Kentucky Derby
2019 Kentucky Derby
Prep schedule: Includes leaderboard, charts, replays, speed figures
Next Year’s Fad
Two articles are out today about Tim Ritchey’s unusual training regimen for Afleet Alex: The colt is sometimes sent out twice in the morning, once to jog and another time to gallop. “They [horses] are athletes and they have to be fit,” Ritchey said. “You cannot baby them.” (Blood-Horse)
Ritchey got the idea from his days in steeplechasing, where the horses are given more daily exercise than are typical racehorses. Another former steeplechaser, trainer Barclay Tagg, approves of what Ritchey’s doing: “If it suits the horse, he’s doing the right thing, and it obviously suits the horse,” said Tagg. “It’s a type of interval training. You get them a lot fitter that way, and these horses need the ultimate fitness for something like the Triple Crown races. They’re very grueling.” (Daily Racing Form)
This seems like another good reason to love Afleet Alex as a top Derby contender. And if he does win the Derby, I’d be willing to bet that a lot other trainers come up with a similar program for their hot prospects next year, replacing this year’s fashion for long layoffs and lots of rest.
Related: Afleet Alex officially worked five furlongs in :59 at Churchill this morning, but Steve Haskin clocked him in :58.6. That wasn’t all Haskin saw:
By the time Alex hit the five-eighths pole, he was rolling at a pretty good clip. The clockers got him in splits of :12 2/5, :24, :35 2/5, and :46 3/5. For whatever it’s worth, I caught him closer to :47, with a final eighth in :11 3/5. But what’s a few ticks here and there. What was to be taken from this work was the way Alex cut the corner turning for home. Horses running that fast often naturally drift three or four paths off the fence, but Alex hugged the rail and switched leads right on cue. You don’t often see that kind agility, and when you do, you certainly take note of it.
Down the stretch, Rose’s hands barely moved and couldn’t have been any farther down on the horse’s neck, which is another important thing you look for. Alex flew home under a nice loose rein, doing everything on his own, and had his ears back and his mind on business. (Blood-Horse)
Last-Ditch Derby
Coin Silver wins the Lexington and pays $28.80; big favorite Rockport Harbor finishes sixth out of seven. It was clear as the field entered the stretch that Rockport had lost — he was too far back, didn’t seem to like the sloppy track, and would have had to make an amazing come-from-behind move to take the lead, and he just didn’t seem to have the energy or the heart to do any such thing this afternoon. Trainer John Servis was circumspect when asked after the race where Rockport Harbor would go next. “I’ll have to talk to Mr. Porter,” said Servis, adding, “You haven’t heard the last of [Rockport Harbor] yet.” Servis had said before the race that Rockport would have to win the Lexington convincingly to go to the Derby, otherwise, he would probably be pointed to the Preakness.
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The Lexington Stakes, aka “The last chance to make the Kentucky Derby,” is scheduled for today (Globe), with a field of eight — including Rockport Harbor, Sort It Out, and Going Wild — trying to prove they belong in Louisville two weeks from now. Rockport needs to win to prove he’s ready for the challenge of the Derby, Sort It Out needs to win so he has the graded stakes earnings to enter the Derby, and Going Wild needs to win to redeem his unexplainably bad performance in the Wood. Who will win, though, is anyone’s guess (I’m staying away from handicapping this race, which looks like a mess with horses coming off layoffs, out of difficult-to-interpret races, moving into stakes company for the first time, etc.). If Rockport shows up in even his Rebel form, his likely favorite status is justified, but Going Wild does fit a Lexington Stakes pattern trainer D. Wayne Lukas has established (DRF — sub. req.)…
Tangentially related: Galloping Grocer, who ran second to Rockport Harbor in the Remsen last November and who was talked about as “the next Funny Cide” early in the Triple Crown season, drops back into restricted stakes company. (Daily Racing Form)
Bounce-and-Win
Let’s say Bellamy Road goes out and runs a 113 in the Derby, which some would consider a bounce off his Wood. Have you got a strong candidate to run a 114 and beat him? The next best Beyer out there is Afleet Alex’s 108 in the Arkansas Derby. There’s plenty of room for a bounce-and-win. (Daily Racing Form — sub. req.)
It’s possible, I suppose. But how likely is it that with a full field of 20 in the Derby, and with horses — many more experienced — that’ll challenge him on the pace, Bellamy Road will get the sort of trip he needs to run that 113?
Derby Blogs
The Courier-Journal leaps into the blogosphere with three Derby-related blogs written by an Arkansas expat, a horseplaying lawyer, and an army captain in Baghdad.
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Jessica Chapel writes and edits in Massachusetts. Railbird is a Thoroughbred horse racing blog published from June 2004 to July 2019. More / Contact
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