Departing tunes up for Preakness with half-mile breeze at
Churchill
With trainer Al Stall Jr. and jockey Brian Hernandez Jr. watching from the
grandstand, Illinois Derby winner Departing worked a half-mile in :50 2/5 over a
fast track at Churchill Downs on Sunday morning.
With former jockey Larry Melancon up, Departing worked on his own after the
morning renovation break and produced fractions of :13 1/5, :25 2/5 and :38 1/5
and galloped out five furlongs in 1:03 4/5.
“I wanted him to go a little slower the first part than the second part and
he hit right on what we were looking for,” Stall said. “He did enough to get the
day off tomorrow. He is a gelding and doesn’t carry a lot of weight. He had
galloped two miles on Thursday and a spirited mile and a half Friday.”
Owned by Claiborne Farm and Adele Dilschneider, Departing is scheduled to
walk Monday and then train Tuesday and Wednesday morning before shipping to
Baltimore on Wednesday afternoon. Stall said he has a 2 p.m. (EDT) flight
Wednesday and would be in Baltimore in time for the Preakness draw that
afternoon.
Departing will be the second Preakness starter for Stall,
whose Terrain finished seventh in 2009 behind eventual Horse of the Year Rachel
Alexandra. Like Terrain, Departing did not run in the Kentucky Derby prior to
the Preakness.
Waiting at Pimlico when Departing
arrives will be Kentucky Derby winner Orb, who shared a paddock at Claiborne
Farm in his early days with Departing. Orb is owned by Stuart Janney III and
the Phipps Stable.
“Those families have been down the
road before,” Stall said of the Hancocks of Claiborne Farm and the Phippses.
“Seeking the Gold and Forty Niner ran against each other in big races like the
Derby, Haskell and Travers (in 1988) and I am sure they are all going to try to
run their ‘A’ race.”
As many as eight horses that ran in
the Derby remain under consideration for the Preakness, headed by Orb.
“Orb will be even money or less,”
Stall said of the Derby victor who earned the roses over a sloppy, sealed track.
“There have been horses that have rebounded from Derbies like Louis Quatorze (16th in
the 1996 Derby) that won or ran well in the Preakness.
“Goldencents trained well here and then ran a 32 Beyer (Speed Figure) in the
Derby. Horses can come back to themselves and run 70 to 80 points higher.”
Stall is eager to get to Baltimore.
“It is exciting and there is maybe
more buildup to this than with Blame in the 2010 Breeders’ Cup Classic,”
Stall said. “My wife is from Baltimore and we are looking forward to a good time
there and enjoying the race.”
Other horses at Churchill Downs under
consideration for the Preakness had routine mornings.
Oxbow and Will Take Charge, the sixth- and eighth-place finishers,
respectively, in the Kentucky Derby jogged two miles before the renovation break
and Titletown Five, fourth in the Derby Trial in his most recent start,
galloped 1 1/2 miles before the break. Rudy Quevedo was on Oxbow and Titletown
Five and Taylor Carty was on Will Take Charge.
“Oxbow and Will Take Charge will work
in the morning and Titletown Five will breeze through the stretch,” trainer D.
Wayne Lukas said.
GoldMark Farm and Whisper Hill Farm’s Mylute galloped 1
1/2 miles
before the renovation break under exercise rider Maurice Sanchez. The
fifth-place Kentucky Derby finisher is scheduled to work Monday morning at 6
a.m. with jockey Rosie Napravnik up.
“It will be an easy half, nothing
fancy,” trainer Tom Amoss said.
Mike Pegram’s Govenor Charlie had an easy two-mile gallop under exercise
rider Jorge Alvarez after the break. The Bob Baffert trainee, who
schooled in the paddock prior to Sunday’s 1ST race, is scheduled to work Monday.
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