Tom Pedulla is interviewing prominent owners, trainers and jockeys as they travel the Road to the 151st Kentucky Derby presented by Woodford Reserve on May 3 at Churchill Downs.

Veteran Woodbine trainer John Charalambous (Woodbine/Michael Burns)

This week’s installment features veteran Canadian trainer John Charalambous, who is attempting to take an uncommon path to the Derby. For one thing, Scorching is an Ontario-bred. Beyond that, the Mo Town colt has never run on dirt through three starts at Woodbine, which features turf in addition to racing on Tapeta Footings, an all-weather surface.

The dark bay or brown Scorching owns a pair of stakes victories against Canadian-breds, taking the 6 ½-furlong Simcoe Stakes on Tapeta in his second start last August before an Oct. 6 win in the 1 1/16-mile Cup and Saucer Oct. 6 on grass. In the latter, he benefitted when stewards disqualified the horse that crossed the finish line first for interference.

Charalambous, at the urging of co-owners Paul Braverman and Timothy Pinch, will learn much more about Scorching when he competes in the March 1 Gotham Stakes at Aqueduct. The one-mile dirt race offers Derby qualifying points to the top five finishers on a 50-25-15-10-5 basis.

Charalambous, 65, spoke about Scorching’s quality, the challenges of preparing a young horse at Belmont Park during a particularly cold winter, and his longshot Derby dream during a question-and-answer session conducted on behalf of America’s Best Racing.

PEDULLA: How long have you been a trainer?

CHARALAMBOUS: This is my 44th year. I’ve been training since I was 22.

PEDULLA: How soon did you see ability in Scorching?

Scorching winning the Simcoe Stakes on an all-weather surface. (Michael Burns/Woodbine)

CHARALAMBOUS: I didn’t know how nice he was until I breezed him a couple of times before his first race [when he ran second, going 5 1/2 furlongs on Tapeta at Woodbine]. I breezed him with some nice horses and he was very good.

PEDULLA: How early did you start thinking Derby?

CHARALAMBOUS: I didn’t know about this plan for the Derby until the end of November. The owners, Paul Braverman and Timothy Pinch, thought we had one of the best 2-year-olds in Canada and they wanted to pursue the dream of the Kentucky Derby.

PEDULLA: Do you agree with taking the shot?

CHARALAMBOUS: They have a dream. If it works, great. If not, we’ll point to the King’s Plate [at Woodbine] in August. That’s our premier race for Canadian-breds.

PEDULLA: Beyond his results, what gives you confidence in Scorching?

CHARALAMBOUS: This horse likes competition. When he’s around other horses, he’s very aggressive. He’s an extremely laid-back colt. Very smart. Extremely smart.

PEDULLA: How big a test will the Gotham be?

CHARALAMBOUS: Whether he can take the next step to face higher-quality horses remains to be seen. We’re going from a big fish in a small pond to maybe a small fish in a big pond. We’ll see what happens.

PEDULLA: The will to win is so important. I imagine a horse has that or it doesn’t.

CHARALAMBOUS: You can’t train that. That’s just the way he is. He’s definitely one of the easiest 2-year-olds I’ve ever trained. He’s one of the easiest colts I’ve ever trained.

PEDULLA: How long has he been training at Belmont Park to prepare for the Gotham?

CHARALAMBOUS: He’s been training here since Jan. 1.

PEDULLA: Has the unusually cold winter set him back?

CHARALAMBOUS: We haven’t had a great winter here or actually anywhere. I haven’t missed any training with him. I haven’t been able to train him maybe as aggressively as I’d like. But I haven’t missed any training with him and hopefully I will have him ready for the race on March 1.

PEDULLA: He’s won on all-weather and turf. How do you know whether he can handle dirt?

Scorching, near, winning a stakes race on turf at Woodbine. (Woodbine/Michael Burns)

CHARALAMBOUS: I’ll be honest with you, you have to run on it to know. He trained on it pretty consistently at Woodbine. He was exposed to dirt training all the time, really. But the dirt surface here is a little deeper. He had to get used to that when he first got here. It’s not an issue breezing on it. We’ll see how he handles it when he runs.

PEDULLA: It sounds as though, from everything you are seeing, dirt will not be an issue.

CHARALAMBOUS: Correct. I don’t think it will be an issue. It’s whether he’s good enough, that’s all. I don’t think the surface is going to be an issue.

PEDULLA: What do you need to see in the Gotham to take another step on the Derby trail?

CHARALAMBOUS: That’s going to be an upper-management decision. From a trainer’s perspective, I want to see a good effort. If he gets a little tired, that’s fine. He needs to show a good, competitive race and be part of the mix for most of the race.

PEDULLA: Do you have concerns about his fitness level?

CHARALAMBOUS: Like I say, it’s been challenging here with the weather. I haven’t been able to train him as aggressively as I would like some mornings because the track has been a little deep. But he’ll be fit enough. I just hope I have him ready and on his “A” game. I’m really happy with where he’s at right now.

PEDULLA: You’ve been in the game a long time. What keeps you going?

CHARALAMBOUS: When I first went to the racetrack, the aura and the atmosphere and the competitiveness pulled me in. After I graduated from high school, I said, “This is what I want to do.” As soon as I got on the backside, I said, “This is me.”

PEDULLA: How big do you expect your barn to be this season?

CHARALAMBOUS: We’re going to have maybe nine or 10 horses. I’m kind of winding down a bit, which is fine. You get a little older and your body parts don’t work as well. I’m pretty hands on. I don’t know how much longer I will do it because you want to enjoy some travel time after you’re finished.

PEDULLA: Is it exciting to you to prepare a horse for a Derby prep race?

CHARALAMBOUS: As March 1 gets closer, I’m getting excited. I’m really looking forward to it. We’ll go as far as we can go. If you can’t dream in this game, you shouldn’t be in it. So, let’s dream.