Derby Duo Put in Final Works in Florida

A pair of GI Kentucky Derby contenders, Upstart (Flatter) and Frosted (Tapit), put in their final breezes before the May 2 Run for the Roses Saturday at Palm Meadows in Florida. 

Ralph Evans and WinStar Farm’s GII Holy Bull S. winner and GI Florida Derby runner-up Upstart fired a five-furlong bullet in :59.95, the best of nine at the distance. With exercise rider Vicki King aboard, the handsome bay was clocked in splits of :12.67, :24.46 and :48.01, and galloped out strong. 

“He felt great,” King said. “He felt really good. He’s done everything right. He went the right time–everything, the fractions were perfect. He’s push-button. He’s really a nice ride. If he messes up, it’s the rider’s fault, because he does anything you ask him to do!” 

Trainer Rick Violette was equally pleased with Upstart’s work. 

“It was kind of typical [for him], very professional,” the conditioner said. “He looks like he’s two-minute licking but he’s going in 12 [second-intervals]. He didn’t want to pull up. He did it easily, and it basically was a typical Upstart work, which is what we were looking for.” 

Violette also noted that his charge excels racing off of fast works. 

“All [Vicki King] has to do is move her hands a little bit and he accelerates,” he said. “He likes to work fast going into his races. His best races have come off fast workouts. When I toyed with that and toned it down a little bit, he didn’t run his A-race, which is kind of my program, but it was also something we’ve learned [about him] as a 2-year-old and 3-year-old. He wants to zip a little bit, and we try to keep our horses happy.” 

Violette added, “He’ll leave Tuesday. He’ll gallop a little bit tomorrow and Monday. Tuesday will be his walk day, and then we’ll recharge for a big day on Saturday. He’ll just gallop [leading up to the Derby]. He’ll school in the gate and school in the paddock and that’s it–just a couple one-on-one stuff.” 

Sheikh Mohammed homebred Frosted breezed five furlongs in 1:01.10 under exercise rider Rob Massey. The GI TwinSpires.com Wood Memorial winner and Holy Bull runner-up recorded splits of :12.85, :24.92 and :36.74. 

“We had a great racetrack today,” McLaughlin said. “We wanted to see a maintenance work, and we’re all systems go. He worked great–went in 1:01–and it was very similar to last week. We’re very happy with it.” 

The gray trained up to the Wood Memorial at Palm Meadows, so McLaughlin decided to employ the same tactics leading up to the Derby. 

“Going into the Wood [Memorial], he worked every week here and flew up there and won,” he said. “Weather was a big thing. It looked rainy in Kentucky, and it has been, and in New York, too. It just looked like it was the right move. He’s trained great here.” 

McLaughlin added, “On Tuesday he flies [Churchill Downs] at noon. He’ll train [at Palm Meadows] Tuesday morning, fly up, and train [in Louisville] Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and maybe Saturday, too. We’ll also go through the paddock, but not in the afternoon.”