NEWS
Nolan's Cat, Smokescreen among horses set for Super Derby
Posted: Saturday, September 24, 2005
Ken and Sarah Ramsey's homebred Nolan's Cat turned in a stellar workout on Saturday at Belmont Park, convincing trainer Dale Romans he is ready to fire in the $750,000 Super Derby (G2) at Louisiana Downs on October 1.Romans committed to sending the Belmont Stakes (G1) third-place finisher to the Super Derby, a 1 1/4-mile race for three-year-olds, after Nolan's Cat worked five furlongs in a 1:00.54, the fastest of 32 recorded workouts at that distance.
"He worked very good this morning," Romans said. "He's doing really good. He ran a big race at Saratoga last time out and we're hoping he'll run another big race."
The Catienus colt is exiting a victory in a maiden special weight race at Saratoga Race Course on August 25.
"You'd like to get some pace up front, but the key to the race is the mile and a quarter distance," Romans said of the Super Derby. "We know he'll like running a marathon like that."
Ben Perkins Jr. also confirmed that he is planning to send Grade 2-placed winner Smokescreen to Louisiana for the race, provided all goes well in a scheduled workout on Sunday.
Perkins elected to skip the Haskell Invitational Handicap (G1) at Monmouth Park with Smokescreen in favor of the West Virginia Derby this summer, but he failed to draw in off the also-eligible list and was shipped back without racing.
Perkins also sent Grade 1 winner Wildcat Heir to Arlington Park for the Arlington Breeders' Cup Sprint Handicap in August, only to be forced to scratch at the last minute due to a minor foot ailment.
"That was a tough go," Perkins lamented. "We took [Smokescreen] all the way there and had to come back. We sent Wildcat Heir to Chicago and didn't get to run, so we're certainly keeping our fingers crossed this time."
Despite the traveling travails, Perkins is willing to take another shot in the Super Derby, provided he likes what he sees out of Smokescreen on Sunday. Following the unexpected layoff, the Smoke Glacken colt came back to run third in a field of 14 in the Pennsylvania Derby (G2) at Philadelphia Park on September 5.
"He didn't get loose until the sixteenth pole in the Pennsylvania Derby, but when he did he came running," Perkins said. "I think the horses are a little more spread out in a 1 1/4-mile race. We thought he ran well [in the Pennsylvania Derby] and he should like the extra eighth of a mile. He's been closing ground real well."
Others horses considered possible for the Super Derby include the Magna Graduate, trained by Todd Pletcher, and A.P. Arrow, conditioned by D. Wayne Lukas.
Royal Saint, winner of Prelude Stakes on September 5 at Louisiana Downs, and Silver Haze, winner of the Bossier City Handicap there in June, are also set to start in the Super Derby.—Mike Curry
