KENTUCKY DERBY PREPS

They are called Kentucky Derby preps for a reason. Trainers are preparing their 3-year-olds for the first Saturday in May. Sure everybody wants to win every race they are in and horses must have as much graded stakes money as possible in order to gain entry to the 20-horse field should it be oversubscribed, but "preps" is the key word. All one had to do as listen or read the words of trainer Ronny Werner last week on his prized 3-year-old Badge of Silver. If you did that, you didn't bet on the favorite of the Louisiana Derby. Werner talked about how Badge of Silver was "knocked out" by his Risen Star Stakes victory and only in the last week started feeling like his old self. The same might be said for Atswhatimtalknbout in Sunday's San Felipe Stakes at Santa Anita (ESPN2). Trained by Ron Ellis, the son of A.P. Indy has morning clockers talking up a storm. Atswhatimtalknbout didn't make his first start until Jan. 4, and has two wins and a second now. After the San Felipe, he's looking at the Santa Anita Derby and finally on to Kentucky. There's is no graded stakes money in the bank yet, but a win in the Santa Anita Derby could take care of that. So is a win on Sunday against the strongest West Coast prep yet for the Derby imperative? "It's an ambitious schedule to run five times at this meet and expect to go on, and run the biggest race of his life (May 3)," said Ellis on Tuesday on an NTRA teleconference. "We've taken it easy on him. His first two races were semi-workouts. The last race was the first one we asked him to run and he was ready to respond with as good a race as he did. "I'm looking to start a new pattern with him. I've galloped him a little shorter distances. We're not working him as hard as we did before. I'm trying to give him a breather here because this is the only time you get. Then we've got the Santa Anita Derby in 20 days and the Kentucky Derby and there's no backing off of him then. "We're looking at this race to just get him around there and not make him run his hardest, but with our eye on the next two spots." That doesn't mean Atswhatimtalknbout won't win on Sunday, but it does give a bettor food for thought. That's what I'm talking about. More on Atswhatimtalknbout was installed this week as the co-morning-line favorite among the 23 individual horses in the Kentucky Derby Future Bet. Ellis was a little surprised by that fact. "I just hope we're not favored on Derby Day," said Ellis. "This horse has captured the attention of the media. If you watch his races, and see his ability and the fact that he is progressing forward, he's really standing out." So much so that jockey David Flores elected to ride Atswhatimtalknbout instead of Bob Baffert's Domestic Dispute. "I didn't press David," said Ellis. "I had Pat Valenzuela backed up, but when David called that was a confidence builder for me. I really thought he'd choose Domestic Dispute. David from Day 1 has raved about this colt and he truly believes in the horse." A man's man Man Among Men trained by Gary Mandella, son of Hall of Famer Richard Mandella, will also be in Sunday's San Felipe, looking to prove he's belongs with the best of his class. Man Among Men broke his maiden last summer at Del Mar on the grass, an unusual place for a Derby contender to be running, but the son of Gentlemen has proven to be versatile with stakes wins on grass and dirt. He beat the Bobby Frankel-trained Empire Maker in the Feb. 7 Sham Stakes at one mile and one-eighth at Santa Anita on the dirt and Empire Maker is expected to be the favorite in Saturday's Florida Derby (ESPN2) at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale, Fla. Man Among Men is 1-1 against Peace Rules, another Frankel trainee who won Sunday's Louisiana Derby at the Fair Grounds in New Orleans. "I'd prefer if he got less attention," said Gary Mandella on Tuesday. "Certain people think he's a legitimate Derby horse and others don't. I think his next race will be a good indication of just good a horse he is. "It looks like a wide-open Derby picture. With Vindication and Sky Mesa out, that certainly opened things up. I'm not sure how far out of left field you can find a Derby horse now in March, but you still have to get better from here on in. They all have to improve." And Mandella says don't think Man Among Men is just a grass horse. "It's easy to label a turf horse too early," he said. "Horses get better. I put him on the grass because his pedigree said that on the bottom side. A lot of times a grass is a lot easier because few trainers point to a grass race. "A lot of times a horse will break its maiden at 2 and have to go right into stakes races. You end up with easier spots on the grass. They are allowed to get better on their own." Senor long shot A horse that might an interesting price in Saturday's Florida Derby is Senor Swinger, who was installed as a 6-1 shot on the morning-line Wednesday. The son of El Prado is 2-for-2 lifetime with two route wins. he is trained by Mickey Goldfine of the Chicago circuit and the son of trainer Lou Goldfine. "This is the first time I've been involved with the Kentucky derby," said Goldfine, who brought six horses down to Gulfstream Park specifically to try Senor Swinger against the best 3-year-olds. "This is a whole new level. "The plan was to run Jan. 18 in an allowance race and then come back Feb. 15 in another allowance race, but he got a respiratory infection so we had to skip the Jan. 18 race and go Jan. 31. "I tell this colt's owners (Robert Ackerman and Barry Golden) that I would not kill this horse to get to the Kentucky Derby. I think he is a very, very good horse and I want life after the Derby." But like Ellis, Goldfine has some other goals in mind, too. "We want to win this race badly, but it is a stepping stone to the Illinois Derby, and then to the Kentucky Derby," he said. "Now if he wins the Florida Derby, things could change and I wouldn't necessarily run in the Illinois Derby. We could just train the seven weeks to the Derby." Goldfine said Senor Swinger will be cross-entered in the Tampa Derby on Sunday just in case the weather comes up bad in South Florida. by Jeffrey Michaels Previous Article           Next Article Copyright © 2003 - Hi2winners.com - All Rights Reserved