Todd Pletcher is not a walk-day-after-a-work-day type of trainer, and his four Kentucky Derby starters that worked Friday all were out to train Saturday morning.
Audible, Magnum Moon, Noble Indy, and Vino Rosso all stood in the starting gate, but while Magnum Moon and Vino Rosso merely jogged during the 15-minute Derby-Oaks training window starting at 7:30 a.m., Audible and Noble Indy both galloped one mile.
Pletcher said that except in unusual circumstances he always takes his horses to the track the morning after a timed workout. “Some we jog, some we’ll gallop depending on how well we think they’re going to handle it,” he said. “I thought Noble Indy and Audible might get too fired up if they had a jog day, so I gave them an easy gallop. Audible has been really sharp since he got [to Churchill Downs]. He’s been a little on his toes when he goes off, and I didn’t want him to feel so good he did something silly. I think the way he’s acting is a good indication he’s doing well. He’s not being a bad boy in any way.”
The Pletcher quartet is scheduled to merely walk the shed row Sunday morning before returning to galloping on Monday. Pletcher said all four horses did fine in their gate-schooling session, and that only Noble Indy, who has demonstrated poor gate habits at times this winter, would be schooled again this week.