Trio of FL Derby Contenders Breeze

[Wandering Eyes]

Bourbon War (Tapit), Hidden Scroll (Hard Spun) and Maximum Security (New Year’s Day) all breezed Friday morning in preparation for the Mar. 30 GI Xpressbet.com Florida Derby.

GII Fountain of Youth S. runner-up Bourbon War breezed a half-mile in :49.88 (19/30) at Gulfstream (video).

“He did well,” trainer Mark Hennig said. “He came home in :49.88, I think they caught him in. I was looking for a little quicker than that, but the track was not real sharp this morning. I told my rider I’d rather you err on the side of too slow than too fast. The horse is fit. We just want to get him safely over there next Saturday.”

Over at Payson Park, ‘TDN Rising Star’ Hidden Scroll worked in company under exercise rider Neil Poznansky, covering five panels in a bullet 1:02.40 (1/7) (video).

“It was a very nice work,” said Hall of Famer Bill Mott. “He worked with a stablemate. The time of 1:02, the way the racetrack was today, I think it was a very useful work. He sat off his company and he finished up and went by inside the eighth-pole with a reasonable good gallop-out. He seemed very good in the work. He was very manageable. We sat him in behind a horse and he was real calm. They went off slow enough and he wasn’t anxious. He was content to follow another horse. He approached the quarter-pole and got into the bridle and finished up well.”

The Juddmonte homebred was last seen finishing fourth as the favorite after setting the pace in the Fountain of Youth.

“I think it was a matter of learning for us,” said Mott, who also conditions fellow Juddmonte homebred and GII Tampa Bay Derby winner Tacitus (Tapit). “We thought from the beginning we could do anything with him. The last work we sat him right in behind and ate a lot of dirt. He was fine doing that. Today we sat him in behind, but we sat him off to the side, so he wasn’t getting dirt. He saw daylight but he saw another horse in front of him and he seemed kind about that as well.”

Undefeated Maximum Security breezed a slow half-mile in :52.95 (63/63) at Palm Meadows Friday. The Gary and Mary West homebred is a perfect-three-for-three at Gulfstream, but takes a big jump up in class next weekend.

“I thought he had a good breeze. He came home in :12,” trainer Jason Servis said. “I would still like to not commit, but I would say we are on schedule.”

The Wests’ Final Jeopardy (Street Sense) also breezed four furlongs in a soft :52.80 (59/63) and is being considered for either the Florida Derby or the Apr. 6 GII Wood Memorial S. at Aqueduct.

“We’re looking at the Wood Memorial. It’s not a definite but we’re kind of looking at that,” said Servis. “He galloped out really good. That race is a mile and an eighth so I’m feeling a little better about the work. But it’s not definite yet.”

 

View the full article