Trainer Ken McPeek has little doubt Nobles Promise isspecial.
So special, in fact, that McPeek is unwilling to jeopardize thepromising but nicked up 3-year-old colts health in an effort towin the Kentucky Derby.
“He deserves a chance and if we get everything right, weregoing to dance, and if we dont, were going to wait for thePreakness, McPeek said.
Nobles Promise took a major step toward the Derby on Tuesday,turning in a solid 5-furlong work. He covered the distance in 59.8seconds while pulling away from training mate Beautician.
It was everything McPeek was looking for after his difficulttrip in the Arkansas Derby, where he finished fifth, sustained cutson both front legs and developed a minor lung infection.
The quick workout, however, wasnt enough for McPeek to committo running Nobles Promise under the Twin Spires on May 1.
“I said coming out of Arkansas wed be 50-50. I think were alittle better than that, maybe 60-40, especially with theeye-catching work he put in, McPeek said.
It was a hoop that Nobles Promise – currently second among3-year-olds in graded-stakes earnings with $738,000 – had to jumpthrough to keep his Derby hopes alive. Hell have to do it againnext week to head to the post on the first Saturday in May.
“The hope is he doesnt regress off the work he put in, but theway he worked, we think hes moving forward, McPeek said.
Nobles Promise certainly looked healthy while pulling away fromBeautician, a candidate for the Kentucky Oaks on April 30, as theymade their way down the frontstretch. Jockey Willie Martinez hadntintended for the horse to go that fast, it just sort ofhappened.
By the gallop out, Nobles Promise was a sixteenth of a mileahead of the filly and McPeek had two problems on his hands: tryingnot to get too excited about Nobles Promise while trying tobolster Beauticians confidence.
“Thats a Grade 1 filly he was working against and he whippedher, McPeek said.
It was the kind of performance McPeek has grown used to over thelast year, when Nobles Promise became one of the most consistenttalents in his class.
He won the Breeders Futurity at Keeneland last fall, thenfollowed it up with a third in the Breeders Cup Juvenile at SantaAnita, before ending his 2-year-old campaign with a second-placefinish behind Lookin at Lucky in the Cash Call Futurity.
The two met again at the Rebel Stakes in March, with Lookin atLucky edging him again by a head. While Lookin at Lucky headed toCalifornia, Nobles Promise stayed at Oaklawn and went off as thefavorite in the Arkansas Derby.
It was a troubled trip from the start. He swung right from thethird post out of the gate, his front legs getting clipped byNorthern Giant in the process, and things didnt get much betterfrom there. He finished fifth, 4 1/4 lengths behind Line ofDavid.
The cuts turned out to be the least of the colts problems. Hecame out of the race with a lung infection, a problem McPeek called“minor but pesky. Antibiotics have helped, but McPeek said thehorses lungs will have to be clear to put him in Derby, where the20-horse field kicks up so much dirt that the track can resemble adust storm in the back.
Then again, Nobles Promise isnt the first time McPeek has hada Derby contender struggle with lung problems. He made his Derbydebut in 1995 with Tejano Run, whose issues didnt prevent him fromfinishing second.
Skipping the Derby would put a damper on one of the races trueunderdog stories. Nobles Promise is owned by Chasing DreamsRacing, a 24-person syndicate comprised of decidedly middle-classracing fans who paid $1,000 per share for their interest in thehorse.
Marsha Springate, one of the owners, is a Louisville native andhas been coming to the Derby for years. She has dreamed of makingthe walk from the backside to the paddock on Derby Day for years,and while it could happen May 1, there are other races down theroad.
Still, when they were considering buying the horse as a weanlingat Keeneland in the fall of 2008, Springate asked the horse if hewas going to get them to the Derby.
“He nodded, she said with a laugh.