Upstart pleases Violette with return to worktab

Upstart (left) caught a tiring Gulfstream Park track when finishing second to Materiality in the March 28 Florida Derby (Brian Caputo/Coglianese Photo) Kentucky Derby contender Upstart (Flatter) returned to the work tab Friday morning at Palm Meadows, recording a sharp four-furlong breeze in 47 2/5 over the fast track. Winner of the Holy Bull (G2) earlier this season and most recently second in the Florida Derby (G1), Upstart spiked a fever last Saturday and missed a scheduled breeze for trainer Rick Violette Jr. He took three days off from training, but the dark bay New York-bred appeared strong in his return to serious work. He posted the fast work of six at the distance and the gallop out may have been more impressive, as the sophomore strode out five-eighths in :59 2/5 under little to no urging from exercise rider Vicki King. Following the work, King said her mount did not seem to display any ill effects from the missed time.

“It doesn’t seem to have (made a difference),” she said. “I guess we’ll find
out. He seems fine after that. He had three days off, and on his first day back,
he galloped quiet, which was perfect. You don’t want to overdo it first day
back. Since then, he’s been great.

“He felt the same. He’s push-button, too, really push-button. He’ll just do
what you ask him. If you want him to go faster, he will. If you want him to go
slower, he’ll do anything you ask of him. He galloped out really good, might
have been a little bit too good! I think we’re happy with him.”

Violette was similarly in no shortage of superlatives when reviewing his
trainee’s performance.

“All in all, wow,” he said. “He did things so easily. He wouldn’t pull up on
the backside. He galloped out three-quarters in 14 (seconds), and that was under
orders for the rider on the walkie-talkie to ease him up. I’m not sure if we
could have done things any differently or any better.

“He’s just a good horse, and we try not to get in his way.”

After cooling out, Upstart also received a positive report from the
veterinarian. He was scoped and found to have no remaining mucus in his system.

“He just scoped clean,” Violette said. “He’s cooling out great. We’ll see how
he comes out of it.”

Violette elected to move Upstart’s rescheduled breeze up a day when
discovering rain in the forecast for Saturday. He said that decision will allow
his trainee to have an extra day to recover if necessary.

“We breezed a day early, so now I have an extra day to let him bounce out of
this if it’s taken any toll on him, which I don’t know if it did,” the
conditioner said.

Violette noted that the ease with which Upstart breezed might have been the
most impressive aspect of the work.

“He’s not a brilliant workhorse. He’ll do what you ask him to do, but today
offered a lot for him,” he said. “He fools people a lot. He looks like he’s
going in 50 and he goes in 47. He does what good horses do. Today, he showed us
that we’re not supposed to cancel any travel plans.”

Owned by Ralph M. Evans, Upstart has earned $971,480 from a 7-3-3-1 career
mark.

He will have one more breeze in South Florida late next week before departing
for Churchill Downs on April 28.

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