Workout Report May 1

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ANY GIVEN SATURDAY/CIRCULAR QUAY/COWTOWN CAT/SCAT DADDY/SAM P.

Four of the five Todd Pletcher contenders did their last bit of exercise at Keeneland Tuesday morning. The other horse the Cat Thief colt Sam P., who's been at Churchill Downs all along, walked the shedrow at Barn 34.

At Keeneland, Any Given Saturday, Circular Quay, Cowtown Cat and Scat Daddy all went trackside for gallops of varying lengths under their regular exercise riders.

Any Given Saturday, the Distorted Humor offspring who has never been worse than third in six lifetime starts, galloped a mile and one quarter under Martin Mendoza. The colt has been stakes-placed in three of his last four outings the placings all coming in graded stakes and in the other test he won the Sam F. Davis Stakes at Tampa Bay Downs. He ll have Garrett Gomez up when he goes postward Saturday in the 133rd Kentucky Derby.

Circular Quay had Tony Tamburino in the tack as he galloped around the Keeneland oval for 1 1/4 mile. The son of Thunder Gulch comes into the 10-furlong Derby off an impressive tally in the Louisiana Derby at Fair Grounds in New Orleans, where he was handled by John Velazquez. The 2005 Eclipse Award winner as the nation s leading jockey will be back aboard the chestnut colt in the Run for the Roses.

Cowtown Cat galloped a mile and one half for exercise rider Loren Robson. He, too, is a Distorted Humor offspring and comes into the Kentucky Derby off back-to-back stakes scores in the Gotham at Aqueduct and the Illinois Derby at Hawthorne. A lanky chestnut gifted with natural speed, he ll have the saddle services of Fernando Jara, who rode him in the Illinois victory.

Scat Daddy galloped one mile for exercise rider Mendoza. The dark-hued son of Johannesburg gets Edgar Prado for his partner Saturday. It was Prado who was aboard the Kentucky-bred colt when he captured the Florida Derby in his most recent outing, after winning Gulfstream Park s Fountain of Youth in his prior start.

Pletcher was finalized plans to ship his crew including the three Kentucky Oaks fillies Cotton Blossom, Octave and Rags to Riches to Churchill Downs for arrival at Barn 34 at around today s 4:30 feeding time. We ll have them all out on the track at Churchill Wednesday morning, the trainer said.

BWANA BULL

The Jerry Hollendorfer-trained Bwana Bull was reported to be full of energy Tuesday morning, a day after working six furlongs in 1:14.40.

"He came out of the work great. He s getting sharper by the day," said Hollendorfer s assistant, Galen May, who reported that Bwana Bull walked the shedrow Tuesday. "You should have seen him when I brought him in after his work (Monday). He was bucking and kicking."

May, who reported that Hollendorfer will be in Louisville on Wednesday, said he s noticed a difference in the El Camino Real Derby (GIII) winner since he was shipped to Churchill Downs a week ago.

"Day by day, he s been feeling better and better," May said. I can t ask for any better. "He s going to be a handful (Wednesday) when he goes back to the track."

Javier Castellano will ride Bwana Bull for the first time in the Derby.

COBALT BLUE/GREAT HUNTER/LIQUIDITY

Great Hunter schooled in the paddock, jogged about a mile and galloped 1 mile.

"He looked awesome," O Neill said. "He s so professional. He seems like he s on his game right now."

O Neill also had high praise for Liquidity, who followed the same routine as Great Hunter, schooling in the paddock, jogging about a mile and galloping about 1 miles. "He looked great as well," O Neill said.

Cobalt Blue equipped in blinkers, jogged a mile and galloped 1 miles after schooling in the paddock with exercise rider Tony Romero.

"I was impressed with the way he galloped this morning with the blinkers," O Neill said. "It appeared to re-energize him. If it was up to me I would run him in the Kentucky Derby, but the call is with the owner, Merv Griffin, and he is concerned about the horse s well-being both mentally and physically."

Early in the afternoon, O Neill reported that Cobalt Blue would not start in the Kentucky Derby.

"The horse is doing great," O Neill said. "I talked to Merv and he thought it was in the best interest of the horse not to tax him one and a quarter miles. So we re going to slow it down, go back to California and look for a race."

Because of the defections of Cobalt Blue and Xchanger two horses that were on the bubble Teuflesberg and Imawildandcrazyguy will be entered to run in Saturday s 133rd Kentucky Derby.

CURLIN/ZANJERO/REPORTING FOR DUTY

One day after turning in their final major Kentucky Derby 133 workouts, trainer Steve Asmussen s trio of potential starters all walked the shedrow under the care of assistant Scott Blasi. Asmussen was off to Lexington to supervise his string of runners stabled at Keeneland.

The Asmussen Derby runners are slated to school in the paddock along with today s fourth- or fifth-race field, and also school in the gate as per their usual routine on Thursday of this week.

Blasi reported that all s well with the trio this morning on a very quiet day around the barn of a potential Kentucky Derby favorite.

Asmussen indicated this week that Curlin s progress from maiden to leading Derby contender hopeful has been as impressive as it has been rapid.

"The talent was obviously there in his maiden victory when he first came to us," Asmussen said. "We steadily gave him better horses (as workmates) and put him behind horses and see how he handled some circumstances.

"We came out of that race (Oaklawn s Rebel) with more confidence, and I think we put a little bit more on him and he responded with a better race in the Arkansas Derby.

Curlin's three-race resume puts him behind the historical eight-ball, but his trainer knows that you can t change the past. If he could, Curlin would have one more stablemate next to him in Saturday's starting gate.

"You work from the position you re in and feel great about who he is and where he's at," Asmussen said. "We're very fortunate. Circumstances have come to mind for us. Starting the year, we probably had one of the favorites in Tiz Wonderful. It didn t work out for him, and it doesn t make him any less of a horse. It just makes him miss his chance at the Derby."