American Pharoah Gallops at Churchill Downs

Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I) winner American Pharoah galloped 1 3/16 miles after the morning renovation break May 8 at Churchill Downs.

Also galloping after the break were the second- and third-place finishers from the Derby, Firing Line and Dortmund.

For American Pharoah and fellow Bob Baffert trainee Dortmund, it was their first galloping session since the Run for the Roses May 2. Both colts had jogged May 7.

Owned by Zayat Stables, American Pharoah had regular morning partner Jorge Alvarez aboard. First on the track at the 5 1/2-furlong gap, American Pharoah backtracked to the front side before galloping.

Kaleem Shah's Dortmund, with Dana Barnes up, followed right behind and galloped a similar distance. Baffert is scheduled to return to Louisville May 10 from his Southern California base.

"Everything went very nice and we did exactly what Bob told us to do," said Jim Barnes, Baffert's assistant who is overseeing things in Louisville. "When they walk for four days, they can get a little quiet. You get them back to the track and they begin to wake up. We didn't do much this morning. Normally we gallop a mile and a half and I would imagine we would be back to that distance soon."

Arnold Zetcher's Firing Line, who had jogged the previous two mornings, galloped a mile and a half under exercise rider Humberto Gomez for trainer Simon Callaghan.

Firing Line came on the track shortly after the Baffert duo headed back to the barn.

"For the first day, that was a comfortable gallop," Gomez said. "He is the same as he was before the Derby, which is a good sign. He is what I would call scary calm. He is so professional."

Assistant Carlos Santamaria is overseeing things for Callaghan here until the colt leaves for Baltimore May 13.

Three other horses based at Churchill under consideration for the Preakness galloped before the renovation break. John Oxley's Danzig Moon, fifth in the Derby, galloped under William Cano for trainer Mark Casse; Zayat Stables' Mr. Z galloped a little more than a mile under Edvin Vargas for trainer D. Wayne Lukas; and Charles Fipke's Tale of Verve galloped 1 5/8 miles under Cortez Walker for trainer Dallas Stewart.

Trainer Todd Pletcher reported Friday that there have been no decisions made concerning the Preakness for Materiality, Carpe Diem, Stanford, and Competitive Edge.

At Laurel Park, Bodhisattva galloped Friday morning for a scheduled start in the Preakness. The son of Student Council   is scheduled for a breeze Sunday morning.

            Bodhisattva captured the Federico Tesio Stakes by 1 1/2 lengths at Pimlico on April 18.