(Roadster works at Churchill Downs prior to the KY Derby / 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. Hofburg, a 4YO Tapit colt trained by Bill Mott, has not run since finishing 6th in the G2 Fayette Stakes at Keeneland last October. But he continues to pile up the works in his return efforts. He got his 5th published work since April 18 this morning at Churchill Downs. He went a nice half mile in :47.80 — which was the 3rd best time out of 41 to mark the distance. It was — by far — the most impressive morning performance in his comeback efforts. Should be getting closer now.
  2. Roadster, a 3YO Quality Road colt trained by Bob Baffert, got his first serious tour of duty since running 15th in the KY Derby. It was the first time in 5 career starts that he had not hit the board and snapped his modest 2-race win streak since returning this year from throat surgery. He went an easy half mile in :49.80, which was the 23rd best time out of the 41 to go that far. Don’t know what may be next for him, but interesting that Team Baffert has kept him in KY.
  3. Master Merion, a 5YO Quality Road expert on the grass, toured the lawn at Churchill Downs this morning with two other roommates in the barn of trainer Wesley Ward. This one went 5 furlongs over the grass course in 1:00.60 — which was the fastest of  the 3, along with Undrafted, a 9YO son of Purim. This one ran 4th in the Twin Spires Turf Sprint the last time out. Shang Shang Shang, a 3YO filly and undefeated in 2 career starts, went the same distance a couple of ticks slower. This gal has not started since winning a Group 1 event at Royal Ascot last Summer. Look for all 3 to be close to a race again soon.