Sections

Giant Finish crashes Fear the Kitten’s party// Carving not likely to be AE// Albarado to ride Golden Soul// No blow out for Itsmyluckyday


Summary:
Hopefully the connections of Fear the Kitten kept the receipts for their Derby hats as they may be of no use Saturday. In a near-last minute decision, owner Andy Cohen decided to throw Giant Finish, 3rd last time out in the Spiral (G3) at Turfway, into the Kentucky Derby mix. Giant Finish’s 10 points trump Fear the Kitten’s 6, which force the latter to enter as an also-eligible and hope for a defection before Friday. It appeared a second also-eligible was possible with the connections of Carving (2 points) showing interest to enter their colt during Wednesday’s scheduled draw. However, trainer Mike Puhich didn’t seem keen on the idea of waiting for two to drop out// It was also announced late Tuesday that Dallas Stewart has chosen Robby Albarado as the rider for Golden Soul. The team will be among the longest shots in the race, but if they happen to pull off a miracle get ready for the onslaught of stories on Albarado’s fairly recent transgressions// Somehow news that Ryan Moore was named to ride Lines of Battle was labeled “breaking” today but we actually knew that Friday. Lines of Battle arrived on the Churchill grounds early Wednesday morning// Eddie Plesa confirmed that Itsmyluckyday will not have a ‘blow out’ or short breeze between now and the Derby. Itsmyluckyday’s last work was Thursday and his overall time was a very slow 4-furlongs in 53 seconds flat// No serious workouts took place at Churchill Tuesday, but several people noted Falling Sky’s strong gallop. It is safe to assume he will be fairly aggressive in the early stages of the Derby. For gallop videos and interviews see the links below// Andrew Beyer theorizes that Todd Pletcher’s 1-for-31 record in the Kentucky Derby can be attributed to his training methods producing horses that perform better in races well spaced apart as opposed to the compact prep and Triple Crown schedules// Features on Kevin Krigger, Vyjack, Kelly Breen, Golden Soul, Joel Rosario, Orb, and much more below…



Articles:
Derby update 4/30 (Churchill Downs)
Derby Dreams: Mylute (Paulick Report)
No lack of buzz on Churchill Downs backside (Business First Louisville)


Videos:
Mylute gallops 4/30 [video] (Churchill Downs)
Vyjack gallops 4/30 [video] (Churchill Downs)


Rankings:
Haskin’s Derby Dozen 4/30 (Bloodhorse Blog)


Quotes and Tweets:
"Just got a text from Dallas Stewart naming Robby Albarado to ride Golden Soul in the Ky Derby"- Jay Privman via Twitter

“Trainer Eddie Plesa Jr. confirms Itsmyluckyday will not have a blow out before Derby. ‘No upside but downside if he went too fast’ ” - Mike Welsch via Twitter