Audible Makes Florida Derby Statement
One of the knocks on Audible in the weeks since he first stamped himself as a contender on this year's Road to the Kentucky Derby was that he didn't exactly sell his potential.
His morning training has a workman tone rather than a tease of brilliance. And in a time when every move a top 3-year-old makes can be scrutinized by every self-described expert on the internet, his workouts leading into the US$1 million Gr.1 Florida Derby (G1) were commonly described as mediocre at best.
Those trying to dissect the form of the son of Into Mischief over the next five weeks will have to stick to analyzing his moves outside of race day because, once again, he saved his best for when the real running began.
Audible doubled down on the form he flaunted during his breakout victory in the Gr.2 Holy Bull Stakes when he sat well off a hot pace March 31 before advancing outside and kicking on in the lane en route to a three-length triumph over Hofburg in the Florida Derby.
"You'd love for horses like this to breeze well all the time and put on a show in the morning, but once you get to know them and their personalities ... we felt like he was training as well as he ever had," Pletcher said of the colt who gave him his fourth Florida Derby win in the last five years. "We were cautiously optimistic."
There was every reason for Audible's camp to feel good about the colt's ability heading into Saturday's 1 1/8-mile prep race, which offered 100 qualifying points to the winner toward the Gr.1 Kentucky Derby.
By Ritesh Jamkhedkar-Ritesh.Jamkhekhedkar@secretariatsworld.com