Mr. Mellon, Ethan Man & Azillion (Ire) Tune Up At Churchill; Castle Gandolfo Wins

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (April 6, 2002) - A trio of late-blooming contenders for Kentucky Derby 128 - Tom Van Meter and WinStar Farm's Mr. Mellon, West Point Thoroughbreds' Ethan Man, and Harris, Cohen and Scibelli's Azillion tuned up for their final Derby preps with solid works on Saturday morning at Churchill Downs.

Mr. Mellon, winner of the Rushaway Stakes at Turfway Park in his most recent outing, breezed five furlongs in 1:00.60 over a "fast" track. The son of Red Ransom worked in company with a stablemate and galloped out six furlongs in 1:14.20. The Elliott Walden-trained colt was ridden by Larry Melancon, who will be in the saddle next week when Mr. Mellon runs in the Arkansas Derby (GII) at Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs, Ark.

Walden said Mr. Mellon does not usually go to the track with a workmate, but did so this morning because it was an important move for the colt.

"He had one work between the races (the Rushaway and the Arkansas Derby) and I wanted to try to reduce the risk of it being not exactly what I wanted," Walden said. "I wanted him to get a little something out of it, so I wanted to give him a target. He's usually a good work horse."

The lightly raced Mr. Mellon has a record of 2-0-1 in four races and has earned $88,080 in his career.

Swale Stakes (GIII) winner Ethan Man breezed five furlongs for trainer Patrick Byrne in 1:00.60. Exercise rider Kevin Wiley was in the saddle as the son of Glitterman galloped out six furlongs in 1:13.80 in a prep for the Coolmore Lexington Stakes (GII) at Keeneland on April 20. Pat Day will ride Ethan Man in his race at Keeneland.

"He's working good," said Byrne. "He's a fast horse and I'm not looking for any speed. He did it nicely in-hand."

Byrne is seriously thinking about a run in the 1 ¼-mile Kentucky Derby (GI) on May 4 by Ethan Man, but the colt must turn in a strong performance in the 1 1/16-mile Coolmore Lexington - his first race around two turns - to remain on that path.

"Even though we're playing catch-up in regards to distance for the Derby, fitness-wise we're right there," said Byrne. "Education-wise, we'll get that in the Lexington. Whether we'll go a mile and a quarter, we won't actually know. First of all, we have to win the Lexington. If we get beat in the Lexington, we're definitely not going to the Derby. "

Ethan Man has raced four times and compiled a record of 3-0-1 with career earnings of $139,955.

Azillion (Ire), a strong runner-up in the Lane's End Spiral (GII) at Turfway Park for trainer Bob Hess, Jr., breezed five furlongs in 1:01.80. The Irish-bred son of Alzao will ship to Keeneland next week to run in the Toyota Blue Grass (GI).

The works by Mr. Mellon and Ethan Man tied as the third-fastest of 24 moves at the distance.

Castle Gandolfo Wins Lingfield Prep - Michael Tabor and Mrs. John Magnier's Castle Gandolfo scored a sharp victory in the Foster's-International Trial at Britain's Lingfield Park Saturday to place himself squarely in the picture for Kentucky Derby 128.

The son of Gone West won by a comfortable 2 ½-lengths under jockey Michael Kinane and covered the one-mile distance on the Polytrack surface, a synthetic surface that simulates dirt, in 1:36.52. He rallied from fifth-place to win easily in a race that had been created as a Kentucky Derby (GI) prep for stablemate Johannesburg, the unbeaten winner of the Breeders' Cup Juvenile (GI) and American's 2-year-old champion of 2001. Irish-based trainer Aidan O'Brien decided to use Sunday's Gladness Stakes at Ireland's The Curragh as Johannesburg's lone Kentucky Derby prep and sent Castle Gandolfo to compete in the Lingfield race.

"It went the way you'd hope," Kinane told The Racing Post. "I got a little behind early, so I just let him sit and coast around them. He's a very high-class colt."

Johannesburg was the favorite at the midway point of Pool 3 of the Kentucky Derby Future Wager. He was listed at 5-1 among the 24 wagering interests in the pool when wagering resumed in 34 states at noon (EST) on Saturday. Castle Gandolfo started the day at odds of 54-1. Wagering in KDFW Pool 3 is scheduled to conclude at 5:30 p.m. (EDT) on Sunday, April 7.

Castle Gandolfo, a son of Gone West, improved his career record to 3-2-0 in five races.

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