Although El Padrino failed to pass front runners Reveron and Take Charge Indy in the stretch, he still ran a good race considering he was wide throughout, while the winner strolled through an opening half-mile in 47.71 and three-quarters in 1:12.09 over a speed favoring track. Clearly a crafty ride by jockey Calvin Borel as he put his colt in the perfect position to pull off the upset.
Since the Florida Derby, we've had a chance to take a closer look at how the Kentucky Derby is shaping up and more importantly how El Padrino gets in the starting gate. We made the obvious decision that we would not seek additional graded earnings prior to the Derby, and we realize we're in a good position with $250,000. More importantly, we made sure our colt is in good shape going forward as we train on towards the first Saturday in May.
As we want to be very thorough and diligent in managing our colt over the next 30 days leading up to the Kentucky Derby, we recently sent El Padrino to Ocala Equine Hospital for a complete examination with no remarkable findings. He’s in great physical condition and excellent health and will continue to train at Palm Meadows Training Center in Boynton Beach, FL through the month of April.
We look forward to the next few weeks and anticipate El Padrino's arrival at Churchill Downs on May 1st!