Square Eddie's workout was more relaxed than most of his contemporaries. He posted splits of 24.93s and 37.44s before galloping out in 1:03.28.

While the connections of Advice have still not confirmed whether the WinStar Farm colt will start in the Kentucky Derby, on Sunday he showed off his impressive turn of foot with an energetic gallop. In the Lexington Stakes he wowed the crowd when he charged up the field from last place to cross the line first.

Top trainer D. Wayne Lukas sent out his talented charge Flying Private with blinkers on after the break. Breaking from tradition, Lukas had no problem sending the colt out in daylight, a trainer renowned for training his Kentucky Derby contenders under the cover of darkness. The colt delivered a quick gallop.

Win Willy was one of the few Derby contenders who had a troubling session. When he was shown the starting gate he appeared to get a little antsy. And during his opening mile did not seem as comfortable as usual. However, when another runner passed him he seemed to catch a wake up and improve his speed.

General Quarters, the one and only charge of owner/trainer Tom McCarthy, seemed to have a good Sunday session. He looked more at ease and focused than usual. This means he has probably recovered from his energy-sapping win in the $750,000 Blue Grass Stakes (Gr 1) two weeks ago at Keeneland.

Other Articles:

Square Eddie Scratched from Kentucky Derby - 04-29-09

Two Big Races for Singapore in May - 04-29-09

Peter Moody Eyes Second Derby Victory - 04-29-09

Quality Road Scratched from 09 Kentucky Derby - 04-28-09

Kentucky Derby Workouts Bode Well for Godolphin - 04-27-09

Hoo La Baloo Seeks Bet365 Gold Cup Glory - 04-25-09

Vision And Power Set for Queen Elizabeth Stakes - 04-25-09

Churchill Downs Spring Meet Kicks off Saturday - 04-24-09


2012/04/02 06:43:56 AM