(Win Win Win and exercise rider Mel Williams / Photo by Holly M. Smith)

(Code of Honor grazes on the Churchill Downs’ grass munchies / 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. Code of Honor, a 3YO Noble Mission colt trained by Shug McGaughey for William Stamps Farish, worked like the brisk wind that cut through the Churchill Downs backside on Sunday morning. The Fountain of Youth winner went a half mile in :46.80 — which was the 2nd fastest time out of the 76 to go that far. Look at the Derby Week Diary for more from the trainer and about the work. But it was? Impressive. Like his trainer.
  2. Country House, the big Lookin at Lucky colt trained by Bill Mott, accidentally hooked up with stablemate Tacitus and non-stablemate Win Win Win in a Derby Week miscue that turned out to be both entertaining and enlightening. The colt went 5 furlongs in 1:00 flat, which was in sync with Tacitus and was 4th best out of 25 that went this far. The chestnut ran third in the Arkansas Derby against Omaha Beach and Improbable in the last out. Big guy is gaining on them.
  3. Improbable, the big flashy “Justify Look-alike”, went 5 furlongs in 1:00.60 on Sunday morning, impressing the observers and his trainer Bob Baffert — who just arrived in town with two more striking colts for this year’s Derby 145. Game Winner and Roadster both jogged around the track. Improbable — a son of City Zip — did a little more serious work. “He likes it here,” said Baffert afterwards. Catch more from the trainer in our Derby Week Diary.
  4. Tacitus, the other Mott colt to hook up with Country House and Win Win Win in their little mini-race this morning, went the 5 furlongs in 1:00 flat. The son of Tapit has won two in a row, including the Wood Memorial and the Tampa Bay Derby. Big gray is splashy and stylish. Could be brilliant, too.
  5. Win Win Win, who as you probably know by now is one of my “surprise picks” for this year’s Derby, came out of the workout snafu with a few more observers and fans. The big “black” colt didn’t back down or seemed fazed a it with the workmates of Tacitius and Country House. Just kicked some dirt and butt. He went the 4 furlongs in :47.60 — which was the 4th best time out of the 76 clocked at the distance. May have been a bit more aggressive than the laid back trainer, Michael Trombetta, would have preferred, but eye popping. Watch out here.
  6. By My Standards, the “hot horse” on the grounds since he arrived from New Orleans and after his impressive win in the Louisiana Derby, impressed again on Sunday. The 3YO son of Goldencents went a half mile in an easy :48.40. Just what his trainer, W. Bret Calhoun, wanted. We hope you listened into our Audio Interview after the work. This guy has caught the attention and eye of fellow trainer Bob Baffert, as well. He mentioned the colt in his post-work comments on Improbable.