Firing Line Drills in Company at Santa Anita

Firing Line recorded his penultimate workout for the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I) the morning of April 18 at Santa Anita Park.



Santa Anita clockers timed the Line of David   colt's five-furlong breeze with Gary Stevens aboard in 1:00 2/5, while trainer Simon Callaghan clocked the move in :59 4/5 and had Firing Line gallop out to six furlongs in 1:12 flat.



The Sunland Derby (gr. III) winner appeared to cover the distance easily, working behind Footstepsinbronze in the early goings, before passing his stablemate.



"It was what we were looking for, really," Callaghan said, standing next to owner Arnold Zetcher. "That was the plan, to have a target (in Footstepsinbronze), relax and sit off, and then join. It was exactly what we wanted. An ideal work."



Callaghan said Firing Line will have one more workout at Santa Anita April 25, before shipping to Churchill Downs April 26.



"He's just a class act (traveling), which is why we didn't feel we needed to ship him earlier," Callaghan said. "We shipped him (to Sunland) only a few days before and he got used to his surroundings really quickly."



"He does better than us," Zetcher added.



Callaghan also noted he wasn't concerned with getting a drill over the Churchill surface.



"The track a few weeks before the Derby is probably not the same one as Derby day," Callaghan said. "He's run on several different surfaces. I just don't think it's necessary to work over the surface. He's going to have four days galloping over it and a day jogging. We'll paddock school him, take him to the gate, and we're really not going to change anything."