Lukas: Mr. Z 'Has Affinity' for Churchill

Zayat Stables' Mr. Z breezed five furlongs in 1:01 at Churchill Downs April 22 in a final workout for the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I) that his Hall of Fame trainer said was "fine."

The 3-year-old Malibu Moon   colt began a length behind Majestico and then finished up on even terms with his stablemate while posting fractional times of :12 4/5, :25, :37, and 48 3/5. He galloped out six furlongs in 1:15 3/5 under exercise rider Edvin Vargas.

Trainer D. Wayne Lukas was in a relaxed mood as he jokingly began a post-work meeting with the media, with all the clichés usually used by trainers in his position. "We just wanted a maintenance work. He finished up strongly. I think liked the racetrack. We don't want to do too much close to the race," Lukas joked to the delight of the assembled media.



Putting it in perspective, Lukas added, "We don't get paid at 8:30 in the morning. He's run a lot. He's the most seasoned horse in the race, so we didn't want him to do a lot. He seems to have an affinity for the racetrack and that's important at this time."

The work wasn't viewed as well by owner Ahmed Zayat.

"Didn't like Mr. Z work at all," Zayat said on Twitter. " Rank in (beginning). Outworked."



Lukas was somewhat critical of the new points system that determines the 20 starters for the Derby, noting that he likely would not have started Mr. Z in the April 11 Arkansas Derby (gr. I), in which he finished third, had the colt not needed the points.



Under the previous system in which Derby starters were determined by earnings in graded stakes, Mr. Z would have already been in, Lukas said.



"We wouldn't have had to run in Arkansas were it not for the points system," said Lukas. "That's the problem with the points system. It forces everybody to run when they probably wouldn't from a trainer and owner standpoint."



With 12 starts, Mr. Z has one win and eight second- or third-place finishes to his credit, seven of those placings in graded stakes. He broke his maiden at first asking at Churchill and ranks 17th on the Derby points list and has $625,826 in earnings. Ramon Vazquez, who rode Mr. Z in the Arkansas Derby, will have the Kentucky Derby mount.



Lukas has won Derby four times, beginning in 1988 with Winning Colors, only the third filly to ever win the "Run for the Roses," and then with Thunder Gulch (1995), Grindstone (1996), and Charismatic (1999).

Asked about the strength of this year's field and the top contenders, Lukas said he thinks Arkansas Derby winner American Pharoah "is lengths better" than Santa Anita Derby (gr. I) winner Dortmund. "I haven't been that impressed with a horse in a long time," he said of American Pharoah, also owned by Zayat Stables and trained by Bob Baffert.