Mendelssohn wants to be 1st Euro Kentucky Derby winner

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LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) No horse from Europe has won the Kentucky Derby.

But then few horses have matched the globe-trotting credentials of Mendelssohn, the 5-1 second choice for America’s greatest race on Saturday.

2018 Kentucky Derby: How to Watch, Post Time, Horses and More

Perhaps Mendelssohn, based in Ireland, will give the first leg of the Triple Crown an international flair.

He’s loaded with talent and a robust personality. Stepping onto the Churchill Downs dirt for the first time on Thursday morning, Mendelssohn let out a holler to announce his arrival.

There’s nothing shy about this boy.

It was Mendelssohn’s public debut after two days in quarantine to ensure that he and three stablemates trained by Aidan O’Brien showed no signs of illness following their overseas flight.

“He just did a very gentle exercise around the track,” Pat Keating, O’Brien’s traveling assistant, said. “We couldn’t be happier with him. We just wanted to get him out and stretch his legs. No problems. All good.”

And that could be bad news for the competition. Mendelssohn has already shown the ability to handle challenges around the globe.

After posting a modest 1-for-4 record to start his career in Europe, Mendelssohn headed to California in November to capture the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf at Del Mar.

Then it was back to Europe with the long-range goal of preparing for the Derby and the shift from turf to dirt. His first race this year was a victory over a synthetic surface in Ireland.

And then came a resounding triumph in the UAE Derby in Dubai in March where Mendelssohn romped by 18 + lengths to earn a trip to Kentucky, where he was bred.

Returning from the desert, Mendelssohn completed his Derby preparations at the famed Ballydolyle training center in County Tipperary.

Now he’s back in the U.S. sporting an impressive record supported by a powerful pedigree. His sire was the late Scat Daddy, who has four sons in this year’s Derby. He is a half brother to the retired mare Beholder, a four-time Eclipse Award winner.

The combination of good looks and golden bloodlines are the reason Mendelssohn brought a sales-topping $3 million at the 2016 Keeneland Yearling Sales from the trio of Derrick Smith, Mrs. John Magnier and Michael Tabor.

“They looked so much alike, Mendelssohn and Beholder,” said Fred Mitchell, who bred both at his Clarkland Farm in Lexington, Kentucky. “They weren’t big foals and they didn’t start maturing until we started prepping them for the sales. He had such a gorgeous eye on him, he was unbelievable. He looked like a classy horse.”

And perhaps a bargain, if Mendelssohn notches another win Saturday in his latest travelogue.

Forte works out, waits for Belmont Stakes clearance

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NEW YORK — Forte, the early Kentucky Derby favorite who was scratched on the day of the race, worked out in preparation for a possible start in the Belmont Stakes on June 10.

Under regular rider Irad Ortiz Jr., Forte worked five-eighths of a mile for Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher. It was the colt’s second workout since being scratched from the Derby on May 6.

“It seems like he’s maintained his fitness level,” Pletcher said. “It seems like everything is in good order.”

Forte was placed on a mandatory 14-day veterinary list after being scratched from the Derby because of a bruised right front foot. In order to be removed from the list, the colt had to work in front of a state veterinarian and give a blood sample afterward, the results of which take five days.

“There’s protocols in place and we had to adhere to those and we’re happy that everything went smoothly,” Pletcher said. “We felt confident the horse was in good order or we wouldn’t have been out there twice in the last six days, but you still want to make sure everything went smoothly and we’re happy everything did go well.”

Pletcher said Kingsbarns, who finished 14th in the Kentucky Derby, will miss the Belmont. The colt is showing signs of colic, although he is fine, the trainer said.

Another Pletcher-trained horse, Prove Worthy, is under consideration for the Belmont. He also has Tapit Trice, who finished seventh in the Derby, being pointed toward the Belmont.

Judge grants Churchill Downs’ request for summary judgment to dismiss Bob Baffert’s lawsuit

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LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A federal judge has granted Churchill Downs’ motion for summary judgment that dismisses Bob Baffert’s claim the track breached due process by suspending the Hall of Fame trainer for two years.

Churchill Downs Inc. suspended Baffert in June 2021 after his now-deceased colt, Medina Spirit, failed a postrace drug test after crossing the finish line first in the 147th Kentucky Derby. The trainer’s request to lift the discipline was denied in February, keeping him out of the Derby for a second consecutive May.

U.S. District Court Judge Rebecca Grady Jennings ruled in a 12-page opinion issued Wednesday that Churchill Downs’ suspension of Baffert did not devalue his Kentucky trainer’s license. It cited his purse winnings exceeding $1 million at Keeneland in Lexington and stated that his argument “amounts to a false analogy that distorts caselaw.”

Jennings denied CDI’s motion to stay discovery as moot.

The decision comes less than a week after Baffert-trained colt National Treasure won the Preakness in his first Triple Crown race in two years. His record eighth win in the second jewel of the Triple Crown came hours after another of his horses, Havnameltdown, was euthanized following an injury at Pimlico.

Churchill Downs said in a statement that it was pleased with the court’s favorable ruling as in Baffert’s other cases.

It added, “While he may choose to file baseless appeals, this completes the seemingly endless, arduous and unnecessary litigation proceedings instigated by Mr. Baffert.”

Baffert’s suspension is scheduled to end on June 2, but the track’s release noted its right to extend it “and will communicate our decision” at its conclusion.