Caleb's Posse coasts through Arkansas Derby move

"You could tell he wanted to do more -- that it was there if he had to," Von

Hemel said. "The headwind might have made the time seem a little slow in the

lane, but the main thing with a work like that is their frame of mind. He's fit

because he's been training all spring. It is more about his mind at this point."

Von Hemel has pronounced Caleb's Posse an overachiever as he prepares for his

ninth career start and the longest of his career in the 1 1/8-mile Arkansas

Derby.

He ended his two-year-old campaign with a disappointing seventh-place run

in the Springboard Mile at Remington Park, but proved it was the track and not

the distance that stymied him when he started his sophomore season by winning

the Smarty Jones S., also at a mile, at Oaklawn.

The bay colt had a horrible trip in the Southwest S. (G3) in February but

showed guts with a second-place finish in the Rebel behind the front-running The

Factor (War Front).

"He is getting stronger and he's maturing," Razo said. "He likes the track

and the way he travels in the mornings tells me he has what it takes for big

races like next Saturday."