by Jeff Lowe

After Street Sense worked on Thursday at Palm Meadows Training Center, trainer Carl Nafzger said the champion two-year-old male is on target to make his first start of the year in the Tampa Bay Derby (G3) on March 17.

The Street Cry (Ire) colt drilled five furlongs handily in 1:01 under regular jockey Calvin Borel. The move was the second-fastest of 16 at the distance.

“The horse relaxed and responded good to Calvin,” Nafzger said. “He worked nice. He’s on target, and if everything goes well now he’ll run in the Tampa Bay Derby.”

Street Sense has not raced since his record ten-length victory in the Bessemer Trust Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (G1) on November 4 at Churchill Downs. He has recorded nine published workouts since resuming serious training in January. Borel also was aboard for a five-furlong move in 1:00.20 on February 27.

“That was the major work, when he went in 1:00 and change over a pretty heavy track,” Nafzger said. “We just wanted to spin off that. Both works that Calvin put him through were very beneficial. He did them right, and so we’re on our way.”

Nafzger hopes to use the 1 1/16-mile Tampa Bay Derby as a springboard to the Toyota Blue Grass Stakes (G1) on April 15 at Keeneland Race Course and Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (G1) on May 5.

Any Given Saturday also is slated for the Tampa Bay Derby for trainer Todd Pletcher. The Distorted Humor colt prevailed as the heavy favorite in the Sam F. Davis Stakes on February 17 at Tampa in his three-year-old debut.

Jeff Lowe is a Thoroughbred Times staff writer