Wicked Strong blows out three furlongs in :36 3/5

Wicked Strong needed a nap after his three-eighths move Thursday morning (Lauren Pomeroy/Horsephotos.com) Trainer Jimmy Jerkens had Wicked Strong work three furlongs in :36 3/5 Thursday morning as part of his daily exercise program. Known as a “blowout,” the colt was asked to accelerate from his gallop by exercise rider Kelvin Pahal as they ran down the stretch. It turned into the fastest of 26 moves at the distance on the day. Jerkens was unable to see the three-furlong move because he didn’t have time to get to the front side of the track from the stable area on the backside. The horseman was delayed watching a blacksmith replace a couple of nails on one of the colt’s rear shoes. “I didn’t have a chance to go around so I watched him come around the turn,” Jerkens explained. “But he was good and into the bridle, so I imagine he went OK. It wasn’t supposed to amount to much, just something to stretch his legs and open up his lungs a little bit because he’s had plenty of work. He’s dead-fit, but we still wanted to do something to get him to take a deep breath.”

Jerkens hoped that Wicked Strong would draw a post position somewhere in the
middle of the field, but the colt landed in the outside No. 20 post at the draw
Wednesday.

Because of the scratch of Hoppertunity, he will move one spot closer to the
rail and start from the 19th position. Jerkens said people in racing have told
him Wicked Strong, a closer, will be OK leaving the gate from an outside post.

“Edgar Prado thought it was a great post position,” Jerkens said. “Edgar is a
Hall of Famer and has ridden a million races, big races, and he texted me right
after saying, ‘perfect.’ I didn’t know if he was being sarcastic so I had to
call him back.

“He said, ‘I think it’s great, especially with a horse like him that gets
impatient in the gate. I think it’s perfect.’ He said, ‘You’ve got a long run
down the stretch, a very long run to the turn, you can size the race up inside
of you. I think you will be fine.'”

Jerkens said the colt’s rider, Rajiv Maragh, told him not to worry about the
post.

“I felt a lot better that the jock didn’t feel it was a big deal,” Jerkens
said. “The more they’re talking, the more they are convincing me. The speed
horses have to do what it looks like they’re going do on paper for it to work
for us. If they come in front of the stands in one big ball, we’re going to be
in trouble.”

Jerkens said his father, the legendary trainer H. Allen Jerkens, hasn’t given
him a lot of advice about how to approach his first Derby.

“He said you have to try to treat it like any other race,” Jerkens noted.
“And he said, ‘Don’t let anybody or anything sway your judgment. Don’t be
pressured into doing something you wouldn’t otherwise do just because it’s the
Derby. A lot of people fall into that trap where they keep second-guessing
themselves.'”

“He said, ‘You’ve got to get into a place where you can think by yourself.
Just treat your horses like it was any other race. Don’t train them any
different just because somebody might come up to you and say “So and so went out
there and did this with his horse.” He said you’ve got to make sure you don’t
fall prey to that.'”

Bet Horseracing Free Online at TwinSpires.com