War Pass Works for Wood
– War Pass breezed four furlongs in :47.40 at Palm Meadows on Wednesday, the fastest of 26 works at the distance, restoring trainer Nick Zito’s confidence in the colt following the debacle in Tampa. “I’m praying, thanking God that we got another shot,” said Zito. “A lot of questions are going to be answered in the Wood” (DRF). The Wood has attracted seven possible starters, including Court Vision, Tale of Ekati, and Giant Moon, and if War Pass is indeed 100 percent, he should be the speed of the race and have no problem returning to his usual front-running, winning ways. I would think though that such a revival raises more questions about the Tampa Bay Derby and War Pass’ ability to handle adversity and running off the lead than it answers …
– Is the presence of War Pass at the Big A scaring off Denis of Cork? Trainer David Carroll told Blood-Horse that he’s considering sending the undefeated Southwest Stakes winner to the Illinois Derby instead of the Wood because of travel complications:
Maybe, but since stablemate Blackberry Road is now headed to the Arkansas Derby instead of Illinois, I wouldn’t be surprised at all if Carroll is maneuvering to get Denis of Cork to the Kentucky Derby unscathed by a meeting beforehand with the champion.
