(Copper Bullet winning at Churchill Downs / Photo Courtesy of Churchill Downs)

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. Danceland, a 4YO Tapit filly trained by HOFer Shug McGaughey for the Allen Stable, worked at Belmont Park this morning. The filly — who has a 4-1-2 record in 13 career starts — went an easy half mile in :50.12. That was the 34th best time out of 53 to go the distance over the dirt surface. Danceland is now Graded Stakes-placed after running third in the G2 Glens Falls Stakes at Saratoga on Sept. 1. Came back to run 4th in the G1 Flower Bowl Stakes. This one is now worth a ton of $ as a broodmare prospect, too.
  2. Inspector Lynley, a 5YO horse by Lemon Drop Kid and also trained by McGaughey, went to the track at Belmont Park this morning and toured with a real purpose. This one went a half mile in :47.88, which was the 3rd best time out of the 53. This one has now won over $533,000 in a nice career where he has sported a 4-5-4 record in 20 starts. Ran third in the G2 Knickerbocker Stakes at Belmont Park on Oct. 8. Could return for a nice Fall campaign soon.
  3. Beautiful Tale, a 2YO Tale of the Cat filly trained by Dallas Stewart for owner Charles Fipke, worked this morning at Churchill Downs. This one, who broke her maiden last time out in only her second career start, went a nice half mile in :47.80. that was the 4th best time out of 71 to work that distance. This one appears to have a very nice future.
  4. Philosphy, a 2YO son of Speightstown and trained by Mark Casse for the Stonestreet Stables, worked this morning at Churchill Downs, as well. This homebred colt breezed a half mile over the dirt surface in :48.60. That was the 25th best time out of the 71. In his debut run at Keeneland, Philosophy came from well off the pace to run third to a nice one named Corruze. Keep an eye on both of these in the near future.
  5. Believe in Royalty, a well-bred son of Tapit and out of the KY Oaks winning mare Believe You Can, was back in action at Churchill Downs this morn for trainer J. Larry Jones. The colt got his second published work since running a game second to Lone Sailor in the Oklahoma Derby last time out. Today, the roan went 5 furlongs in a nice 1:00.40 — which was 10th best out of the 46 to go the distance. In the last three starts, it appears this one is starting to figure out how best to use his abundant speed without running off in the early going. He closed well to win the Ellis Park Derby over stablemate Kowboy Karma and then lost by only a nose to Lone Sailor in the last out. Came from well out of it that day, and looked like a winner nearing the wire. Look for more good things from this one. Just scratching the surface now.
  6. Copper Bullet, a spectacular 2YO colt by More Than Ready a year ago and still waiting to make his 2018 debut for trainer Steve Asmussen, worked this morning at Churchill Downs. The big guy roared 5 furlongs in a spectacular :59.60 — which was the bullet move of the day. This one was scheduled to make his return last week at Churchill Downs, but heavy rains turned the track soupy and the connections decided to wait for another day. It sure will be grand to see this one back in action soon. By appearances sake, he looks, well, more than ready.
  7. Limonite, a talented 2YO colt by Lemon Drop Kid and trained by Asmussen for the Winchell Thoroughbreds and Willis Horton Racing Stable, worked this morning, as well. This guy — who has never been worse than 3rd in three career starts — went 5 furlongs in 1:00.40. That was 10th best of the 46. Limonite ran a very nice second — beaten only a neck by Roiland — in his last out here on Oct. 28. Looked to be a winner, too, when he inched clear late, but was caught on the wire. Look for a good return from this one.
  8. Mr. Freeze, a 3YO son of To Honor and Serve and trained by Dale Romans, is coming off an 8th place finish behind McKinzie in the Pennsylvania Derby last time out. Before that, though, he had won 3 of 4 races, with one second. He was going into the G1 event off an impressive victory in the G3 West Virginia Derby. Today, he was back in action and looked very much like the colt prior to the PA Derby. He went 5 furlongs in 1:00.20, which was good enough for 4th best time of the 46. Look for this one to bounce back nicely. The track at Parx was a bit funky, and many of those competitors simply didn’t care for the surface. Look how Monomoy Girl bounced back in the Breeders’ Cup Distaff.
  9. Dunph, a 2YO son of Temple City and winner of two straight to begin the career for trainer Mike Maker, worked over at the Churchill Downs Training Center on Monday. The gelding went a half mile in :49.60 — which was the 8th best time out of 21 to go that distance. This one was very impressive in winning the Spendthrift Juvenile Stallion Stakes at Churchill Downs in the last out. Watch out for this one. He could be really good.
  10. Undrafted, an 8YO gelded son of Purim and owned in part by Wes Welker, worked at Keeneland this morning. The old man, who has now won over $1.5 million in purses, went an easy half mile in :51 flat over the dirt surface. That was 20th out of 21 to go that far. In 3 starts this year, Undrafted has a third in the Elusive Quality Stakes at Belmont Park in April. He ran fourth in the KY Downs Turf Sprint Stakes in September, too. What a career this guy has had. Would be good to see him win one more major Stakes event before they hang up his horseshoes.