- Bernardini turned in the final workout of his preparation for the Classic - and probably of his career - this morning at Belmont. The specifics of it seem almost irrelevant, but for it was five furlongs in 1:02 4/5 according to Bloodhorse.
[Exercise rider Simon] Harris broke Bernardini off slowly as the pair went the first quarter in :26 and three furlongs in :38 1/5. After the five furlong work, they galloped out in 1:15 1/5.Tom Albertrani added: "He's a little stronger and sharper going into this race." Oh man. Here's the Form's Mike Welsch's take, and he got a slightly different time.
Down the stretch, Harris was sitting still on Bernardini, high on the saddle and never moving his hands. Bernardini did everything on his own. His final quarter was :24 3/5.
"He was tough today. He gave me a hard time. I had to break my reins. I looked around to see if there was something coming, I didn't know what was going on. He's just full of himself. He's just that sharp right now....He galloped out really strong. The farther he goes the stronger he gets. He has never been doing better than he is now. He's ready." [Bloodhorse]
Bernardini (five furlongs in 1:03.32): Bernardini was given ample time to stretch his legs by exercise rider Simon Harris once he entered the racetrack immediately after the break and was obviously aggressive and ready to roll as he made his way down the backstretch to the five- furlong pole. Harris had his feet in the dashboard to keep the razor-sharp Bernardini from getting away too quickly and allowed him to settle into a nice early rhythm with an opening eighth and quarter splits in 13.75 and 26.52 seconds.(The official workout time was 1:02.86.)
Bernardini was still well within himself when he hit the top of the stretch, fanned slightly wide off the turn, then switched leads right on cue and picked up the pace without urging to complete his final quarter-mile in 24.60. He appeared to get stronger the farther he went, galloping out another eighth-mile past the wire in 12.70 before getting a double gallop out time of 1:29.25 for seven furlongs.
7 Comments:
Sounds like he did alright. I'm a bit curious as to why Albertrani chose not to work Bernardini over the Churchill surface at least once, and rather just ship him in on top of the race. I'm guessing they did it taht way before the Preakness, and if it ain't broke then don't fix it. Bernardini has never run over the Churchill surface before, so there's that, but from all appearances he's capable of taking his race with him wherever he goes. Gulfstream, Aqueduct, Pimlico, Saratoga, Belmont, it really hasn't mattered. Let's hope he comes through this thing with flying colors, and puts on a big show for us on Saturday. I'd love to see what the horse can do when Castellano puts the pedal down and really turns him loose. But on the other hand, i'm hoping that won't be necessary. Go Bernardini!!!
Just checked my Stable Mail, and while i got the Bernardini notice, there was nothing on Discreet Cat. I'm guessing he didn't work today? Hmm, that's interesting. Maybe he goes tomorrow. But after working on the same day last week, and potentially pointing at the same race, you'd think they would've kept the same schedule. Entries aren't taken until tomorrow, and you need look no further than Commentator to see that anything can go wrong at any time. Zito and Leparoux were both talking about how great he worked, and the next day he was gone...
In a related matter, i'm wondering if Discreet Cat will actually be entered tomorrow, and then scratched on raceday? I realize there are probably rules about taht, and no doubt the Breeders Cup people would be very non-plussed (not to mention Pletcher), but Godolphin could do it if they really wanted to. All they would have to do is offer up some lame excuse on raceday about how Discreet Cat wasn't feeling well, or whatever. I doubt they'll do it (and it seems even less likely today after Discreet Cat didn't work), but you never know.
Interesting point on entering both, there is no rule against although it would certainly rub the powers that be the wrong way when they clearly have stated he is not running unless Berny fall by the wayside. That said, why not, its only money, a commodity not in short supply in that camp.
Hey folks- I have a few preliminary comments and questions on some of the races:
In the Classic, Invasor is the one that leaps out to me in terms of being most likely to run down Bernardini late. What's the word, however, on how the layoff since 8/5 will effect him? Same question re. David Junior, who also has to answer Q's on his ability to handle the dirt?
In the Sprint, I don't see Henny as a single in here at all. Alan mentioned Dubai Escapade who, like Bordonaro, has a ton of speed. But what happened to DE in that 7/15 race? At this point, I'm leaning toward Siren Lure with his off the pace style here. Another Q: I laughed at the comment, but why exactly is Bling "Henny lite" -- is it mainly off the visual?
In the Juvy Male, I like Principle Secret off the strong, front-running second in the Norfolk. That prep, where he suddenly showed more early speed, reminds me of several winners I've hit in this race, beginning with Unbridled Song. I'm hoping he stalks the lead on Saturday -- any indications from his connections on the gameplan?
Principle Secret will indeed stalk, barring a rail draw or some unforseen event. I project him 2-4 lengths off the early pace, and i like his chances.
Throwaway - they said that DE didn't like the track. And I also read comments before her next race that they wouldn't try to rate her, so I guess they might have tried.
McLaughlin specifically said that he would have preferred that Invasor not missed the Gold Cup and that it was a longish layoff. But he also said the horse is doing well.
"In the Classic, Invasor is the one that leaps out to me in terms of being most likely to run down Bernardini late. What's the word, however, on how the layoff since 8/5 will effect him?"....
No horse has ever won the Classic off a three month layoff. As nice a horse that Invasor is, McGlaughlin would be pulling off a minor miracle if his horse is first under the wire. Not having at least one prep in him prior to this race was not in Kiaran's plan, you can bet on that. This is a case of we have to run him, its the Breeder's Cup. From a fan's standpoint its a crying shame when a horse of this caliber has to come into the race of his life without the preparation he needs. Bernardini and Henny Hughes in romps, and its hats and horns for the Exxon Connection. Nick
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