Denis of Cork pointed toward Belmont
Southwest Stakes winner Denis of Cork, who finished third in the Kentucky Derby, worked five furlongs in 1:01 on a fast track at Churchill Downs on Monday.
The move, under jockey James Lopez, ranked fifth out of 31 at the distance. The horse is being pointed toward the Belmont Stakes on June 7.
“He’s just starting to come back to himself,” Carroll said. “He finished up strong in the Derby and galloped out. With all the rain we’ve had here, I didn’t do a whole lot with him since the Derby — you don’t have to do a whole lot with him. Today we just let him stretch his legs, and he just went beautiful.”
The colt is expected to breeze twice more before he travels to Belmont Park in an effort to derail Big Brown’s bid to become the 12th horse to sweep the Triple Crown.
Denis of Cork will get a rider change to Robby Albarado for the 1 1/2-mile Belmont. Calvin Borel rode Denis of Cork in the Kentucky Derby.
