The road less traveled?
Every Kentucky Derby winner but one since '47 has had at least three races as a 3-year-old prior to the Derby. Yet, several trainers seem to be trying to reinvent the wheel this year.
By Bill FinleyTrainers like Wayne Lukas, Nick Zito, Bob Baffert and even recent Kentucky Derby winners like Barclay Tagg and John Servis have pretty much taken the same route to the Kentucky Derby winner's circle. They gave their horses three or more prep races for the Derby, a workable way to have their 3-year-olds in peak form and condition come Kentucky Derby Day. With every Kentucky Derby winner but one since 1947 having had at least three races as a 3-year-old prior to the Derby, it would seem foolish not to follow what is a blueprint for success. Yet, several trainers seem to be trying to reinvent the wheel this year. Declan's Moon, Rockport Harbor, High Limit and Wilko are among a handful of leading 3-year-olds bound for the Derby who will have just two preps going in. Are their trainers making an egregious mistake or will the less-is-more way of preparing a horse for the Derby become de rigueur? That will be among the most interesting questions and debates in the days leading up to the May 7 Kentucky Derby. And how it is answered will no doubt affect the way horses are prepared for the Derby for years to come. Ten years ago, no one would have dared give a horse so little preparation for the Kentucky Derby, unless they were forced to do so by an injury or some other setback. Trainers relied on a stringent winter and spring schedules to get their horses ready and weren't afraid of pushing them too hard. The game has changed dramatically in the ensuing years. It seems that nobody wants to run anymore. Five or six races a year is considered a taxing schedule and trainers are reluctant to run any horse more than once every five or six weeks. A popular way to prepare a horse for the Breeders' Cup consists of three months of rest. It's not the least bit surprising that the philosophy has spilled over and is starting to take root with trainers pointing for the Kentucky Derby. As soon as Declan's Moon won the Sept. 8 Del Mar Futurity in his second lifetime start, trainer Ron Ellis knew he had a serious horse who was good enough to win the Derby. So, instead of attacking the rest of the season with an aggressive approach, Ellis gave Declan's Moon just two more starts as a 2-year-old and bypassed the Breeders' Cup Juvenile. When he sat down to plot the gelding's 3-year-old campaign, Ellis chose another soft schedule. Declan's Moon, who won Saturday's Santa Catalina in his 3-year-old debut, will run just once more before the Kentucky Derby, in the April 9 Santa Anita Derby. "(The two prep issue) is overblown in my case," Ellis said. "There are a lot of horses who only got two preps because they were injured and then they wind up pressing to make the Derby, which is why they didn't run well. We've planned on this all along and I've trained him accordingly. For us, this just doesn't apply." When it was announced that he would make his 3-year-old debut in the March 19 Rebel, Afleet Alex appeared to be still another horse who would attempt to win the Derby off just two preps. Instead, trainer Tim Ritchey pulled a surprising move and entered his horse in last Saturday's Mountain Valley Stakes. Along with the Rebel and Arkansas Derby, he will now have three preps. Ritchey believes that will be a factor in his favor. "I had always planned on running him three times," Ritchey said. "What concerned me is that if I divulged that he was going to run in the Mountain Valley the race might not fill. I played it close to the vest and waited. I think you can get to the Derby with two preps but three is better. You get more mileage underneath your horse and more experience. Everybody has their own way of doing things." Should a horse with two preps win the Derby, expect others to follow in 2006 and beyond. Most trainers seem so intent on keeping their horses in the barn as much as possible that, once it is proven that a horse can win the Derby off two preps, there will be no compelling reason to run them any more often that. The next step will no doubt come soon thereafter, when someone decides one prep is all a horse needs to get ready. But the Kentucky Derby is unlike any race run in this country. It asks young, inexperienced horses who are still developing to run in the longest and, by far, toughest race of their careers. They have to be mentally and physically prepared to go to battle. Can that be accomplished off just two preps? Probably not, but some very good trainers will try. How they fare will go a long way toward determining the best way in the future to get a horse ready for the most important and taxing race of their lives.
