It was a hold-your-breath moment for trainer John Ennis and millions of viewers May 2 when Great White flipped behind the gate and landed on his back as the field loaded into the Kentucky Derby (G1) starting gate, leading to his late scratch.
Luckily, the massive gray and/or roan Volatile gelding bounced right back onto his feet as if nothing had happened, and his normal energetic personality never left him in the following days, telling Ennis' eye that he had emerged unscathed.
Still, with the Preakness Stakes (G1) looming May 16, Ennis, who co-owns the gelding with Three Chimneys Farm, needed to make sure every box was checked before putting Great White back in the entry box. So, just a little before 6 a.m. ET May 9, Ennis himself mounted Great White's saddle to breeze a half-mile at The Thoroughbred Center near Lexington.
"He came out of the accident Saturday perfect. His energy levels were high all week," Ennis said. "I knew he was sound, I knew there was not an issue with him. He was bouncing here all week, he was bouncing after he came back (to the barn after the Derby), and was checked over thoroughly. I just wanted to get a feel for myself; how does he feel going fast?
"You can ask riders how he's doing, and the majority of them will say 'good.' But to actually do it yourself and know how he felt is worth its weight in gold."
Ennis had been on the gelding's back in the past, but never going at high speed. He said feeling every movement of the horse can reveal many things that could be hard for the eye to decipher on its own.
The work itself was among the slowest half-mile breezes of the morning, timed in :52 1/5 outside of company, but it did its job in telling Ennis what he needed to know. He firsthand could feel the gelding's responsiveness, high cruising speed, and multiple gears.
"Everything's easy for him," Ennis said.
Great White (outside without light) breezed this morning at The Thoroughbred Center near Lexington in advance of a possible start in the @PreaknessStakes. Trainer @johnennis35 was in the saddle. pic.twitter.com/ywvqtj4Xrg
— Sean Collins (@BH_SCollins) May 9, 2026
Most importantly, Ennis felt how Great White needs a target. That could be assumed from his most recent race, the April 4 Blue Grass Stakes (G1), where he was the pacesetter before fading to fifth, but now Ennis could feel the gelding waiting on his work partner Saturday morning. Once he put a head in front down the stretch, he asked the rider of the inner workmate to come back and keep him engaged.
"As soon as he went to the front, he kind of pulled himself up," Ennis said. "He's a horse that needs targets, that's going to be key for him. Once he has something in front of him or once in company, he's a different horse."
Ennis will likely get back aboard Great White May 10 to jog the gelding and feel how his energy levels are coming out of the work. Should all signs be positive, Great White will head to Laurel Park for the Preakness.
"I just want to see his energy levels," Ennis said. "Once his energy levels are high and he's coming off the track jumping around and bouncing, then I'd say it's a green light."
Great White has started four times. Prior to the Blue Grass, his only race on dirt, he raced three times on Tapeta at Turfway Park, winning a Dec. 12 maiden race on debut, finishing fifth in the Jan. 17 Leonatus Stakes, and defeating subsequent Jeff Ruby Steaks (G3) winner Fulleffort in taking the Feb. 21 John Battaglia Memorial Stakes in his third start.
