Trainer Keith Desormeaux's main goal for My Boy Jack this morning was to give the colt more familiarity with the Churchill Downs track, letting him stretch his legs a little in his final pre-Kentucky Derby work. To that end, he put local rider Brian Hernandez, Jr. - who does not have a Derby mount this year - up on the colt for this morning's breeze, trying to get a better handle on how well the colt has adapted to the Louisville strip. Both rider and trainer were satisfied after My Boy Jack, working solo and without much urging, went five furlongs in 1:03.26 on Daily Racing Form clocker Mike Welsch's watch. The colt - who has been eager with good energy all week, and left the pony like an arrow - galloped out in 1:16.68.

"I just wanted to make sure he was nice and limber," said Desormeaux, who added that his brother Kent, who has the Derby mount, is expected to arrive Tuesday. "This was an introduction to the track. I wanted him to stretch his legs and his lungs. Time was not important, it was his style."

The trainer said conferring with riders post-work is an important part of his routine.

"Although it might have looked satisfactory to me, you never know what [the rider] thought. He might not have got ahold of the track. He might not have been comfortable," Desormeaux said. "I can [also] tell by the horse's demeanor after the work [if the track othered him. Horses that get nervous will foam up, and just in general look stressed."

Desormeaux then gestured to My Boy Jack, who was walking the shedrow with assistant Julie Clark, pausing when he got to the end to take a look around - looking anything but stressed.

More on all of today's works to follow in the daily Clocker Report on DRF.com.