(War of Will winning the G2 Risen Star Stakes in his last out. Trainer Mark Casse was thrilled with his work at the Fair Grounds this weekend. Photo by Holly M. Smith)

Every day, we scour the work tabs at racetracks all over the country.  We are looking for workouts that may be of interest and helpful to you — as both race fans and handicappers.  Some of the horses we will be tracking, you will know.  Some of them, you may not know — as of yet.  We will keep a keen eye and stopwatch to see who may be working well:

  1. Galilean, winner of the Cal Cup against other CA-breds in his last start and #12 on our own KY Derby Rankings, worked this morning at Los Alamitos. Went 4 furlongs in :48.40, which was the bullet move out of 7 to go the distance today. This son of Uncle Mo is a May foal. (Wonder if my buddy, Ed DeRosa knows that?) To date, he has 3 wins and 1 second — all in Stakes races. But all against CA-breds only, too. Will step it up on Saturday, if trainer Jerry Hollendorfer sends him to the G2 Rebel Stakes at Oaklawn Park. Will be interesting if he can up his game against the “big boys.”
  2. Country House, another May foal and by the sire Lookin at Lucky, worked at the Payson Park Training Center for trainer Bill Mott on Sunday. The big colt — who ran second to War of Will in the G2 Risen Star Stakes at the Fair Grounds in his last out — went 5 furlongs in 1:02.40. That was the bullet move out of 5 to go the distance. Here’s another one that gives away some age and experience to some of the others, but we have him ranked #9 in our rankings right now.
  3. Standard Deviation, a 3YO Curlin colt trained by Chad Brown, worked on Saturday at the Palm Meadows Training Center in South Florida. He went an easy half mile in :49.40. That was the 19th best time out of 80 to go the distance. This one — a March foal — has not been out since he ran second in an allowance at Gulfstream Park on Feb. 9. He ran third in the Claiborne Breeders’ Futurity at Keeneland last Fall, but the winner of that one — Knicks Go — has bombed out this year. Standard Deviation has worked slowly since the last race. How does he figure? We have him ranked #19, but concerns abound.
  4. Game Winner, the undefeated 2YO Champ who will make his 2019 debut in the G2 Rebel Stakes this Saturday, tuned up at Los Alamitos on Sunday for Team Baffert. He went 5 furlongs in a nice :59.80. That was the 12th fastest time out of 25 to go the distance. Saved some pop for the gallop out, as well. We have him ranked #1 going into 2019. And, why not. No one has beaten him yet. Saturday looms big.
  5. Dessman, another top contender from the barn of Team Baffert, worked at Los Alamitos, as well. He went 6 furlongs in 1:11.40, which was the 3rd fastest time out of 11 to go that far. This one is by Union Rags and is a February foal. That gives him a decided age difference against the May foals going for the KY Derby. Will be interesting to see where Baffert decides to send this one next. He ran second in the G2 San Vicente Stakes the last time out to Sparky Ville. We have this guy on our “Others” in the KY Derby rankings.
  6. Anothertwistafate, impressive winner of the El Camino Real Derby up at Golden Gate Fields in the last out, worked on Sunday at the Northern California track. He went 5 furlongs in 1:01 flat — which was the 3rd best time out of 50 to go that far over the all-weather surface. This April foal is by Scat Daddy and has three straight victories over the synthetic surface. Before moving North, though, he started with a 9th place finish in his only race over traditional dirt at Santa Anita. Don’t know where this one will show up next, and we have to see more on the dirt. Right now, we have this one ranked #1 on our “Others” list.
  7. Long Range Toddy, a 3YO trained by Steve Asmussen, worked at Oaklawn Park on Sunday, and went a “maintenance time” of :53 flat for the 4 furlongs. That was 89th best out of 93 to work the distance. This April foal by Take Charge Indy is coming off a third-place finish in the G3 Southwest Stakes last time out. He was making a modest move along the rail in that one. Will need to tick it up for this Saturday’s Rebel Stakes. He may be in deep water soon. We have him ranked #13.
  8. Improbable is a Feb. 11 foal by City Zip, and the immediate question for me is simple: how far does this one want to go when push comes to shove. After all, City Zip is by Carson City and that side of the pedigree trends towards more speed and sprinter distances. But before we judge the pedigree too harshly, Improbable is out of an A.P. Indy mare who did win an allowance at Churchill Downs going 11/16-miles. On Saturday, this undefeated super talent will get a real test when he takes on some bigger boys in the G2 Rebel Stakes. Many in the handicapping world are preaching his worth and value. And, many, in fact, think that he is better than his stablemate — Game Winner. I have him ranked #3 right now, but I will have to see him beat the roommate face-to-face before I go there. He did work 5 furlongs on Sunday at Los Alamitos in :59.20. That was 5th of 14. Nice, by all accounts. Still…pedigree limitations do need to be addressed.
  9. Mucho Gusto, another from the barn of Team Baffert, worked on Sunday at Los Alamitos, too. This one went 5 furlongs in :57.80 — which was better than either of his more noted and accomplished teammates. And, it was the bullet of the day. This son of Mucho Macho Man has 3 wins in 4 starts, with the only loss coming to Improbable. He is coming off a tidy win in the G3 Robert B. Lewis Stakes at Santa Anita on Feb. 2. Looks like he is headed to the Sunland Derby next. We have him ranked #7.
  10. Sparky Ville is a February foal by Candy Ride and trained by Jeff Bonde. He worked on Saturday at Los Alamitos, and went 5 furlongs in an easy time of 1:04.80. That was the 19th best time out of 19 to go the distance. Don’t really know what is up with the move or the time. This one is coming off his most impressive run of the career, with a win in the San Vicente Stakes. Has hit the board in 6 of 8 lifetime, but it will be interesting to see where he lands next. We have this guy ranked #14.
  11. War of Will, a 3YO son of War Front and our #2 rated colt in our KY Derby Rankings, worked super on Saturday at his home base of the Fair Grounds. Went the 5 furlongs in 1:01.60, and impressed his trainer Mark Casse. Since moving to the dirt, he is undefeated and really never challenged. He will make his next start in the Louisiana Derby on March 24. Look for more. Untested so far.
  12. Mr. Money, a February foal of Goldencents and trained by W. Bret Calhoun, is coming off a horrid and depressing 7th in the G2 Risen Start Stakes at the Fair Grounds in his 2019 debut. Will need to make amends for that one in the next out, which should be the LA Derby. Did run fourth to Game Winner in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile before that, and he worked 5 furlongs in New Orleans on Saturday. Covered the distance in 1:00 flat, which was the 4th best time out of 48. That spells better.
  13. Gunmetal Gray, , worked 6 furlongs at Los Alamitos on Saturday for the barn of Jerry Hollendorfer. This guy went the distance in 1:12.60 — which was the 4th best time out of 7 to go the distance. He, like many others that were scheduled to run in the San Felipe Stakes, will now be shipped to Arkansas this week for the G2 Rebel Stakes on Saturday. This late April foal by Exchange Rate gets very little support from the major handicappers around the country. But in 6 lifetime starts, he has 2 wins and 2 seconds. Ran a nice second to Mucho Gusto in the Robert B. Lewis Stakes in the last out, despite grabbing a serious quarter in the race and finishing with a bloodied foot. This guy is as gutty and tough as they come. May not be in the top 5, (we have him ranked #8) but he has the courage and stamina to make a Derby run. Don’t discount just yet.
  14. Tax, who won the Withers Stakes for trainer Danny Gargan in his last outing, will be pointed to the Wood Memorial. He breezed on Saturday at Belmont Park, going 5 furlongs in a brisk :59.60. That was the 2nd fastest time out of 23 to go the distance. This April foal by Arch has never missed the board in 4 lifetime starts, and has picked up his game after being claimed at Keeneland as a 2YO. Keep an eye on this one. Tough as nails, too.