Horses

Derby has plenty of openings

If only Sunday Break could have been born a year later.

Last April, the Neil Drysdale-trained late-bloomer was squeezed out of the Kentucky Derby because he did not have enough earnings in graded stakes to crack a capacity 20-colt field.

Sunday Break was shipped to New York and finished third in the Belmont Stakes. Perhaps his place in history was denied because of a few thousand dollars.

This year, as few as 14 may run in the Derby on May 3, and it appears no one willing to chance it will be turned away. The overall lack of substantiated talent behind massive favorite Empire Maker may lure a few unexpected late entries, and Senor Swinger, a third prospect in trainer Bob Baffert's barn, and Irish-import Evolving Tactics could increase the field to 17.

Evolving Tactics, lightly raced and unproven, is emblematic of this year's Derby. The son of Machiavellian won his first race in three tries on Monday at Ireland's Cork race course and is scheduled to ship to the United States this weekend.

Colts considered definites for the Derby are: Atswhatimtalknbout, Brancusi, Buddy Gil, Empire Maker, Funny Cide, Indian Express, Kafwain, Offlee Wild, Outta Here, Peace Rules, Scrimshaw, Sir Cherokee, Supah Blitz, and Ten Most Wanted.

Possibles include Evolving Tactics, Eye of the Tiger, Lone Star Sky, Senor Swinger, and Ten Cents a Shine.

WORKOUTS: Funny Cide, a gelding that finished second to Empire Maker in the Grade I Wood Memorial, worked 4 furlongs in 48.01 seconds over a sloppy Belmont Park track on Tuesday.

Trainer Barclay Tagg, trying to be the first to win the Derby with a gelding since 1929, is bucking another trend in keeping him in New York through his workout schedule. Funny Cide will not ship to Louisville until Wednesday, a day after his final workout. Bold Forbes (1976) was the last to win the Derby without working or racing at Churchill Downs the week before the event.

"I'm just going to have to take a chance on that," he said. "I didn't want to take him right away from (the Wood) and ship him down there and then start all over again in the (hullabaloo) down there. I thought I'd just get his workouts here and get down at the last minute. If you go down there just a couple of weeks before, or anywhere I think, my philosophy is if you go to a track and they don't like the track or it's a hard track on them, that if you're just like two weeks away from a race it might make them a little sore."

Empire Maker and stablemate Peace Rules walked the Churchill Downs track on Wednesday and are scheduled for their final tuneups on Sunday, according to trainer Bobby Frankel.

Baffert's Kafwain and Indian Express breezed 6 furlongs together at Churchill, Kafwain (third in the Santa Anita Derby) in 1:13.20 under jockey Sal Gonzalez, Indian Express (second in Santa Anita) in 1:13.40 with exercise rider Dana Barnes.

Ten Most Wanted, winner of the Illinois Derby, worked 7 furlongs in 1:25 3/5 with projected Derby rider Pat Day aboard.

FAST START: Wynn Dot Comma matched the Tampa Bay Downs record over 6 furlongs in winning the first 2-year-old race of the season in 33.2 seconds on Monday.

A winner by six lengths under jockey Joe Judice, the colt equaled the mark of Hot Star set in 1981.

STEADY FINISH: Judice had more in store on Monday, winning five times -- including three straight -- on an 11-race card. Richard DePass holds the TBD record with seven winners in one day, set on March 15, 1980.

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