Exaggerator, one of the likely favorites for next Saturday’s Kentucky Derby (G1), breezed five furlongs on Saturday at Churchill Downs in what was his final serious work prior to the Run for the Roses.
Ridden by Derby jockey Kent Desormeaux, Exaggerator went the five panels in 1:02.60 just before rain began to fall on the Louisville oval.
“(Exaggerator) finished up very strong,” said trainer Keith Desormeaux, the jockey’s brother. “(Kent) said he never asked him but that the colt had good energy from the eighth pole to the seven-eighths; that he did it all on his own. Then he galloped out well and finished up the way you’d like him to.”
Churchill clockers caught the Santa Anita Derby (G1) winner in splits of :12.80, :25.20, :37.80 and :50.40 and on the gallop out with fractions of 1:15.60 and 1:29.60.
Exaggerator, a winner of four of nine starts and more than $1.6 million, campaigns in the colors of Big Chief Racing, LLC, Head of Plains Partners LLC, Rocker O Ranch, LLC et al. Upon retirement, Exaggerator will stand stud at WinStar Farm per an agreement recently reached between his owners and the Versailles, KY farm.
