By:Tina Lewis – Lewis Stallion Station

That time of year is here, once again, when we need to think about halter breaking and weaning our foals.  Starting the halter breaking process before weaning is optimal as you can use the mare to get a halter on your foal for the first time by trapping the foal against the mare.  Leading them to a small pen first is helpful, as well.   With your left arm under his neck at his chest, use your right hand to grasp his tail at the dock as close to his buttocks as you can get.   Lift it up in the air, firmly.  I call this the brake.  Once you have the foal in this position he will usually stay close to mom and remain fairly quiet while your helper puts a halter on him very quietly and slowly.  Doing this once or twice will get him used to being haltered up and he will be voluntarily sticking his nose into the halter before you know it.  Use the mare while you can.  If your mare is “nasty” you may want to wait to do the halter breaking until after weaning.  Once haltered up, it is usually easiest to have a helper lead the mare while you “pretend” to lead your foal.  He will actually be following his mom but getting the idea of leading and following you and getting used to the halter and the process of putting it on and off.  Practice stops and starts using the voice commands “Walk” and “Whoa”, but always let the foal go to his mom and stay near to her if he wants to.  Make sure to have your helper stop and start the mare along with the foal if you want to be successful.  He will not want to stop if his mom is continuing to walk away.  The best time to play with your foal is while he feels safe, next to his mom.

For weaning, ideally, a foal should be 4-6 months old and should be left in the pen, paddock or pasture that he has been used to and feels most comfortable in when the time comes to wean.   It is best to leave the foal in familiar surroundings by pulling the mare out and leaving the foal behind instead of the other way around.  A babysitter mare or gelding, preferably one that has been a pasture mate since birth, should be left with the foal when the mare is removed.   This leaves the foal with an adult horse he knows and trusts that will help protect and guide.  This first step to weaning your foal can make a potentially stressful day much less so.    A little preparation can make all the difference in the world to the foal’s level of stress on weaning day, as well as the stress of the mare and her owner.

Begin weaning by haltering up the mare or mares one at a time, “peeling” off her foal by leading the mare out of the gate and quickly turning her in the opposite direction of the gate opening.  The foal will usually try to follow mom down the fence line rather than go out the gate behind her.   The pasture or paddock must be sturdy and safe, as the foal will try to get to the mare.  If your mare and foal have been kept in a smaller pen, rather than a pasture, you will want to have a buddy in a pen next to them for a while before weaning so your foal can become friendly with him or her by the time weaning day arrives.  This will lessen the stress on the foal when mom is removed.  I also suggest putting out some type of grain or foal feed, and free choice hay to take the foal’s mind off mom.   This sometimes works to your advantage as the foal may get so busy eating he doesn’t notice right away that you have taken mom away and won’t be trying to push his way out of the gate behind her.  Having more than one mare and foal to wean is helpful too as the foals comfort each other.

Move the mare or mares one at a time to the new pen or pasture preferably somewhere out of sight, and earshot so the mare and foal cannot see or hear each other.  Second best would be out of sight, even if they can still hear each other’s cries.   If space is limited, you can just put a pen or pasture between them.  Putting them in a pen or pasture right next to each other will allow nursing through the fence and defeat the purpose as well as becomes a hazard and potential for injury getting hung up in a fence trying to get to mom.  Mare and foal must be in safe and secure pens with strong and safe fencing.  They will try to get to each other as the mother-child bond is strong.

Once the mare and foal are secure, they will cry for each other for a day or so.  Try to keep both mare and foal comforted with extra hay and grain and lots of fresh water.   Pacing and crying are normal and will subside.  After the foal settles down, continue to feed a good quality grain designed for foals according to the directions on the bag of feed or your Veterinarians advice

A few days after weaning, you should try to get the foal haltered up, led around, feet picked up, groomed, fly sprayed, bathed, vaccinated and de-wormed.  Ask your Veterinarian about vaccinations needed and which de-worming medication is right for your foal, for your area, as well as for the time of year you are weaning.   You can also get an estimate from your Veterinarian of the weight of your foal if you don’t own a weight tape.  We vaccinate and de-worm our mares just before foaling which gives the foal the antibodies in the colostrum when they are born and then vaccinate our foals sometime between 6 and 9 months of age.

Once we have accomplished weaning we need to begin halter breaking if you have not already done so, using the mare.    Start out by approaching the foal down low at first, at eye level so as not to intimidate.  Get down on one knee.   Let the foal come to you.  If the foal has not been handled at all, our first goal is to gain his trust so we can get a halter on and off with ease.  You may need some help the first few times and a very small pen to corner him in so you can get the halter on.  Remember to move slowly.  A catch pen made from panels in the corner of a paddock or pasture works well using some grain and hay as bait to get the foal in it.

Once you have gotten the halter on, make it a pleasant experience so that each time is easier.    Use lots of touching, petting and even patting.  Never leave a halter on a foal in a pasture or pen.  The risk of it catching on something and causing serious injury or even death is far too great.  It may be a little trouble to try to get it back on again but a foal learns quickly and, after all, that is what we are trying to teach them, to allow the halter to be put on and taken off.  If you leave it on you are not teaching him anything and you are endangering his life.

Once you have your foal haltering up easily you should be leading him beginning with a few baby steps.  You may use a butt rope for a little impulsion from behind if you do not have a helper to keep him moving.  Use a soft cotton lead, a non-slip knot and make a good sized loop that sits just on top of the hocks, over the buttocks at the point of the croup with the lead following along his back, down at the withers and then going under the throatlatch, through the halter under his chin and out along the lead rope that is attached to his halter.  Use both the lead rope and the butt rope lead together allowing pressure from the front and the rear of the foal at the same time until the foal learns to give to the pressure from the front.  You can then use just the lead rope attached to his halter and not the butt rope lead and remove it when you don’t feel you need it any longer.  Foals learn very quickly so this may only take a few minutes or it might take a couple of sessions.

Reward even a small step or two with a “good boy” and a pat.  Use small, easy taps and don’t ever just pull on a weanling’s head.  Not quick taps, but a firm, pull and release.  There should be a series of easy, pulls and releases to encourage the foal to step toward you.  Use the voice command, “walk”.  You may sometimes have to “unstick” those front feet by tapping to one side or the other instead of directly forward.  If he takes one step either way you should stop and reward that by releasing the pressure (the taps) and patting and a saying, “good boy”.   Not pulling in a steady pressure on the weanling’s head is one of the most important things to remember.  Pulling causes the weanling to fight and try to find some sort of release from the pressure.  He may begin to rear up.  If he starts to rear and is about to flip over, use sharp taps and quick releases, not hard pulls, remembering to keep the head from hitting the ground (or anything else).  Sometimes you cannot avoid the foal flipping over but keeping his head protected is first and foremost at that point.  You can do this by keeping enough pressure (or putting it on) at the moment when it may hit the ground or any other obstacle with a sharp pull.  Remaining calm and cool headed is very important because the weanling generally isn’t going to be.

Keep training sessions short as his attention span is short and you want to keep it fun for him.  Start with about five or ten minutes and increase that as he grows and learns.  End each session on a good note.  Unfasten, release the halter and walk away from him.  Don’t wait for him to run away from you or try to reach out and pet him (usually unsuccessfully) one last time.  You must remain in control and keep his interest and his respect.

Once your weanling is being caught easily, halters up easily and is leading around the property using the voice command, “walk”.  You will probably have introduced the voice command, “Whoa” at some point in there and will have practiced it as you walk him around his pen or your property.  Now let’s teach him “back”.  Use the voice command “Back” and tap back on the lead rope saying it firmly.  You may tap his chest with the end of the lead to help him understand what you are asking and even physically push his body backward.  Practice these 3 voice commands over and over in no particular order.  Mix it up for him so he does not learn to anticipate the next move.  Once he is leading, walking, backing and stopping on command it is time to stand (not tie) at the hitching rail.  You can wrap the lead rope a time or two around the hitching rail (do not tie it at this point) leaving about 9 inches of lead between him and the rail and begin teaching him about grooming.  If he sets back or pulls at all, he easily and quickly finds release.  Pull it tight again leaving only 9 inches or so and continue to brush and comb the mane and tail, pick up the feet and lightly pick them with a hoof pick, slap the bottom of each hoof with the palm of your hand repeatedly to simulate the farrier.  You can introduce fly spray, give him his first bath starting from the hooves and slowly moving up the legs with the stream of water all the while talking to him and letting him know it is ok.  Talking is important.  Horses respond to our voice and it soothes them.   Do this until the foal is very comfortable at the hitching rail, bathing and no longer “testing” the lead rope.  You can then wrap it three times around and eventually tie it in a quick release knot that can be untied quickly in the case of panic and pulling back.

The next thing you want to do with your weanling while walking him all around your property, is lead him up to a trailer that is safely attached to a vehicle and quietly and calmly let him familiarize himself with it so he is not afraid.  Have the door to the trailer open.  Be very patient.  You will need to step up into the trailer and use the same light pull and release taps on his head to keep him facing and looking into the trailer.  Do not pull on his head or try to force him into the trailer.  When the time is right, when he is calm and relaxed and interested…ask him to step up into it.  This could take a day or so.  Do it with no pressure or stress and he will eventually walk right in, especially if you use some hay and grain to entice him to come into the trailer with you.  If he gets halfway in and wants to back out…let him.  Then begin again.  Do this each time you work with your weanling now until he jumps right in.   Once he has gone in, walk him in and out of it, over and over until he leaps up into it with confidence.  Then just let him stand in the trailer awhile.  You can wrap the lead around and let him stand and eat some hay.  Brush and groom him.  Make it pleasant and fun.  Your foal is now weaned, halter broke and ready to go somewhere.  So let’s take him somewhere.   A broke, gentle and calm horse starts with good, solid groundwork.  There is so much groundwork to be done before you toss that saddle on.   Groundwork that will prepare him for the day you take that first ride.  That day will be here before you know it.

An Interview with; D. Kirk Eddleman

Assistant Hospital Administrator, Texas A&M

More than 40 veterinarians, 8-10 resident interns and 130 veterinary specialists on staff. State of the art equipment including a Telemetry Unit, ventilator units and an Anderson sling just to name a few. An intensive care unit for both large animals and foals which resembles a human hospital more than an animal hospital. A staffed facility opened 24/7 throughout the year! Sounds like a facility we all wish was close enough to utilize. Well, it may be closer than you think!

Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine was officially established in 1916 by the Texas Legislature. The first hospital barn however was built in 1888. We as Texans are extremely fortunate to have such a cutting edge facility right here in our own backyard. While most people consider the hospital for emergencies only, it is a full service hospital offering all types of services from surgery to reproduction to dentistry and more. They can do procedures from simple floats to animals needing intensive care. We hope to help you see into the walls of Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine, see what they have to offer, learn about their equipment and understand how the hospital works.

There are more than five hundred students currently enrolled as professional students in the DVM, Department of Veterinary Medicine, program at Texas A&M University. There are four classes each with 120 – 130 students. Approximately 10 – 20% of those individuals plan to be large animal or equine veterinarians. This number can vary from year to year.

What makes Texas A&M University so unique is that as a teaching hospital they have to be familiar with all the new technology, procedures and medications in order to keep their students on top of the veterinary world. What that means for us as a consumer is that if it is available, Texas A&M will be already utilizing it on a daily basis. This gives both them as well as us the unique opportunity to give our horses the best veterinary and up to date options science has to offer.

The hospital is simply amazing. Mr. Eddleman, Assistant Hospital Administrator at Texas A&M described it best when he said; “We are much more like a human hospital than a private veterinary practice. With multiple departments, services, laboratories, business functions, residents and interns, rounds, etc. our hospital operations are very similar to those in human hospitals. We utilize state of the art diagnostic imaging technologies, such as computer radiology, nuclear scientography, CT, etc. and employ highly trained staff.”

The Department of Large Animal Clinical Sciences employs more than 40 veterinarians with specialties in just about every area of large animal medicine and surgery. These include Food Animal Medicine & Surgery, Equine Orthopedic Surgery, Equine Soft Tissue Surgery, Equine Lameness, Emergency & Critical Care, Ophthalmology, Radiology, Equine Dentistry, Internal Medicine, Infectious Diseases & Environmental Health, Equine Theriogenology (Reproduction), Zoological Medicine and more. The majority of these veterinarians are Board Certified in their specialties – which means they have complete three years of residency training under a boarded specialist, logged the required number of cases and passed a grueling exam. In addition, the hospital has 8 -10 residents and interns. These are veterinarians who want to further their education and become board certified in a specialty area of veterinary medicine. Furthermore, there are more than 130 veterinary specialists in other disciplines employed by the College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences with whom their clinicians can refer to. While most of us may not know what a majority of these specialties are, Texas A&M is ready to put these individuals into action when needed to help save a life.

As some of you may know, Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicines veterinarians, technical staff, and facilities are among the best in the world. They have established multiple contingency plans and have systems in place to handle virtually any situation they are faced with. Texas A&M University’s Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital is open for emergencies 24-hours a day, 365 days per year making it a useful resource we all can utilize.

With foaling season already upon us the remainder of this article will focus on the Neonatal Large Aniaml ICU. I have seen the Large Animal Hospital, ICU and Neonatal ICU personally and it is simply amazing. Words cannot describe what you feel when you witness such a facility and cutting edge equipment for the first time. You hardly feel as if you are in an “animal” hospital at all. It is a place that if given the opportunity you should take a drive and witness this state of the art facility for yourself.

Foals are treated in the Large Animal ICU. Spring is the busiest time for the LA ICU as you can imagine. The staff can be faced with foals unable to stand and nurse to ones with major fractures needing supportive care. Several of the faculty clinicians are experts in the field of neonatal medicine and with board certification in either Emergency & Critical Care or Equine Medicine. In addition, LA ICU technicians receive extensive training in caring for and treating sick foals. A comforting thought when we are trying to save a sometimes very expensive investment.

The LA ICU is equipped with special tools and supplies to care for sick foals. They maintain a large stock of feeding supplies, milk supplements, starter feeds, and other items. It is common for foals to be tube fed or bottle fed when they are too sick to stand. As they improve, they are trained to nurse the mare or in the case of orphans, they are trained to drink from a pan.

Frequently, neonatal foals require continuous oxygen support, and a variety of fluids and plasma products. The LA ICU was specifically designed with foals in mind. The LA ICU is equipped with three large specially designed mare-foal stalls that allow them to separate and treat sick foals without removing them from the mare, ensuring the mare/foal bond as well as a less stressful situation for the foal. In addition, the LA ICU utilizes several rolling foal cages that can be placed inside or outside of the stall or rolled into the neonatal unit as needed. When I saw one of these cages it reminded me of a large steel crib. The neonatal unit is a part of the LA ICU designed to provide care to neonates (especially orphans) requiring very intensive care. Additionally, all the foal stalls and cages can be padded with custom-made pads to prevent the foals from injuring themselves.

Good nursing is crucial when caring for sick foals. Because foals can be so labor-intense, the Texas A&M staff has organized a group of approximately 100 student volunteers which they call the Foal Squad. They are available 24 hours a day / 7 days a week.

Until next month and Part Two of our series on Texas A&M.

By Tom Luicci/The Star-Ledger

May 16, 2010, 7:34PM

Brian Spurlock/US PresswireMartin Garcia on Lookin At Lucky celebrates after winning the 2010 Preakness Stakes.Bob Baffert called Monmouth Park officials on Friday to cancel the eight stalls he’d requested for the thoroughbred meet that opens Saturday at the Shore track, telling them he was going to remain in California for the summer.

Except for one race, that is.

“After he canceled the stalls he said, ‘I’ll see you at the Haskell,’ ’’ Monmouth Park vice president and general manager Bob Kulina said today.

A day after Lookin At Lucky gave Baffert his fifth Preakness Stakes victory, the Hall of Fame trainer announced his colt would pass on the Belmont Stakes in favor of some well-deserved rest. His first race back, Baffert said, would be the $1 million Haskell Invitational on Aug. 1 at Monmouth Park.

If things break right, that could mean a rematch with Kentucky Derby winner Super Saver in the track’s showcase event.

“For being in the middle of May, I’d say we’re in great shape (to get both),” Kulina said. “Right now, this is as good a scenario as we could hope for. The Kentucky Derby and Preakness winners are trained by guys who are Monmouth friendly, they’re skipping the Belmont Stakes and we’re the next Grade 1 (for 3-year-olds).”

Baffert is tied with Jimmy Croll and Sonny Hine for most Haskell victories with three, winning with Roman Ruler in 2005, War Emblem in 2002 and Point Given in 2001.

But Todd Pletcher, who trains Siper Saver, has won the race twice, doing so with Any Given Saturday in 2007 and Bluegrass Cat in 2006.

Pletcher also has the maximum 36 stalls at Monmouth for the track’s “Million Dollar Meet” that starts Saturday. Monmouth will race 50 days – mostly on a revised Friday through Sunday schedule – and will average a nation-leading $1 million per day in purse money.

“I think the Haskell is in a very strong position,” Kulina said. “Now we have to hope the winner of the Belmont is a trainer we have a history with so we can get all three winners (of Triple Crown races).”

Baffert said Lookin At Lucky, the beaten Kentucky Derby favorite, needs the time off after four demanding races in a row. The trainer may be represented instead by Game on Dude in a Belmont Stakes that will be without the Kentucky Derby or Preakness winner for the second time since 2006.

“It’s a tough, long race,” he said of the Belmont Stakes. “When I ran my other horses for the Triple Crown I had to give them a break. It’s tough on them. I want to keep this horse around.”

Pletcher, who ended an 0-for-24 Kentucky Derby drought with Super Saver’s victory, has already said that Louisiana Derby winner Mission Impazible will be pointed for the Haskell. Super Saver fizzled to eighth in Saturday’s Preakness, with Pletcher saying the colt would get a break now. He did not announce the horse’s comeback plans.

The Belmont Stakes, meanwhile, will be headlined by a pair of Triple Crown runners-up: Florida Derby winner Ice Box, second in the Kentucky Derby, and First Dude, second by three-quarters of a length to Lookin At Lucky in the Preakness, are the marquee colts going forward.

by John Asher

SUPER SAVER (first), MISSION IMPAZIBLE (ninth), DEVIL MAY CARE (10th), DISCREETLY MINE (13th) – It was shortly after 5 a.m. on Sunday following Kentucky Derby 136 and trainer Todd Pletcher was at his barn and overseeing his first set of horses as they readied for gallops on a stormy spring morning.

The previous day Pletcher had climbed the mountain he’d been working on for the past nine years, winning the world’s most famous race with a racy colt named Super Saver aided by a late-blooming racing star named Calvin Borel.

The numbers flowed in almost stark contrast – Pletcher lightening the load of an 0-for-24 run in the Run for the Roses to a much sweeter 1-for-28, while Borel, the Cajun journeyman who seemingly has been reborn at Churchill Downs, registering an unprecedented third Derby tally in the past four years.

Borel somehow got a colt who never had been more than a few lengths off the lead in any of his races to sit well behind a fast pace, then used a rail trip that has become his trademark to zoom the bay clear of traffic and home by 2 1/2 lengths on a sloppy and sealed racing strip.

Referring to his four Derby runners, Pletcher reported they had all come out of their 10-furlong battles in good order and each was walked on the shedrow at Barn 34 as a hard rain fell outside.

Did the trainer sleep last night?

“A little bit,” he said.

How did he celebrate his big win?

“We went back to our hotel and had some dinner with family and friend, like we always do,” he said. “Though I must say this one was more fun.”

Super Saver, who races in the silks of WinStar Farm, is now likely bound for the Preakness on May 15 at Pimlico in Baltimore as he takes the next step on the Triple Crown trail, according to the conditioner. Indications were that he’d ship him to Maryland on May 12.

In the case of the Glencrest Farm’s filly Devil May Care, who finished 10th in the 20-horse field, Pletcher said she would not be considered for the Preakness. That was the case also with E. Paul Robsham Stables’ Discreetly Mine, who finished 13th.

But with ninth-place finisher Mission Impazible, owned by Twin Creek Racing Stables, the jury was still out. “We’ll take a couple of days and think about him running there,” Pletcher said.

ICE BOX (second), JACKSON BEND (12th) – After reporting that both of his Derby starters were doing well Sunday morning, trainer Nick Zito couldn’t help but wonder if he would have had his third Kentucky Derby winner had Robert LaPenta’s Ice Box received a less troubled trip under jockey Jose Lezcano.

“It was kind of great to see Ice Box run so well. You salute WinStar, but you always say what could have been,” said the Hall of Fame trainer, who has saddled Strike the Gold (1991) and Go for Gin (1994) for Derby victories. “If you just read the chart, he was steadied three times – not once, but three times. So, it’s got to be disappointing.”

Ice Box was steadied early before settling back in 19th during the early going. The son of Pulpit made a strong inside move before getting blocked and steadied at the top of the stretch. He was steadied again during the stretch run before making a last surge to fall short of winning by 2 ½ lengths.

“It was a tough race to lose, obviously, but a great race to be thankful for. We have to be thankful for the horse we’ve got, and knock wood, it looks like he came back good; that’s the most important thing,” Zito said. “He definitely had an excuse, that’s for sure. The winner was very good and Ice Box was just as good, that’s for sure. He was just as good as the winner; he just didn’t get the chance to win.

“I don’t like making excuses, but even if you read the paper a little bit, you’ll see he was checked not once but three times. He ran a winning race. He runs even harder than the winner.”

Zito was far from disappointed with Jacks or Better Farm and LaPenta’s Jackson Bend’s effort in which he had to alter course under Mike Smith on the turn into the homestretch.

“Jackson Bend came back good. He’s a tough little guy,” he said. “Mike said he didn’t beat him up. He had to be checked at a bad time.”

Zito didn’t sound enthusiastic of running Ice Box back in the Preakness at Pimlico on Mary 15.

“I won’t make a decision until next week. I want to see how the horses are. If you start with Ice Box, he had six weeks for this race, so you have to train him pretty hard, so it’s not necessarily easy to come back in two weeks,” Zito said. “Jackson Bend, believe it or not, is a tough little guy. We’ll see about him and talk to Bob, but I’m not going to make any decisions now, that’s for sure.”

Both Ice Box and Jackson Bend will remain at Churchill Downs while their connections decide upon their next starts.

Should he decide to pass on the Preakness with Ice Box, Zito said he’d have no trouble training the Florida Derby (GI) winner up to the Belmont Stakes.

“That’s easy for Nick Zito,” cracked Zito, who brought back Birdstone from an eighth-place finish in the 2004 Derby for an upset victory over Triple Crown hopeful Smarty Jones in the Belmont Stakes.

PADDY O’PRADO (third) – Baldemar Bahena, assistant to Dale Romans, reported that Donegal Racing’s Paddy O’Prado “came back fine and ate up” after his Kentucky Derby run. “He is good this morning.” Romans said that he had no immediate plans for Paddy O’Prado but that the Preakness was under consideration with a decision possible later in the week.

MAKE MUSIC FOR ME (fourth) – Trainer Alexis Barba expressed pleasure with both the performance of Peter and Ellen Johnson’s Make Music for Me and the manner in which the son of Bernstein came out of his late-closing, fourth-place Derby finish.

“I feel great. He’s a great little horse. He’s fabulous. He ran a winning race as far as I’m concerned,” said Barba, whose colt closed from last place in the 20-horse field to finish fourth under Joel Rosario in his first start on a dirt track.

The Southern California-based trainer said a final decision on a possible Preakness start has not been made, but that Make Music for Me will remain at Churchill Downs for a few days before being shipped to Keeneland.

NOBLE’S PROMISE (fifth) – Chasing Dreams Racing 2008’s Noble’s Promise is headed back to trainer Ken McPeek’s Magdalena Farm in Lexington on Monday “to be a horse for a couple of days,” McPeek assistant Philip Bauer said Sunday.

Noble’s Promise had the lead at the quarter pole under Willie Martinez, but was overtaken by Super Saver and Calvin Borel.

“To be in the lead in the Derby is pretty thrilling,” Bauer said. “When I saw they went :46 and 1:10, I was worried he might be too close (to the pace). He left everything out there. You couldn’t ask him to run any harder.”

McPeek said the Preakness would be discussed in the coming days along with the possibility of going to Royal Ascot for the St. James’ Palace (Group I) to be run at a mile on the grass on June 15.

“We will see how it looks like the Preakness is shaping up, but I would say now it is doubtful but not out of the question,” McPeek said. “He may not come back to Churchill Downs. If he goes to the Preakness, he would probably ship from my farm to Pimlico. If he goes to Royal Ascot, he would train at my farm and at Keeneland.”

LOOKIN AT LUCKY (sixth), CONVEYANCE (15th) – Trainer Bob Baffert’s Derby duo of Zabeel Racing International’s Conveyance and Pegram, Watson and Weitman Performances’ Lookin At Lucky returned from their mile and a quarter foray in Kentucky Derby 136 “in good order,” according to the white-haired conditioner.

“They’re all good,” the trainer said Sunday morning. “I’m not sure what we’re going to do with them next. It’ll be the end of the week before we make a call on that.”

Conveyance cut out the pace for the first seven furlongs of the 10-furlong Derby before running out of steam and finally finishing 15th in the 20-horse field. Lookin At Lucky, who was roughed up early in the race and virtually lost all chance, did well to finish sixth in the Run for the Roses.

“Tough luck; what are you going to do,” Baffert said.

DUBLIN (Seventh) – Trainer D. Wayne Lukas said that Robert Baker and William Mack’s Dublin likely would be headed to Baltimore for the second leg of the Triple Crown in the Preakness Stakes (GI) on May 15.

“It’s tough to make a decision the day after the race, but I would say more than likely he will go,” Lukas said. “He’s fine this morning and came out of the race good.”

Lukas had pleasure of watching one of his former assistants, Todd Pletcher, win his first Kentucky Derby with Super Saver.

“I am really happy for Todd. It was great,” Lukas said. “He’ll be back (with a chance to win more Derbies), no doubt about it.”

Lukas also said that Westrock Stables’ Tidal Pool, third to Blind Luck in Friday’s Kentucky Oaks (GI), would not be going to Pimlico for the May 14 Black-Eyed Susan Stakes (GII).

STATELY VICTOR (eighth), DEAN’S KITTEN (14th) – Tom and Jack Conway’s Stately Victor and Ken and Sarah Ramsey’s Dean’s Kitten left Churchill Downs at 7 o’clock Sunday morning for the short van ride to the Trackside Training Center where trainer Mike Maker awaited them.

They look good this morning,” Maker said. “They both came out of their races fine.”Maker said that Stately Victor, winner of the Toyota Blue Grass Stakes (GI) in his race prior to the Kentucky Derby, would be pointed to the Belmont Stakes (GI) on June 5.

That’s the plan now,” Maker said. “He would stay here and then possibly go to Belmont the week of the race. Dean’s Kitten will be pointed to something at Arlington Park or possibly the grass series at Colonial Downs.”

AMERICAN LION (11th) – The big WinStar Farm colt American Lion walked the shedrow at Barn 41 Sunday morning, then was placed on a trailer and shipped to Keeneland in the aftermath of his run in Kentucky Derby 136 Saturday.

“I’ll keep him at Keeneland for the next few weeks while we figure out what’s next for him,” trainer Eoin Harty said. “Thank God he came out of the Derby OK and we’ll just go on from here.”

American Lion was bumped early in the 10-furlong classic, then raced wide in the 20-horse field. He managed to finish 11th behind winner Super Saver.

HOMEBOYKRIS (16th) – Trainer Rick Dutrow reported Sunday morning that Louis Lazzinnaro and partners’ Homeboykris came out of the Kentucky Derby in fine shape.

“I want to blame it on the track. But he probably didn’t want to run that far and he probably didn’t want to run with horses that good,” said Dutrow, who saddled Big Brown for a Kentucky Derby victory in 2008. “He did throw a front shoe, but he’s OK.

“He cooled out fine (Saturday) and walked fine this morning. He was just in the wrong spot and the wrong time.”

Dutrow said he had no immediate plans for Homeboykris other than to return his 3-year-old gelding to New York to regroup.

“We’re going to figure it out,” he said. “We’re not going to retire him. He’s a gelding.”

SIDNEY’S CANDY (17th), LINE OF DAVID (18th) – Ike and Dawn Thrash’s Line of David and Sid and Jenny Craig Trust’s Sidney’s Candy walked the shedrow at Barn 42 Sunday morning following their forwardly placed journeys in Kentucky Derby 136 Saturday.

The two John Sadler-trained colts, both of whom were up close in the chase of leader Conveyance through the early part of the 10-furlong Derby, had surrendered to weariness and finished well back – Sidney’s Candy in 17th and Line of David in 18th.

Assistant trainer Larry Benavidez reported that both horses seemed to be fine following their journey.

Sadler had arranged for a plane on Tuesday to take several of the nine-horse contingent he had brought from California to Kentucky back home and his two Derby colts will be part of that ship.

One Sadler runner, the Thrashs’ Hurricane Ike, who captured The Cliff’s Edge Derby Trial (GIII) on opening day of the current Churchill Downs meet, is likely to ship from Louisville to Baltimore to run in the May 15 Preakness Stakes.

AWESOME ACT (19th) – Vinery Stables and Mrs. Susan Roy’s Awesome Act was none the worse for wear Sunday morning while his connections were still trying to solve the mystery surrounding his dismal showing under jockey Julien Leparoux.

“It was surprising. Julien was lost for an explanation. He settled. He just didn’t pick up,” said Wayne Tanner, assistant to British trainer Jeremy Noseda. “We thought he’d go in slop. Whether he got a lot of kick-back and he wouldn’t go forward in it, I don’t know. We’re just guessing.

“He didn’t blow very long; he was bright enough after the race. Maybe, he just didn’t let himself down on a sloppy track,” Tanner added. “No complaints; he won the Gotham (GIII) and finished third in a Grade 1 in the Wood Memorial. Unfortunately, it didn’t happen (Saturday).”

Awesome Act will remain at Churchill Downs, where he’ll join the stable of trainer Steve Asmussen, who had aided in the training of the Gotham Stakes winner during his spring campaign in the absence of Noseda.

BACKTALK (20th) – Frank Bernis, assistant to trainer Tom Amoss, said “everything is perfect today,” after the Gold Mark Farm runner finished last in the Kentucky Derby.

“Everything looked good in the race,” Bernis said. “I didn’t see any trouble and (jockey) Miguel (Mena) didn’t mention any trouble to Tom. He will stay here for a while until they plan what to do next.”