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Lane’s End Stakes (gr. II) winner Adriano had his final workout for Saturday’s 2008 Kentucky Derby (gr. I), negotiating five furlongs Sunday at Churchill Downs in 1:00.80 in company with stablemate Cherokee Artist.
Regular exercise rider Xavier Azipuru was aboard Adriano, who will be ridden by Hall of Fame jockey Edgar Prado in the Run for the Roses.
“Xavier worked him all winter on dirt and turf,” said horse trainer Graham Motion, whose 2008 Kentucky Derby horse produced splits of :12.20, :24.40 and :36.60 and galloped out six furlongs in 1:14.40. “He said he worked as good or better than he’s worked all year. I caught him in :24 or maybe a little bit better for the last quarter, and I was pleased with that. I wanted to see him finish up like that.”
Courtlandt Farm’s Adriano captured the Lane’s End over Turfway Park’s Polytrack surface, so his workout over Churchill Downs’s conventional dirt track received particular attention.
“I was encouraged to see Dallas’ horse come back and win the Derby Trial, which legitimizes the race somewhat,” said Motion, referring to the Dallas Stewart-trained Macho Again, who struggled on the Polytrack surface at Turfway Park in the Lane’s End. “But (Adriano) certainly couldn’t have won more comfortably.”
Because Adriano had previously run poorly in his only start on dirt at Gulfstream Park in the Fountain of Youth (gr. II) and had all of his success on turf, his trainer hesitated to commit to a Kentucky Derby start directly after the Lane’s End.
“I was trying to make a decision with my head not with my heart. It’s always easy to get caught up in it as soon as you win one of those races, but I wanted to be sure we were doing the right thing,” horse trainer Graham Motion said. “I think after we analyzed it for three or for weeks and talked it over, it became more and more logical.”
Motion said Adriano’s ninth-place finish in the Fountain of Youth could well have been a result of his colt’s prerace misbehavior in the paddock.
“He’s very hot-blooded. That’s why we brought him here early. We schooled him in the paddock (Saturday) and we brought him to the paddock this morning before he breezed,” Motion said. “I can’t believe the difference in him. I’m not saying he’s going to be perfect on Derby Day with 150,000 people, but I’m really impressed with how he’s handled it the more he’s done it.”
Adriano was scheduled to visit the paddock between races Sunday and will school again in mid-week.
www.kentuckyderby.com
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