“He is a very attractive individual and a very talented racehorse,” said Vinery general manager Tom Ludt. “We are encouraged by his progress, and Dr. Bramlage agrees that he appears to have stabilized.”

Chelokee broke his maiden in his second start at 2 by 13 1/4 lengths. At 3, he won the Northern Dancer (gr. III) and Barbaro Stakes and placed in the Florida Derby (gr. I). He started this year with a score at Gulfstream Park.

“Chelokee had a lovely action and an easy way of going, but he was deceptively fast,” said trainer Michael Matz. “We were looking forward to him having a really big year as a 4-year-old. I was never concerned about him going a distance, in spite of his breeding.”

Madame Thor is out of the graded-stakes winning Broad Brush mare Broad Dynamite, a three-time winner at two that competed in stakes races throughout her juvenile campaign.

The second dam of Madame Thor is Subtle Raise, a half-sister to Very Subtle, winner of the Breeders’ Cup Sprint over colts.

This mare is also carrying a colt by Smart Strike bred on the identical Deputy Minister cross that produced Curlin, the richest racehorse in North American racing history.

The second broodmare prospect purchased for this partnership was Hip number 332 at $150,000, a daughter of stallion sensation Giant’s Causeway.

The mare, Fee Fi Fo Fum, was recently retired after being campaigned by our trainer Jimmy Jerkens. She displayed tremendous ability on the racetrack, winning her career debut at Gulfstream Park before finishing third in the Grade II Bonnie Miss Stakes.

Fee Fi Fo Fum is out of the mare Pleasant Music, a dual-stakes winner that finished second in the Grade III Calder Breeders’ Cup Handicap.

Hip Number 772, Mykindasaint, was purchased for $290,000 carrying a foal from the first crop of Bluegrass Cat.

A daughter of Saint Ballado, Mykindasaint was one of the leading two-year-old fillies of 2005, winning her first three races – including two stakes events – by a combined margin of over 13 lengths before running in the prestigious Frizette Stakes at Belmont Park.

She was a consistent stakes performer in 2006 and 2007 before ending her career with five wins – three in stakes races – and earnings of $170,000.

Hip 914, Union Creek, was purchased for $325,000 carrying a foal by Langfuhr.

This filly comes from a deep Farish family that has consistently produced world-class horses.

Union Creek is out of the legendary broodmare Battle Creek Girl, the producer of 15 separate winners on the racetrack, including Wavering Girl, a champion two-year-old filly in Canada and the dam of Grade I winner Military. In addition, Battle Creek Girl has produced three separate graded-stakes winners that are now stallions: Tricky Creek, Parade Ground and Parade Leader.

Battle Creek Girl is also a half-sister to Wings of Grace, a graded-stakes winner on the racetrack that is best known as the dam of Grade I winners Plenty of Grace and Soaring Softly.

In 2006, Desert Key, runner-up in the G1-King's Bishop and G2-Amsterdam Stakes was selected at this sale.

Last year's group is highlighted by Dynamoor, a very promising individual that gives the impression of being a very special racehorse in his training.

Still waiting for room at the top of the stretch, Velazquez did a masterful job of threading Desert Key through the narrowest of openings before setting him down for a relentless finish that saw Desert Key win a three-nose photo for second.

Desert Key is now multiple-graded stakes and grade-one placed. He shows earnings of $163,490 and a record of 6-2-3-0.

Others expected to start include: J Be K, Gentleman James, Golden Spikes, I'm So Lucky, Nautical Storm, Salute the Sarge, and Visionaire.

The King’s Bishop, traditionally the race just before the Travers Stakes, has been a top stallion producing race. Previous winners include Hard Spun, More than Ready, Forestry, Tale of the Cat and Honour and Glory.

“He had the best walk of any horse in the sale,” Little said of his newest acquisition. “His physical appearance and his athletic ability are spectacular.”

The yearling’s freshman sire was also an attraction for Little. “Smarty Jones was a half-length short of being a Triple Crown winner. Considering he is by a brilliant miler in Elusive Quality, he held special appeal to everyone at Centennial. We hope this colt will develop into a racehorse similar to Corinthian.”

Centennial has enjoyed success at Fasig-Tipton and Little is hoping for more with this yearling.

“We hope this is going to be the sixth Grade I winner we’ve bought out of this Fasig-Tipton sale,” he remarked.

The price tag was no surprise to Taylor Made’s Frank Taylor.

Trainer Jimmy Jerkens

"Naturally I'm not happy we got beat, but he certainly ran a winning race and you have to be pleased about his effort."

"It's too early to think of options right now, although obviously the King's Bishop is one of them."

Steve Christ - Publisher of Daily Racing Form.

Here's where I really got lucky, since I used only Kodiak Kowboy and Fidelio (who fell on his head at the start), leaving out 7-5 favorite Desert Key, who I thought was untested against quality horses and eligible to wilt if challenged early. After watching the race, it's clear to me that this was a bad opinion I was fortunate to survive: Desert Key was best. He withstood a blistering early challenge from Eaton's Gift (21.79/44.19), won that battle and drew clear, and it took perfect-trip Kodiak Kowboy the entire length of the stretch to get by him, and just barely. So I only narrowly, and perhaps unjustly, ducked telling a hard-luck tale of using 9-1, 19-1 and 15-1 winners and missing a 7-5 favorite.

KENNEDY CORRIDOR BLOG - http://kennedyscorridor.blogspot.com

To my eye the most impressive horse of the first week of racing at Saratoga was Desert Key. He was seen narrowly losing the Amsterdam to the classy Kodiak Kowboy. Desert Key was making his fifth lifetime start and his first in graded stakes company. The speedy Eaton's Gift outbroke him but was hard ridden to stay in front through a first quarter in :21.79. Anyone who has followed this crop knows that Eaton's Gift is a very swift horse but just after they drilled the first quarter Desert Key went right by him under a hammer lock and posted a half in :44.19. He opened up two lengths around the turn without being asked and set sail for home. You always knew that a classy horse like Kodiak Kowboy would be tough to deny after sitting behind fast fractions like that but Desert Key was not giving an inch. He battled Kodiak Kowboy all through the lane and was just denied by a nose at the line. The pair got an excellent 108 Beyer figure for the effort which puts them on par with J Be K and many of the older sprinters out there. I suspect that Desert Key is going to turn into a fantastic horse, maybe even the best sprinter in the nation once he fully develops.

Desert Key, lead contender in the 6 ½-furlong contest, will be making only his fifth start in the Amsterdam for Centennial Farms. The son of E Dubai out of the Storm Cat mare, Storm Key, finished a well-beaten sixth in his debut at Gulfstream Park on March 5th before breaking his maiden next time out at Aqueduct.

Trainer Jimmy Jerkens then stepped him up in class in the Adjudicating Stakes at Belmont, where he ran well to finish second behind last year’s Grade 2 Sanford winner, Ready’s Image.

His most recent start showed even more improvement. Desert Key took a first-level allowance race on the Belmont Stakes undercard by five lengths, leading all the way under jockey Edgar Prado and stopping the timer in a speedy 1:08 4/5 for six furlongs.

“I wasn’t surprised,” said Jerkens. “He showed a lot of talent in the morning. I thought his race before that was good, too. He got beat by a horse that was a very good two year-old.”

The colt’s last race became a key race on Wednesday’s Opening Day card at Saratoga when Acredit, who was second in that June 7 allowance race, came back to win an allowance of his own by better than four lengths in the slop.

Desert Key will have to deal with a lot of pressure up front if he wants the lead, but Jerkens doesn’t think his horse will mind conceding pacesetting duties in the early stages.

“He’s run good sitting off the pace,” Jerkens said. “I don’t think it will be a problem. He’s not terribly hard to rate. He’s hard to rate to a certain speed, but if there’s good speed in there, he can sit just off of them.”

Desert Key had his final workout for the Amsterdam on Friday morning on Saratoga’s muddy main track. He covered three furlongs in a lightning :33.81, more than two full seconds faster than the next horse who worked the same distance.

“It was a little faster than I wanted but it was okay,” said Jerkens.

Hall of Famer Bobby Frankel sends out another lightly raced speedster in Stronach Stables’ Fidelio. By Awesome Again, Fidelio has a record of three wins and a second from five career starts.

Notable races in the colt’s career include a second-place finish in ‘07 behind last year’s champion juvenile olt War Pass here at Saratoga and a 4 ½-length win last out at Belmont in a seven-furlong optional claimer.

Eaton’s Gift, winner of the Grade 2 Swale Stakes at Gulfstream Park looks like another horse who wants to be close to an already crowded pace. The brown colt by former juvenile champion Johannesburg is trained by Dale Romans for last season’s leading owner at Saratoga; Zayat Stables, LLC.

Like Jerkens, Romans is not concerned about how his horse will perform in a race with a lot of speed.

“I’m not worried about it,” he said. “He can rate and sit right off of horses. He proved that in his last race at Churchill. He can go to the lead or stalk -- whatever he needs to do.”

Hall of Fame jockey Kent Desormeaux will get a leg up from Romans. Through Friday, the Hall of Fame rider was one win away becoming the 23rd jockey in history to reach the 5,000-win plateau.

Kodiak Kowboy will return to the site of his Grade 2 off-the-pace win in the Saratoga Special last year as a two-year-old, but this time he will be running for a different trainer. He was transferred to Larry Jones after previous trainer Steve Asmussen and Vinery Stables parted ways.

The Saratoga Special was the final win in a five-race streak for Kodiak Cowboy in 2007. Since then he is 1-for-5 with a second-place finish in the Grade 2 Futurity and a third place finish in the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile.

Kodiak Kowboy was last seen finishing second to Preakness runner-up and Jim Dandy participant Macho Again in the Derby Trial Stakes at Churchill Downs on April 26th.

"We removed Chelokee's cast and for the most part we are in good shape," said Bramlage. "Most importantly the coronary band is intact and healthy and the foot appears to have survived the period of reduced vascularity without serious damage. The incisions are well healed and there are no soft areas indicating infection of the implants or deeper structures."

Dr. Bramlage made note in his daily updates on the positive benefits of Chelokee spending some time without the cast.

"The implants are plenty strong to stand 1-2 days of weight bearing before we re-cast him and there is big benefit in the long run to this approach. If we allow him to move the tendons for a couple days it keeps them mobile and makes the later transition to weight bearing easier. "

Chelokee had a cast reapplied with no complications.

"His cast leaves his toe exposed, so he gets a small amount of tendon motion with each step, but immobilizes the fetlock. I use it on most arthrodeses to smooth the transition after we remove the cast. He will wear this cast about 2 weeks if it is comfortable.”

Chelokee has stopped taking antibiotics and has a normal temperature, both positive developments.

"The staff at Rood and Riddle report he is eating every oat and still begs for carrots and peppermints," said Centennial President Don Little, Jr. "A few of his partners stayed behind in Kentucky and visited him daily during the initial days after the injury. They were amazed by the many cards and gifts he received from the public."

A son of Tale of the Cat, Cool Tales took blinkers-off for the race and stretched out in distance to a mile.

He was always with the pace and extended his margin with each stride through the stretch to post a visually impressive performance.

Desert Key, our promising three-year-old son of E Dubai, strengthened his credentials with a gritty runner-up finish in the $75,000 Adjudicating Stakes, earning a 91 Beyer rating.

“We finished second to Ready’s Image, who won the Grade II Sanford at Saratoga and was a finalist for Eclipse Champion two-year-old last season.” said Centennial President Don Little, Jr. “Our horse fought hard through the stretch. We are all delighted with Desert Key’s performance and certainly his prospects for the future.”

Another colt that could have a big summer campaign is Vitruvius, a four-year-old half-brother to Corinthian who finished third in a tough allowance race, earning a 92 Beyer rating.

“The winner earned a 100 Beyer, so it was a very respectable field. Our horse just needed the start coming off a long layoff, but he should gain fitness from this race.”

He broke with the leaders and assumed a half-length lead moving down the backstretch before extending the margin through the stretch to cover the six-furlongs in 1:11, earning a Beyer rating of 92.

Allowed to settle into a comfortable stride moving down the backstretch, he waited patiently for room entering the top of the stretch, then made a move three-wide to win by an expanding margin, covering the six-furlongs in 1:08.68, earning a Beyer rating of 92.

Desert Key was purchased for $270,000 at the 2006 Keeneland September Yearling Sale. It is expected he will make his next start against allowance competition during the upcoming Belmont meeting.

“We were fortunate to be at a sale where the numbers were down for the first time in recent years, enabling us to purchase three well-bred and athletic colts for what we feel is considerable value” said Don Little, Jr. “Two of the three individuals are by sires we have had considerable success with, as Pulpit and Cherokee Run are the respective sires of Corinthian and Chelokee.”

PULPIT - SHADE DANCE, by NUREYEV ($340,000)

Trained by Michael Matz, Chelokee has now won three consecutive races, including the Barbaro Stakes and G3-Northern Dancer Breeders’ Cup last year. He now shows a record of five wins from 9 starts for $384,125.

Chelokee flew to Kentucky on March 30, where he will be stabled at Keeneland before eventually returning to his base of Fair Hill in Maryland.

The three-year-old colt broke with the field, but was allowed to settle in fifth after the opening quarter mile. Castillo urged the Include colt entering the turn and they sustained a drive while four-wide to score by 2 1/2 lengths, covering the distance in 1:46 1/5.

“We are delighted to add a third son of E Dubai to the roster,” said Little. “We purchased Corinthian’s half-brother Vitruvius from his first crop and have a nice three-year-old named Desert Key that will make his debut next week at Gulfstream. Both Vitruvius and Desert Key have tremendous balance and athleticism, and this colt is built along those same lines.”

E Dubai was the fastest son of the legendary influence Mr. Prospector. Racing in the Godolphin colors of Sheikh Mohammed, the colt won the G2-Dwyer at Belmont in track record time, but undoubtedly his finest performance was as a four-year-old in the G1-Suburban, where he carried his blazing speed the classic distance of 1 ¼ miles, defeating Lido Palace and Macho Uno decisively.

The female family of this colt is equally solid. The dam, Here’s Kitty, was a winner on the racetrack and her first three foals are all winners, including the durable Kitty Kisses, who has scored seven-times in her career.

The second dam, Outside Observer, has been a remarkably consistent producer, as six of her 7 foals are winners, including the Peruvian Group 1 winner and current stallion My Bid.

This is the immediate family of multiple-graded stakes winning B. Thoughtful, who is remembered as one of the best mares to race in California in the late 1970s; she won eight stakes races – six of them graded – while always competing at the highest levels on the West Coast.

Video of the colt's impressive workout can be seen here:

“We stopped on him last summer after he had a few minor setbacks,” said trainer Michael Matz. “He always gave the impression of a horse that would improve from his three to four-year-old season. He has matured an awful lot since he left us last summer. If all continues to go well, perhaps he will be able to run sometime near the end of the meet.”

In addition to his trademark determination and laid back disposition, Chelokee’s strong pedigree continues to develop into an attractive proposition for the leading breeders in Kentucky.

Allowed to settle off the pace in the early stages, the 5-year-old son of Woodman delivered his trademark kick around the turn to open a comfortable margin entering the stretch before eventually winning by 3 ½ lengths, covering the mile in 1:40 3/5.

Other finalists are: Invasor and Lawyer Ron.

Making his debut over a sloppy racetrack, the chestnut colt settled into a staking position on the rail under Kent Desormeaux before powering home in a breathtaking performance, covering the 1 mile 70 yards in 1:39, just 1/5 of a second off the track record, earning a Beyer rating of 119 for the victory.

"He’s been training great, but his last two races were sub par, so it was hard to get overly confident,” said Jerkens. “Kent rode him beautifully. That was the plan, to try to tuck him in. He doesn’t mind running on the inside. He might as well save the ground when he can.”

Desormeaux’s main concern going into the race was a clear trip around the first turn, which he handled perfectly.

“We broke nine abreast, everyone was trying to get a forward position and I just drug him back that first flight and I was able to dive to the fence. I didn't think the fence was the perfect place, but it was the perfect place to keep the mud from drowning him.”

When Corinthian straightened out on the backside, Desormeaux gained confidence that the energetic colt was on his game.

“I was able to keep his face clean all the way till down the back side. I just gained so much confidence moving down the back side because the horse stayed in the bridle even though he was getting pummeled with sand. And when I loomed up to the leader, the sand stopped hitting him in the face and was going underneath his chest and he got stronger and stronger. It seemed like the longer I was able to sit, the more he grabbed the bit.”

Entering the turn, Corinthian made a decisive move. When he straightened into the stretch the only question was the margin of victory.

“Once I presented him and moved him from behind horses, he really accelerated and I was telling I was telling Jim, he is chestnut, right, because I couldn't tell anymore. I said, well, this red colt, he was a fireball down the lane. He was certainly trying to dry his path; he was a rocket down the line. He's a brilliant miler as we know.”

The son of Giant’s Causeway assumed command from the gate and sensibly controlled the pace under jockey Noberto Arroyo, Jr., cruising past six furlongs in a daunting 1:18.66. With plenty in reserve for the finish, Tricky Causeway dug is resolutely to post a neck victory over Godolphin’s True Curse, covering the 1 3/8 miles over the firm turf in 2:18.29, earning a Beyer rating of 92.

Trained by Jimmy Jerkens, Tricky Causeway has now won four of 9 career starts for earnings of $133,960.

The three-year-old son of Touch Gold dropped right to the rear of the field and trailed by more than 15 lengths after the opening quarter mile, he made gradual progress to a contending position when the field reached the top of the stretch, and came rolling down the middle of the turf course to post a ¾ of a length victory, covering the 1 1/16 miles over a firm course in 1:42 4/5.

Trained by Rodney Jenkins, Gizmo Man has now won three of eight races for $39,720 in earnings.

Trained by Rodney Jenkins for the Beechwood partnership, the final time of 1:08.55 for six-furlongs over the turf was just 2/5 of a second off the course record.

Rebel Yeller has now won three of nine career races for earnings of $82,957. His biggest victory to date was the $80,000 Woodlawn Stakes at Pimlico in May.

A 4-year-old son of Pulpit trained by Jimmy Jerkens, Corinthian captured the Met Mile over Political Force, with Lawyer Ron finishing third. Earlier in the year, he won the Gulfstream Park Handicap (gr. II) and was a 9 1/2-length winner over 2006 Belmont Stakes (gr. I) victor Jazil in an optional claiming race at Gulfstream.

"The Met Mile has produced some of the greatest stallions in history," said Gainesway president Antony Beck. "Corinthian is a superior individual, a very athletic, well-bred stallion prospect from one of the best stallion-producing female families, which has aready produced top sires Sadler's Wells and Nureyev."

Corinthian, who also placed in last year's Fountain of Youth Stakes (gr. II), has won five of 11 races and earned $727,273.

Bred in Kentucky by Gracefield Equine and Hargus Sexton, Corinthian is a half-brother to grade II winner Desert Hero and exciting Centennial three-year-old Vitruvius.

August 16 – Emishi Warrior returns from a six-month layoff and cruises to an impressive three-length victory over allowance competition, stopping the clock in a very respectable 1:11, earning a 85 Beyer rating. This son of Orientate is expected to return to the races in the next week, possibly at the Meadowlands.

September 5 – Toymaker makes his turf debut in smashing form, galloping home by 2 ½ lengths under jockey Jozbin Santata. The Woodman colt has been on the board in six of nine career starts and appears to be hitting his best stride as a four-year-old.

Winning races at a high-percentage has been a staple of the 2007 campaign for Centennial Farms. We currently have 24 wins from 68 starters: 35%. This is the highest winning percentage from the top 100 owners in North America with more than 50 starters this year.