On All Cylinders: Firing Line Ready for Derby
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No horse entered in this year's Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I) owns a more decisive victory than Firing Line, who enters the 1 1/4-mile classic off a 14 1/4-length score in the Sunland Derby (gr. III) March 22 at Sunland Park.
Trainer Simon Callaghan said he had never saddled such an easy stakes winner until Arnold Zetcher's Firing Line delivered that Sunland Derby effort. Granted, there was not another Kentucky Derby starter in the field, but Callaghan thinks the colt from Line of David 's first crop can move forward off the effort.
BALAN: Firing Line Crushes Field in Sunland Derby
Firing Line entered the Sunland Derby off a pair of tough races, finishing second by a head to Dortmund in both last year's Los Alamitos Futurity (gr. I) and this season's Robert B. Lewis Stakes (gr. III). Callaghan said getting an easy win under his belt could benefit Firing Line, who also picked up $400,000 with his Sunland Derby win.
"Winning by that much was nice. I think he probably got some confidence out of it after his two previous battles in his previous races," Callaghan said. "We had never had a horse win a stakes race by that much. It was kind of one of those races going in that we kind of hoped that would happen.
"He's come out of that great and hasn't missed anything training-wise; he's training great."
Firing Line drew post 10 for the Kentucky Derby and will have Hall of Fame jockey Gary Stevens in the irons. He turned in his final breeze for the Kentucky Derby April 25 at Santa Anita Park, going an easy five furlongs under Stevens in 1:02 1/5 before shipping to Churchill the next day.
BALAN: Trainer Keeps Eye on Target With Firing Line
In 2011 trainer Bob Baffert saddled Plum Pretty to a victory in the Kentucky Oaks (gr. I) off a 25-length win in the Sunland Park Oaks at Sunland Park. Callaghan said he prefers coming into a big race off an easier effort rather than a hard-fought race.
"I think my preference as a trainer would be the easier race," Callaghan said. "He's got such a good attitude that it wouldn't bother me if we were coming in off a tougher race but at the same time it was good to have it go that well."