Joe Torre has worked with the favorites. Now he's backing a
longshot called Homeboykris, a late inclusion in the Kentucky Derby
field after the withdrawal of Eskenderyea.
Homeboykris, who is co-owned by Torre, the manager of the Los
Angeles Dodgers, and trained by Rick Dutrow Jr., will likely be a
longshot. That's fine with Dutrow, who won the Derby two years ago
with Big Brown.
``I guarantee it, with Homeboykris being 99-1, there hasn't
been a group to have so much fun as we're having with this,''
Dutrow said. ``And 'Homeboy' is very, very happy.''
Homeboy Kris, ranked 21st on the list of eligible entries on
the graded stakes earnings system used to decide Derby starters,
was elevated into the field of 20 after trainer Todd Pletcher's
decision Sunday to pull likely favorite Eskendereya out of the race
with a leg injury.
The Derby is limited to 20 starters, with preference given to
those with the most graded stakes money.
Eskendereya's dramatic withdrawal may prompt a change of
views for trainer Robert LaPenta, who has been on a crusade to
change the entry formula.
LaPenta has one Derby starter in Florida Derby winner Ice
Box, Fountain of Youth and Wood Memorial runner-up Jackson Bend
found himself 22nd on the earnings list and on the outside of the
Derby looking in.
Eskendereya's injury put Homeboykris - 21st on the list - in
the field and with Pletcher wavering on the availability of
Interactif, meaning Jackson Bend could be in the race after all.
``That's why I tell (LaPenta), 'never say never,''' said Nick
Zito, who trains both LaPenta horses.
LaPenta has suggested placing more emphasis on the money
horses win during the 3-year-old campaign. While trainers Bob
Baffert and Todd Pletcher understand LaPenta's concern, they feel
the Derby field has a way of shaking itself out.
Both trainers said they've never had a horse they felt was
good enough miss the Derby based on a lack of graded money.
``I think the system works,'' Baffert said. ``I've never seen
it keep a really good horse out.''
Jackson Bend, a distant second to Eskendereya in both Derby
preps, put together a blistering four-furlong work last Thursday,
covering the distance in 47.8 seconds. Zito hardly thinks the horse
is a simple field-filler.
``The last two races he was second to the favorite,'' he
said. ``Why shouldn't he get in the Derby? Come on.''
Jackson Bend will be ridden by Hall of Famer Mike Smith if he
runs in the Derby. Smith is also the jockey for unbeaten mare
Zenyatta.
``You can't ask for anything better,'' said Zito, a two-time
Derby winner.
--
CHIP'S BACK: Chip Woolley tilted his trademark black cowboy
hat back and smiled.
A year after saddling Mine That Bird in a stunning Derby
upset, Woolley is back at Churchill Downs, though this time without
a horse in the field and - better yet - the crutches he was forced
to use after breaking his right leg in a motorcycle accident last
spring.
Woolley still walks with a slight limp more than a year after
the accident, though it's a small price to pay to not have to get
around the track's sprawling backside on crutches.
``I'm having a little more fun this year,'' he said with a
smile from underneath his Fu Manchu mustache.
Mine That Bird hasn't raced since finishing his grueling
3-year-old campaign with a disappointing ninth in the Breeders' Cup
Classic at Santa Anita.
He's been resting at Double Eagle Ranch in New Mexico for the
last few months and Woolley said he expects the gelding to return
to training soon but won't put a timetable on when he could race
again.
Woolley said he's tabbing likely favorite Lookin At Lucky or
Endorsement in the Derby. Woolley, in a way, helped pave the way
for Endorsement to get into the race.
Mine That Bird finished fourth in last year's Sunland Derby,
but his Kentucky Derby performance helped the Sunland receive
graded stakes status. Endorsement won the $800,000 prep race by
three lengths over Conveyance.
``It's nice to think that you're part of something like
that,'' Woolley said. ``It's a good race and it's been a good
race.''
---
NARROW ESCAPE: D. Wayne Lukas' colt Dublin gave his trainer -
and half of the horses on the backstretch - a major scare on
Saturday when the 3-year-old colt was spooked by runners competing
in the Louisville mini-marathon and bolted in the middle of a
gallop.
The horse nearly ran into 3-year-old filly Beautician after
taking off. Beautician is slated to run in Friday's Kentucky Oaks.
Dublin nearly did it again on Sunday, making a sudden move to
the right under jockey Terry Thompson.
``He was looking for the runners from yesterday, he
remembered that,'' Thompson said. ``Once he saw that there was
nobody there everything was fine.''
---
NOTES: It could be another soggy Derby. The National Weather
Service is calling for a high of 75 with scattered showers on
Saturday. The track was hit with a deluge over the weekend, with
two inches falling on Saturday and another early Sunday morning.
Rain is forecast for Monday and Tuesday as well. Several horses are
expected to work on Monday, including American Lion and Noble's
Promise. ... Hurricane Ike, who won Saturday's Derby Trial, came
back fine for trainer John Sadler and owners Ike and Dawn Thrash.
The colt will return to Southern California while the Thrashes
decide where to send him for his next start.
