Bellamy Road worked Thursday morning.
Kinsman Stable's Bellamy Road, the early favorite for the Kentucky Derby (gr. I), breezed an easy five furlongs in 1:02 4/5 at Churchill Downs Thursday morning. It was the colt's first work since his 17 1/2-length romp in the Wood Memorial (gr. I) April 9.In the Wood, Bellamy Road, a son of Concerto, set a new stakes record and equaled Riva Ridge's track record of 1:47 flat. This effort came following a 15 3/4-length score in a Gulfstream allowance race in his 3-year-old debut and first start for trainer Nick Zito.In Thursday's work, Zito was able to harness the colt's brilliant speed, not wanting him to do too much following his sensational performance in the Wood, in which he earned a 120 Beyer Speed Figure.Following fractions of :13 1/5, :25 4/5, and :38, Bellamy Road, according to Churchill Downs clockers, went his final two splits in an unusual :11 4/5 and :13 before galloping out in 1:16 2/5 with an additional eighth in :13 2/5."It was exactly what I was looking for," Zito said. "He looked good all the way around, and I got him galloping out in 1:15 4/5."In regard to the contrasting closing splits, Zito said. "I worked him around both turns, so the points of call were not at the normal poles. We all had his closing eighth in :11 and change. It was a great work and Carlos (Correa) did it perfectly."Zito said he has a top rider pretty much lined up for Andromeda's Hero, but there is nothing official yet.
