Mor Spirit Sharp in Churchill Breeze

Trainer Bob Baffert said Michael Lund Petersen's Mor Spirit is not a good work horse. But the runner-up in the Santa Anita Derby (gr. I) did a fine impression of one April 26, zipping around the Churchill Downs track to five-eighths of a mile in :59 4/5 in preparation for the May 7 Kentucky Derby presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I).

Working in company with Jimbo Fallon, Mor Spirit was clocked in eighth-mile splits of :11 2/5, :22 2/5, :34 1/5, and :46, galloping out the six furlongs in 1:13 1/5 under Hall of Fame jockey Gary Stevens. That was the second-fastest five-furlong work of the morning out of 18.

"He worked well today," Baffert said before rushing back to the airport to return to California. "He's never been a really willing worker, so we put him into the work early. He got a good work today. Seems like it wasn't too hard on him."

Acknowledging that Mor Spirit doesn't normally go three-eighths of a mile in :34 1/5, Baffert said, "No, but this track is pretty quick, though. It is fast right now. But it was good for him. He got into it. When Gary worked him a few weeks ago, he started out slow and sort of lost interest. This surface is really kind on them, so he likes this surface."

Baffert is seeking a fifth Kentucky Derby, having swept the Triple Crown last year with American Pharoah  . Stevens has won the Kentucky Derby three times, the last when teaming with Baffert in 1997 to prevail with Silver Charm.

The blazing early pace did appear to take some toll at the finish, most notably going the last eighth-mile to the wire in :13 4/5, though Mor Spirit picked it back up on the gallop-out around the turn. That also could be a result of Mor Spirit being full of run well before the five-eighths pole, where most observers expected the work to start.

"Loved the work," Stevens said. "The work went great; he was very aggressive going to the pole, which is not always him. He's a little quirky sometimes. Bob put a little more blinkers on him this morning to get him a little more focuses and it did the job. He went to the pole aggressive, was aggressive throughout the work, he galloped out strong into the backstretch.

"I can't get the horse tired and that's a good thing when you're going a mile and a quarter. I don't think that distance is going to be a problem but he's come along at the right time. This has been the focus since last year in December; we've been pointing for the Derby."

Mor Spirit has three wins and four seconds in seven starts, one runner-up finish being in Churchill Downs' Kentucky Jockey Club (gr. II) last fall. The Pennsylvania-bred son of Eskendereya concluded his 2-year-old season with victory in the Los Alamitos Futurity (gr. I) and began his 3-year-old campaign with a triumph in Santa Anita's Robert B. Lewis (gr. III). 

In his last two starts, Mor Spirit was second to front-running Danzing Candy in the San Felipe (gr. II) and a well-beaten second in the slop as Exaggerator took the Santa Anita Derby by 6 1/4 lengths.

"We haven't got to the bottom of him," Stevens said. "In the Santa Anita Derby, I won't say that he didn't like the surface, but he didn't like the kickback coming back. I felt like he ran about 80 percent for me and still finished second. He's got some gears and I've felt them in the morning and I've felt them in the afternoon. Unfortunately I didn't feel them in the Santa Anita Derby, so hopefully he brings the A game."

Said Baffert: "He needs to move up from his last race. His last race wasn't real strong, but it was muddy. The way the field looks, there's a lot of nice 3-year-olds. It's very competitive bunch of horses. I think the post is going to matter, the break. There's going to be a lot of luck involved... We have another week to go, so I don't like to get ahead of myself. We need another work, keeping him fit and healthy."

Petersen, who paid $650,000 for Mor Spirit at the Fasig-Tipton March 2-year-old auction, came in from Maryland to watch his first Kentucky Derby starter work. Petersen, who is from Denmark, said his wife named Mor Spirit.

"Mor means mom in Danish," he said. "My mom turns 90 in May, and my wife thinks she's a feisty little woman, so we named the horse after her."

"And he's feisty, so that's good," Baffert said.