Kentucky looked to have the easy winner with Connemara, but that was not to be the case. The rider Russell “The Muscle” Baze even had  an undercard winner. Ken Ramsey was in Dubai to watch his other runner, but his son Jeff was on hand to see the real action.  When Dean’s Kitten opened up down the lane like a good thing, he knew they had a special runner. This would give Mike Maker his second winner at Turfway Park in the Lane’s End Stakes.  Rider Cornelio Velasquez gave a perfect account of himself, and made his way into the winner’s circle.

This son of Kitten’s Joy has run most of his races on the turf. The breeding would lead you in that direction, but the record showed that he relished the poly-track at Turfway.  If all goes well, he could have two runners Louisville bound. They would be: Dean’s Kitten, and Pleasant Prince, who was second in the Florida Derby.

The “Big Easy” showed us a very good look for Churchill Downs. When lightly raced Mission Impazible wore down pacesetter A Little Warm, he went on to win by 3/4 of a length in the long stretch at Fair Grounds in the Louisiana Derby.

Rajiv Maragh was aboard the winner, and said he showed some real guts when the real running began. Todd Pletcher was extremely pleased, and feels that if he keeps moving forward in the next five weeks, that he will be a handful.

The betting public looks for the last place the Derby winner from the previous year hailed, and they put that to use in handicapping. That being the case, the $800,000 Sunland Derby would be Conveyance’s coming out party. Jockey Martin Garcia turned a picture perfect ride, and you cannot slight the rider when the horse runs out of gas. Especially, when the fractions were slow…. Endorsement came on to win the big pot, and this gives Robby Albarado and Win Star Farm a nice runner to look forward to in the near future.  Trainer Shannon Ritter will be getting her first big runner to the big dance if all goes well.