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Burnham Square, Derby Hopefuls Drill at Churchill Saturday; Favorite Journalism Works at Santa Anita

Churchill Downs buzzed with activity Saturday morning as seven GI Kentucky Derby contenders completed published workouts under what analyst Kaitlin Free described as “perfect conditions.”

Top Derby point-getter Burnham Square (Liam’s Map) worked a half-mile in :49.40 under Brian Hernandez Jr. The GI Toyota Blue Grass Stakes winner, trained by Ian Wilkes, recorded fractions of :24.40 and :37 before galloping out five furlongs in 1:02.

“It was just a maintenance work this morning since he just ran 11 days ago,” Wilkes said. “If I don’t do something with him, he’ll get too upset. I know I needed to run him more because he was making too many mistakes, and I thought I needed to educate him more so he doesn’t make those mistakes in the Derby.”

Steve Asmussen trainees Publisher (American Pharoah) and Tiztastic (Tiz the Law) worked in company, completing their penultimate Derby preparation with a five-furlong move in :59.60.

Publisher, with exercise rider Carlos Rosas aboard, and Tiztastic, piloted by jockey Joel Rosario, began with an eighth-mile clocking of :12.80. Publisher briefly took advantage over his stablemate, working a quarter-mile in :24.20 and three-eighths in :36, while Tiztastic recorded splits of :24.40 and :36.40. The colts galloped out six furlongs in 1:11.80.

Other Derby contenders logging works included ‘TDN Rising Star’ East Avenue (Medaglia d’Oro) who went four furlongs in :47.60; Final Gambit (Not This Time) worked five furlongs in 1:00.80; Flying Mohawk (Karakontie {Jpn}) completed five furlongs in 1:00; and Sovereignty (Into Mischief) worked five furlongs in 1:00.60.

At Turfway Park, GII Twinspires.com Louisiana Derby runner-up Chunk of Gold (Preservationist) worked a half-mile in :50 and galloped out five furlongs in 1:02.

Likely Kentucky Derby favorite Journalism breezed a half-mile in :47 flat alongside stablemate Feel the Magic (Good Magic) at Santa Anita Saturday morning. The Michael McCarthy trainee is scheduled to arrive at Churchill Downs on Tuesday.

“We’re just keeping him in his routine,” McCarthy said. “He’s really been training well and this was kind of maintenance. He looked relaxed out there. We just let him stretch his legs a little bit.”

Two Kentucky Oaks hopefuls also made headlines as trainer Whit Beckman’s duo of Simply Joking (Practical Joke) and Drexel Hill (Bolt d’Oro) posted the fastest five-furlong work of the morning — and of 56 works at the distance — stopping the clock in :58.40.

Simply Joking, with Florent Geroux aboard, and Drexel Hill, with Ben Curtis up, recorded a sharp opening quarter-mile of :22.60 while continuing three furlongs in :34. The pair galloped out six furlongs in 1:11.60, according to Churchill clocker John Nichols.

Easter Sunday is expected to be a quiet morning at Churchill Downs. The next group of Derby contenders is scheduled to breeze Tuesday, led by Admire Daytona (Jpn) (Drefong) and Coal Battle (Coal Front).

Jordan Harris
Jordan Harris
Jordan Harris brings expertise and passion to RacingReins as a seasoned Senior Writer. With a robust foundation in Sports Media, Jordan joined the RacingReins editorial team in 2022. Jordan delivers compelling news stories, in-depth feature articles, and detailed racing results.

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