One Lucky Dane injured, out of Kentucky Derby

One Lucky Dane, the Santa Anita Derby runner-up behind his unbeaten stablemate Dortmund, was injured in a Saturday morning workout at Santa Anita and is out of the Kentucky Derby.

Trainer Bob Baffert told Daily Racing Form's Jay Privman that One Lucky Dane has the beginnings of a condylar leg fracture and will need surgery. "Could have been worse," he said.

One Lucky Dane was timed by the Santa Anita clockers going five-eighths of a mile in 59 1/5 seconds. Jockey Rafael Bejarano pulled up One Lucky Dane after the work, with the colt taken off the track by equine ambulance.

Dortmund worked five-eighths of a mile in 58 4/5 seconds under jockey Martin Garcia, the fastest of 59 Santa Anita workouts at the distance.

One Lucky Dane's defection moves up Arkansas Derby fourth-place finisher Madefromlucky to No. 20 on the Kentucky Derby points list. Trainer Todd Pletcher said in a text that no decision has been made on whether to run Madefromlucky in the Derby. At No. 21 is Churchill Downs-based Keen Ice.

International Star has Maker talking: Churchill Downs on Saturday started its 15-minute window, 8:30-8:45 a.m., exclusive to training for Derby and Kentucky Oaks contenders. Afterward, Mike Maker, a trainer of few words, had a lot to say about his Kentucky Derby contender International Star.

After the Louisiana Derby winner breezed five furlongs in 1:01.80 under jockey Miguel Mena, besting stablemate Dreams Cut Short's 1:02.60 at Churchill Downs, Maker said he "wouldn't trade" for another 3-year-old.

"He'll give 120 percent, and whether that's good enough or not, we don't know," Maker said with the first Saturday in May now just two weeks out.

Maker brought the Ken and Sarah Ramsey-owned colt, a son of 2000 Derby winner Fusaichi Pegasus, over to Churchill Downs on Saturday from his base at the Trackside training center.

The trainer described the work as "pretty routine for him." The time ranked 19th of 38 moves at that distance.

"We were looking for a strong gallop out, and he did it," Maker said.

International Star swept the Fair Grounds' Derby preps, winning the Lecomte and Risen Star stakes ahead of the Louisiana Derby. Before running there on dirt, he'd won only on Woodbine's all-weather track and broken his maiden on Belmont's turf.

"We always said he was a good horse," Maker said. "I was just a little suspect of him going on the dirt."

It's worked out well. International Star earned more points on the Road to the Derby (171) than any other contender. In the points system's first two years, Orb (2013) and California Chrome (2014) won after also sitting atop the prep season leaderboard.

Danzig Moon's fast work not idea: Norman Casse, assistant to his father, Mark, has all along seen talent in Danzig Moon. Casse admits the Kentucky Derby contender's still coming around mentally.

Danzig Moon broke quickly on Churchill Downs' back stretch Saturday morning, and before jockey Julien Leparoux could hold him back, the Malibu Moon colt wound up working five furlongs in company in 58 seconds flat.

"We usually reserve our two-weeks-out work to be our big work, and unfortunately I think he got a little overzealous leaving the pony," Casse said. "Normally, when you break them off from the pony, he takes a hold, but not like that. He took off with Julien. He worked fast. He's a fast horse, and Julien recognized that and didn't really ask him to do too much afterward."

A runner-up to Carpe Diem last time out in the Toyota Blue Grass Stakes, Danzig Moon, galloped out six furlongs in 1:12.20 with stablemate Tepin, who's set to race in the Grade II Churchill Distaff Turf Mile on the Derby Day under card.

"Had he not gotten away and run off the first bit, the overall time wouldn't have been nearly as fast," Casse said. "Unfortunately, this is what we've got. It's OK. We know he likes the race track, and more importantly, he's sound and scoped good and everything's OK."

Before clinching a spot in the Derby gate with his performance in the Blue Grass, Danzig Moon broke his maiden Feb. 7 at Gulfstream Park. Then came a race Casse said connections "simply throw out" -- a distant fourth-place effort in the Tampa Bay Derby, won as well by trainer Todd Pletcher's Carpe Diem.

"We've been very fortunate that the horses we've sent over to Tampa have run well, and we kind of took for granted that every once in a while, there's a horse that's going to go over that who doesn't like the race track," Casse said. "This horse was the one we learned our lesson with."

Known for flashing late speed, Danzig Moon also has a race over Churchill Downs' dirt. He finished second in an Oct. 26 maiden special weight test under the Twin Spires.

Also at Churchill, Keen Ice drilled six furlongs in 1:13.20. He was the only worker at that distance, following up on a five-furlong breeze last Saturday in 1:00.20. That one ranked fourth out of 33 works.

Elsewhere, Tencendur, second in the Twinspires.com Wood Memorial, fired a bullet in his return to the work tab. Trained by Louisville native George Weaver, he went a half mile in 47.16 seconds Saturday at Belmont Park, fastest of 26.

American Pharoah gallops: One onlooker standing near the rail as the likely Kentucky Derby favorite scampered by Saturday morning squinted at the neon yellow training saddle towel and said, "That's American...somebody."

Many at Churchill Downs, though, were already wise to the impressive American Pharoah, who jogged an easy 1 1/2 miles on the dirt. Afterward, the Arkansas Derby winner nibbled at a groom's hand a posed while receiving a bath outside of trainer Bob Baffert's Barn 33 on the Churchill backside.

Jim Barnes, assistant to Baffert, said American Pharoah has acclimated well to Louisville since arriving on Monday. He'll be joined a week from Sunday by Dortmund, the Santa Anita Derby winner, and Breeders' Cup Classic champion Bayern, a contender in the Grade II Churchill Downs Stakes on the Derby under card.

In addition to works by International Star and Danzig Moon -- both horses who have secured a spot in the Derby field -- trainer Dale Romans' Keen Ice drilled Saturday at Churchill Downs. The Curlin colt, fourth in the Louisiana Derby, is 22nd in Road to the Derby points, needing defections to make it in the gate.

Talk of a rapid pace has dominated discussion of how this year's Kentucky Derby may play out with favorites American Pharoah, Dortmund and Carpe Diem all possessing a nose for the early lead.

Kentucky Oaks update: The May 1 Kentucky Oaks' setup remains relatively unknown, though, and that's just fine with an assistant trainer to Bill Mott who watched Donegal Racing's Puca breeze Saturday morning at Churchill Downs. Four furlongs in 48.20 with stablemate Japan, a 3-year-old colt who finished up just ahead, ranked 10/57.

"This filly, if you look at all her races, she sits mid pack or a little bit off it," Mott's Kenny McCarthy said of Puca, who finished second last time out in Aqueduct's Grade II Gazelle Stakes won by Condo Commando, a top Oaks contender.

"So it's one of those things where, I think you can over-think pace sometimes in both the Derby and the Oaks. I think you just have to let your horse dictate where they're most comfortable."

Puca, a Big Brown filly, broke her maiden Oct. 1 at Belmont. She went on to finish off the board in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile fillies and fourth in the Feb. 21 Davona Dale Stakes at Gulfstream Park.

"Looking at her, I was pretty impressed with her myself," McCarthy added.. "I thought that work this morning was perfect. We were sort of looking for how she'd handle the track. She's obviously galloped over it for a week now and been fine. But until you really set them down on it -- she did it awfully easy and galloped out strong. That's what we like."

Also on the track Saturday was Gulfstream Park Oaks winner Birdatthewire, whose five furlongs in 59.60 ranked 4/57, as well as Santa Anita Oaks runner-up Luminance, whose bullet half mile in 46.20 was fastest of 57 on track at Churchill Downs.