WinStar Farm homebred Bluegrass Cat, runner-up in the recent Tampa Bay Derby (gr. III), tuned up for Saturday's $750,000 Toyota Blue Grass (gr. I) at Keeneland with a five-furlong work on Sunday at Churchill Downs.The son of Storm Cat, who is trained by Todd Pletcher, covered the distance over a "fast" track in 1:01 2/5. The move ranked fifth among 26 at the distance.Winner of last year's Remsen (gr. II), Bluegrass Cat will attempt to bounce back from a disappointing runner-up finish to Deputy Glitters as the favorite in the Tampa Bay Derby. Pletcher's colt will bring a record of 4-1-0 in six races and earnings of $323,780 into the Blue Grass, a race that has produced 22 Kentucky Derby (gr. I) winners. That group includes 11 horses that have won both races, with Strike the Gold being the most recent in 1991.
Another promising 3-year-old on Sunday's Churchill Downs work tab was Beverly Lewis' Simon Pure. The D. Wayne Lukas-trained son of Silver Deputy breezed five furlongs in 1:00 2/5 in the colt's final prep for Saturday's $1 million Arkansas Derby (gr. II) at Oaklawn Park.Simon Pure finished seventh to A.P. Warrior in his stakes debut in the San Felipe (gr. II) at Santa Anita.
