LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Lecomte (GIII) winner Enforceable completed his major Derby preparations by working a half-mile in :49.60 under jockey Adam Beschizza.
Breezing over a track labeled as good during the 7:30-7:45 training window for Derby and Oaks runners, Enforceable posted fractions of :12.80, :24.80, :37.20 and galloped out five furlongs in 1:03.20 while working on his own.
“I think he is really improving at this stage of his career,” trainer Mark Casse said. “He’s maturing; he’s ready to go.
“I thought he looked super,” added Casse, who will be seeking the first Kentucky Derby triumph of his Hall of Fame career.
“If you said to me three months ago you could have him where he is today and you’d be in the position you’re in, I would have taken it. I just think he’s at the top of his game right now. That’s all you can ask for.”
Saturday’s work was the sixth for Enforceable since finishing fourth in the Blue Grass Stakes (GII) at Keeneland on July 11 and the second consecutive work with Beschizza aboard.
“I thought the work was perfect,” said Beschizza, who also had worked Enforceable over the winter at Fair Grounds. “He went a scratch under :50. Mark and (assistant trainer) David (Carroll) just wanted to keep the lid on it. His major work was in the bag.”
Enforceable will represent the first Kentucky Derby mount for Beschizza.
“I like his consistency,” Beschizza said. “He is a light-framed horse and doesn’t need a lot to keep fit. He is going to have to be on his ‘A’ game. He needs pace and we know he is going to get it (in the Derby).”
“Where he fits in (the Kentucky Derby field) will depend a lot on who gets lucky, who doesn’t. And pace,” Casse said of the late-running colt. “But the only thing for us as a trainer we want is for a horse to be at the top of his game, and I feel like he’s there.”
Casse is set to drive up to Kentucky from his base in Ocala, Florida, with a planned midweek arrival.
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Photo: Enforceable. Credit: Churchill Downs/Coglianese Photos
