Practical Move at Churchill Downs prior to his scratch from Derby 149 (Coady Photography)
Fort Bragg, Reincarnate Reunited With Bob Baffert
Santa Anita Stable Notes by Victor Ryan
ARCADIA, Calif.— Grade I Santa Anita Derby winner Practical Move, who was scratched from last Saturday’s Kentucky Derby due to a fever, returned to Santa Anita from Churchill Downs on Wednesday night.
Practical Move was withdrawn from the 149th Kentucky Derby last Thursday when he was found to have an elevated temperature after a morning jog. Trainer Tim Yakteen said this morning “everything is good” with the colt but there is no timetable for when he will return to training.
“We’ll just play it by ear,” Yakteen said. “We’re good, but first we’ll let him get his feet underneath him. We’ll come up with a plan when he’s back in a regular training routine.”
Joining Practical Move on the return trip from Kentucky were four other horses Yakteen started on the Kentucky Derby undercard: Kangaroo Court, Johannes, Fort Bragg, and Reincarnate. Yakteen reported all were doing well Thursday morning.
Kangaroo Court finished a disappointing 11th as the slight 4-1 favorite in the GII Pat Day Mile when trying open stakes company for the first time. Breaking from the rail under John Velazquez, he was just a head back after the opening half mile but then quickly faded out of contention.
“He just didn’t fire. No excuse,” Yakteen said. “We’ll regroup and figure it out. He was absolutely doing fantastic going into the race. He’s a headscratcher for us.”
Meanwhile, Fort Bragg nearly won the Pat Day Mile when being beaten only a neck by General Jim for “Shug” McGaughey. He is back at Santa Anita and has been reunited with Bob Baffert, Yakteen said.
Also back with Baffert is Reincarnate. The Good Magic colt, with Velazquez up, was forwardly placed in the Derby before faltering to a 13th-place finish.
Johannes suffered his first loss on turf when a troubled fifth in the GII American Turf. With Umberto Rispoli in the irons, he was stuck behind a wall of horses at the rear of the field. Despite a moderate pace, the Nyquist colt was finally able to launch a rail rally in the stretch to be beaten just over two lengths.
“He ran an amazing race,” Yakteen said. “When you’re that far back on a pedestrian pace, it’s almost impossible to make up that kind of ground.”
