LOUISVILLE – There was a bustle of activity on both the main track and turf course yesterday morning at Churchill Downs as 15 Breeders’ Cup hopefuls had important workouts.
Fusaichi Pegasus, the choice for the Classic, stepped seven furlongs in 1:27.4. The favorites in the three races for fillies also drilled.
Riboletta, who could be the shortest price of the day going in the Distaff, breezed five furlongs in 1:00.3.
“The fractions were good and I feel very good about it,” said trainer Eduardo Inda, who compares Riboletta to another great South American mare, two-time Distaff winner Bayakoa. “She handles the track well.”
Undefeated Raging Fever zipped five furlongs in 1:00, in company, for the Juvenile Fillies.
“We were trying to let her settle off another horse,” trainer Mark Hennig said. “It seemed to help her relax going into her last race.”
Petrushka, the European filly who’ll be favored in the Filly & Mare Turf, handled the Churchill grass impressively, breezing four furlongs in :49.3 around the “dogs,” which were set well out from the rail.
Turf candidate Kalanisi, like Petrushka a European shipper trained by Sir Michael Stoute, caused a stir when, after breezing four furlongs in :50.1 on the grass, he propped and dumped exercise rider Terry Fahey, who held onto the reins to keep Kalanisi from running loose.
“He was just being a bit of a playboy,” Stoute said. “They (Kalanisi and Petrushka) were going to work (six furlongs) in company. He’s never been so confused before.”
Here are the other workouts for the morning.
Distaff: Crimplene, one of Europe’s best 3-year-old fillies, breezed six furlongs in 1:17. A three-time Group 1 winner on turf, she has only raced once on dirt, finishing sixth in the UAE Derby in Dubai last March.
Juvenile Fillies: Nasty Storm, runner-up in the Alcibiades, breezed five furlongs in 1:02. Del Mar Debutante winner Cindy’s Hero went six furlongs in 1:13.3, and trainer David Hofmans clocked her in a very sharp 1:24.1 for seven-eighths.
Sprint: Trainer Todd Pletcher’s pair of More Than Ready and Trippi, both of which ran in this year’s Kentucky Derby, worked five furlongs in company. Stretch-running More Than Ready went in 1:01.1, while front-running Trippi blazed in :59.1.
Bet On Sunshine, an 8-year-old gelding who ran a bang-up third in the BC Sprint at Hollywood in 1997, worked five furlongs in 1:00.4.