Kentucky Derby News For April 30, 2015
Far and away the biggest news of Thursday was the declaration of #11 Stanford out of the Kentucky Derby. His removal will allow #21 Frammento to get into the Derby. It also means that post positions 12 through 21 will shift by 1 stall to the inside.
“We entered the horse in the race to see what sort of post he might draw,” trainer Todd Pletcher said. “We were on the fence as to whether or not to run him, but we thought we’d take a look. But after seeing the draw and talking to the owners, we decided it might be best to take him out and consider other options.
“We’re thinking now that either the Peter Pan (at Belmont Park on May 9) or the Preakness (at Pimlico on May 16) might be better spots for him. The horse is fine. We’ll train him tomorrow morning and we’ll probably work him the morning of the Derby before we ship him to New York.
“We didn’t wait to scratch him. We did it now to ensure that the also-eligibles would have their chance to run. We think him coming out now is for the best of all.”
The only horse to work for the Derby was Mubtaahij who blew out three furlongs in :37.40. He ran the opening furlong in :13.10 and galloped out four furlongs in :52.20.
American Pharoah and Dortmund both galloped a mile and a half. Bolo galloped a mile and three eighths and was expected to have a schooling session in the paddock later on Thursday afternoon.
Carpe Diem galloped once around the track, Materiality galloped a mile and three eighths, and Itsaknockout galloped a mile and a half. Stanford galloped a mile and three eighths as well before his defection from the Derby.
Danzig Moon galloped a mile and a half while El Kabeir galloped a mile and three eighths. Far Right jogged a mile and then galloped a mile on Thursday morning.
Firing Line galloped a mile and a half and then schooled in the paddock. Newly entered Frammento galloped a mile and a half.
Trainer Nick Zito had this to say about Frammento’s inclusion into the Derby, “I got the call from the racing office this afternoon. We are all excited. We made it. Everybody is happy. He has been training great. I know we will have to break from the 20, but that is a lot better than Post Zero!”
Frosted schooled in the paddock, schooled in the starting gate, and then galloped a mile and three eighths.
International Star had a simple day of walking the shedrow. Keen Ice galloped two miles and Mr. Z had a simple gallop.
Ocho Ocho Ocho walked the shedrow after his three furlong blowout on Wednesday.
Tale of Verve is currently the next horse into the Kentucky Derby if another scratch occurs. He galloped a mile and three eighths on Thursday.
Tencendur went out for a gallop in the morning and was expected to school in the paddock later in the day.
Upstart galloped a mile and three eighths while War Story jogged a mile and then galloped a mile.
The updated entries for the 141st Kentucky Derby can be seen in the table below.
| Post Position | Horse | Jockey | Trainer | Morning Line Odds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ocho Ocho Ocho | Elvis Trujillo | James Cassidy | 50-1 |
| 2 | Carpe Diem | John Velazquez | Todd Pletcher | 8-1 |
| 3 | Materiality | Javier Castellano | Todd Pletcher | 12-1 |
| 4 | Tencendur | Manuel Franco | George Weaver | 30-1 |
| 5 | Danzig Moon | Julien Leparoux | Mark Casse | 30-1 |
| 6 | Mubtaahij | Christophe Soumillon | Mike de Kock | 20-1 |
| 7 | El Kabeir | Calvin Borel | John Terranova | 30-1 |
| 8 | Dortmund | Martin Garcia | Bob Baffert | 3-1 |
| 9 | Bolo | Rafael Bejarano | Carla Gaines | 30-1 |
| 10 | Firing Line | Gary Stevens | Simon Callaghan | 12-1 |
| 11 (SCRATCHED) | Stanford | Florent Geroux | Todd Pletcher | SCRATCHED |
| 12 | International Star | Miguel Mena | Mike Maker | 20-1 |
| 13 | Itsaknockout | Luis Saez | Todd Pletcher | 30-1 |
| 14 | Keen Ice | Kent Desormeaux | Dale Romans | 50-1 |
| 15 | Frosted | Joel Rosario | Kiaran McLaughlin | 15-1 |
| 16 | War Story | Joe Talamo | Tom Amoss | 50-1 |
| 17 | Mr. Z | Ramon Vazquez | D. Wayne Lukas | 50-1 |
| 18 | American Pharoah | Victor Espinoza | Bob Baffert | 5-2 |
| 19 | Upstart | Jose Ortiz | Rick Violette | 15-1 |
| 20 | Far Right | Mike Smith | Ron Moquett | 30-1 |
| 21 | Frammento | Corey Nakatani | Nick Zito | 50-1 |
| 22 (Also-eligible) | Tale Of Verve | Brian Hernandez Jr. | Dallas Stewart | 50-1 |
Kentucky Oaks News
Angela Renee galloped a mile and a quarter and stablemate Eskenformoney galloped a mile.
Birdatthewire had an easy gallop on Thursday morning and fellow contender Condo Commando was anxious to go faster in her gallop.
Forever Unbridled galloped a mile and three eighths. The duo of I’m A Chatterbox and Lovely Maria both jogged five furlongs and then galloped five furlongs. Include Betty looked good in the morning.
Money’soncharlotte jogged a mile early in the morning and Oceanwave galloped a mile and a half.
Puca galloped a mile and three eighths, Sarah Sis galloped a mile and a half, and Shook Up galloped over the main track.
Stellar Wind, the morning line favorite, galloped over the track as soon as the opened.
A full Kentucky Oaks preview can be found here.
If post position were the only consideration, I doubt the 11 would make anyone want to scratch. I agree that the Peter Pan or Preakness are better spots. Wish more trainers would skip the Derby. I’d like to see it at 14 and move the gate out a little. Too many “he can get into the Derby, so let’s do it” horses have their year/career derailed in the demolition derby we so often see.