Ky. Derby trail: Burnham Square has been a work in progress
Photo:
Carlos J. Calo / Eclipse Sportswire
Boynton Beach, Fla.
Ian Wilkes loved to be a listener whenever legendary Hall of Fame trainer Woody Stephens held court.
“How do you find a good horse?” someone asked.
“You don’t,” Stephens replied. “You wake up one morning and they’re there.”
So it has been for Wilkes with Burnham Square, a top contender in Saturday’s Grade 2 Fountain of Youth at Gulfstream Park coming off his eye-opening victory there in the Feb. 1 Holy Bull (G3).
Before he joined Wilkes for serious training, the bay son of Liam’s Map showed that he did not have the temperament to make it as a colt. That led the Whitham Thoroughbreds homebred to be gelded.
There was no hint he would emerge as a Kentucky Derby prospect in the early stages of his career. After internal discussion, he was made available for a $150,000 claiming tag when he debuted at six furlongs Oct. 26 at Keeneland. After running somewhat erratically in a mistake-filled performance, he mounted a belated eight-wide bid, placing second by a half-length.
Burnham Square was stretched out to 1 1/16 miles in a maiden special weight contest Nov. 30 at Churchill Downs and wound up a rallying third. Wilkes, 59, knew then he was looking at raw talent in need of help.
“He made it very difficult for the jock,” the Australia native said of the gelding’s second start. “He wouldn’t run in the race. He couldn’t get going. Finally, he came running down the lane and 50 yards after the wire, he’s four (lengths) in front. It just told me I need to try the blinkers.”
Blinkers tend to bring out more early speed. They have a minimal impact on some horses and are not always helpful. With Burnham Square, an April 9 foal, the effect has been dramatic.
With Edgard Zayas getting the riding assignment, the youngster broke his maiden with an exclamation point Dec. 28 at Gulfstream Park. He took command soon after the start and dominated the 1 1/16-mile mismatch by nine widening lengths. He came from off the pace and snagged 20 Derby qualifying points when he captured the 1 1/16-mile Holy Bull by 1 1/4 lengths.
Wilkes had no idea the impact of the equipment change would be so profound. “You’ve just got to try them,” he said. “If I knew exactly what they would do, I would have done it a long time ago.”
He sees a major change in Burnham Square’s on-track demeanor. “You try to give a horse confidence,” he said of adding blinkers. “They get in their own world. They get braver in what they are doing, and that’s what has helped this horse. He’s gotten braver.”
Horses must be able to assert themselves at critical moments during races. Burnham Square did that during the Holy Bull for Zayas.
“In the last race, he was able to push a horse out of the way to give himself room,” Wilkes noted. “Before that, without blinkers on, he wouldn’t have been anywhere near that. He would have run away from horses. It’s given the horse confidence.”
As the distances of the prep races increase, more and more horses are being exposed as Derby pretenders rather than contenders. Wilkes feels certain distance will not be an obstacle for his rising star.
“It gets down to whether we’re good enough, whether we’re fast enough,” he said. “But distance is not going to be an issue with this horse.”
Burnham Square can take a major step toward the first Saturday in May with another strong performance in the Fountain of Youth. The race awards Derby qualifying points to the top five finishers on a 50-25-15-10-5 basis.
“He’s got to get faster to win the Derby,” Wilkes said. “He’s going in the right progression. He needs to take another nice step, go forward again.”
With an eye toward that, the gelding worked five furlongs Saturday here at Palm Meadows Training Center. Drilling in company with Into Champagne, a 4-year-old multiple graded-stakes-placed filly, they came home together in a sharp 1:01.05.
Given Wilkes’s quest, the name of Burnham Square’s workmate seems only fitting.
| Post | Silks | Horse / Sire | Rating | Trainer / Jockey | Last Start / Next Start | Morn. line |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
|
Gate To Wire Munnings |
6.34 | 6-1 | ||
|
Last Race Next Race |
||||||
| 2 |
|
Sovereignty Into Mischief |
6.80 | 3-1 | ||
|
Last Race Next Race |
||||||
| 3 |
|
Burnham Square Liam’s Map |
6.67 | 5-2 | ||
|
Last Race Next Race |
||||||
| 4 |
|
McKellen McKinzie |
5.07 | 30-1 | ||
|
Last Race Next Race |
||||||
| 5 |
|
Solid Left West Coast |
0.00 | 20-1 | ||
|
Last Race Next Race |
||||||
| 6 |
|
River Thames Maclean’s Music |
6.47 | 2-1 | ||
|
Last Race Next Race |
||||||
| 7 |
|
Neoequos Neolithic |
6.06 | 10-1 | ||
|
Last Race Next Race |
||||||
| 8 |
|
Keep It Easy Hard Spun |
6.34 | 8-1 | ||
|
Last Race Next Race |
||||||
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