Bruce Lunsford

There was no easy ride for heavily-favored ART COLLECTOR (c, 3, Bernardini--Distorted Legacy, by Distorted Humor) in Sunday's Runhappy Ellis Park Derby, as he was pressured hard on the front end throughout, but in the end it made little difference, as the streaking bay turned away all challengers to cement himself as one of the favorites for the GI Kentucky Derby. Breaking sharply at 2-5, Art Collector made the lead on his own power under Brian Hernandez, Jr. while being kept a bit off the rail heading into the clubhouse...

All eyes will be on Art Collector (Bernardini) as he looks to go four-for-four on the year and punch his ticket to Louisville in Sunday's $200,000 Runhappy Ellis Park Derby. After airing over subsequent GIII Indiana Derby hero Shared Sense (Street Sense) in an optional claimer at Churchill Downs June 13, the Bruce Lunsford homebred followed up with another impressive performance capturing Keeneland's GII Toyota Blue Grass S. July 11, his second straight victory with a triple digit Beyer Speed Figure. "I'm just hoping for a good clean trip more...

"The Homeboy, I call him: the Louisville Homeboy." Bruce Lunsford gives a proud chuckle. "With Tommy, and Brian, we've made it an all-Louisville crowd. So that's kind of fun. In fact, when we laid out a plan, one of the good things was that we could get all the way to the Breeders' Cup without leaving Kentucky. I think that's an advantage, but who knows?" One thing he does know: he would prefer to cede the limelight to those unsung horsemen, Tom Drury, Jr. and Brian Hernandez, Jr. But if...

Bruce Lundsford's Art Collector (Bernardini), winner of the GII Toyota Blue Grass S. in his latest start, worked over a muddy Churchill Downs track Saturday morning. Trained by Tom Drury, the colt carved out fractions of :12.80 and :24.60 before galloping out five furlongs in 1:01.20 and six panels in 1:14.80. "It's so nice to have a horse who is versatile and can really run over any surface," said Drury. "He did everything very easily this morning and it was really just a perfect work. We are still taking things...

Bruce Lunsford's Art Collector (Bernardini), who entered the GI Kentucky Derby discussion with a solid victory in the GII Toyota Blue Grass S. at Keeneland July 11, went an easy four furlongs in :49 flat Saturday morning at Churchill Downs. The homebred colt is slated for a final prep in the $200,000 Runhappy Ellis Park Derby Aug. 9. Brian Hernandez, Jr. was in the irons. "He's fit; we weren't looking for much today," trainer Tom Drury, Jr., said. "Just a little maintenance half-mile, let him stretch his legs a little....

Bruce Lunsford's GII Toyota Blue Grass S. winner Art Collector (Bernardini) will run in the $200,000 Runhappy Ellis Park Derby Aug. 9, trainer Tom Drury told the Ellis Park notes team. The Runhappy Ellis Park Derby, with its purse doubled and distance extended from a mile to 1 1/8 miles, this year carries GI Kentucky Derby qualifying points. The winner receives 50 points toward qualifying for the Sept. 5 Derby, a number that virtually assures a spot in the 20-horse field at Churchill Downs. The runner-up receives 20 points, with...

Maybe he was just born too beautiful, and too rich, to be setting the alarm every single morning and riding the same suburban train to work. He can leave the maximisation of income, the humdrum consistency, to lesser creatures. Like some aristocratic dilettante touched by genius, however, Bernardini (A.P. Indy) remains ever capable of producing a masterpiece. The Darley stallion had lately become so slack--only two graded stakes winners in each of the past two years--that this spring he suffered his third consecutive cut, to just $40,000, having commanded a...

Bruce Lunsford's GII Toyota Blue Grass S. winner Art Collector (Bernardini) returned to trainer Tom Drury's Skylight Training Center base in Goshen, Kentucky Saturday night and options for the colt's next start are still open. "I am going to get with Bruce in the next couple of days and figure out what we will do," Drury said. "Art Collector will stay at Skylight for a little while because it is quieter there and then like we have done before, two weeks or so before he runs we will bring him...

Bruce Lunsford homebred Art Collector (Bernardini) put his name in the hat for the Sept. 5 GI Kentucky Derby with a victory in the GII Toyota Blue Grass S. at Keeneland Saturday. Engaged in a three-way duel for control through the opening stages, the 2-1 shot ended up a close third just off MGSW filly Swiss Skydiver (Daredevil) and Shivaree (Awesome of Course) as the first quarter went in :23.25. Maintaining that position while running off the fence through a :46.61 half-mile, the dark bay ranged up menacingly outside of...

There is paying your dues and then there is the story of Tom Drury, Jr. Thirty-eight years after he started his training career at age 18, Drury will go into Saturday's GII Toyota Blue Grass S. at Keeneland with an outstanding chance of winning a prestigious $600,000 race that could be a gateway to the GI Kentucky Derby. His Art Collector (Bernardini) is the co-second choice on the morning line at 5-1 and is coming off a 6 1/2-length win in an allowance race at Churchill Downs. A win would...

Jrita Young Thoroughbreds' Man in the Can (Can the Man) will be aimed at the July 11 GII Toyota Blue Grass S. at Keeneland following his allowance score as the 5-2 favorite at Churchill Friday (video). "That sure was an impressive turn of foot," trainer Ron  Moquett said of his charge's 1 1/2-length victory in the nine-furlong event. "I wasn't expecting him to go off as that big of a favorite, but he ran against some stiff Arky-bred competition in his last couple of starts at Oaklawn. I think the...