Preakness
Addition of Cyber Secret Lifts Triple Crown Nominee Total to 398
The roster of 3-year-old Thoroughbreds nominated to compete in the classic races of the American Triple Crown has grown by one with the addition of Charles J Cella’s Cyber Secret, who was omitted from the initial roster of 397 early nominations because of a clerical error.
This year’s 398th nominee is a Kentucky-bred son of Broken Vow trained by Lynn Whiting, who scored his only victory in a Triple Crown race with W.C. Partee’s Lil E. Tee in the 1992 Kentucky Derby (Grade I). Cyber Secret collected his second win in four career starts in a 5 ¼-length victory in a 1 1/16-mile allowance race at Oaklawn Park on Feb. 4. He started his career with trainer Chad Brown, but was transferred to Whiting when the colt was purchased privately by Cella after a seventh-place run behind WinStar Farm’s unbeaten Triple Crown nominee Gemologist in the Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes (GII) on Nov. 28 at Churchill Downs.
Officials at Churchill Downs said information on Cyber Secret was not added to the list of early nominees after a Triple Crown representative took the nomination at Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs, Ark. prior to the close of the early nominations for the three-race series. Stewards at the Louisville track approved the addition of the colt’s name to the list of early nominees, which was released to the public on Saturday, Feb. 4.
This year’s early nomination period, during which each nomination was accompanied by a $600 fee, closed on Saturday, Jan. 21. A late period for nominations – which requires each nomination to be accompanied by a $6,000 fee – will conclude on Saturday, March 24.
The 2012 Triple Crown series begins on Saturday, May 5 with the $2 million-guaranteed 138th running of the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (GI) at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky. The second jewel of the Triple Crown is the 137th running of the $1 million Preakness Stakes (GI), which will be run on Saturday, May 19, at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Md. The American classic series concludes with the 144th running of the Belmont Stakes (GI) on Saturday, June 9 at New York’s Belmont Park.
All three Triple Crown races will be televised by NBC Sports and are scheduled to be broadcast on radio by the Horse Racing Radio Network (HRRN).
The new early nomination total for the 2012 Triple Crown races is a 9.3 percent increase over the 364 early nominees for the three-race classic series a year ago. The roster of 2012 early Triple Crown nominees is the largest since 2009, when 412 3-year-olds were made eligible during the early period.
Brisnet is providing free online past performances of all the 2012 Triple Crown nominees in PDF format at http://www.brisnet.com/brisnet_promos/TC12noms.pdf.
397 Nominees to Kentucky Derby, Triple Crown
Champion 2-year-old Hansen and Union Rags, separated by a head in a thrilling 1-2 finish in the Grey Goose Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (Grade I), and unbeaten Algorithms, who stepped into the spotlight with a five-length win over the champion in the Holy Bull (GIII) at Gulfstream Park, top a large roster of 397 horses made eligible during the early nomination phase to compete in the three classic races that make up American horse racing’s elusive Triple Crown.
The first race in the series of classic races for 3-year-old Thoroughbreds – the $2 million-guaranteed 138th running of the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (GI) – is set for Saturday, May 5, at world-famous Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky. The second jewel of the Triple Crown is the 137th running of the $1 million Preakness Stakes (GI), which will be run on Saturday, May 19, at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Md. The American classic series concludes with the 144th running of the Belmont Stakes (GI) on Saturday, June 11 at New York’s Belmont Park.
All three Triple Crown races will be televised by NBC Sports and are scheduled to be broadcast on radio by the Horse Racing Radio Network (HRRN).
The nomination total for the 2012 Triple Crown races is a 9.1 percent increase over the 364 early nominees for the three-race classic series a year ago. The roster of 2012 early Triple Crown nominees is the largest since 2009, when 412 3-year-olds were made eligible during the early period. This year’s early nomination period, during which each nomination was accompanied by a $600 fee, closed on Saturday, Jan. 21. A late period for nominations – during which each nomination must be accompanied by a $6,000 fee – will conclude on Saturday, March 24.
Hansen, owned by Dr. Kendall Hansen and the Sky Chai Racing partnership, completed a perfect three-race campaign with his narrow front-running victory in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile at Churchill Downs. Along with a 13 ¼-length victory in the Kentucky Cup Juvenile over synthetic Polytrack at Turfway Park, that victory earned Hansen the Eclipse Award for champion 2-year-old of 2011. Maker’s colt suffered the first setback of his young career in his runner-up finish in the one-mile Holy Bull on Jan. 29, his first start of his 3-year-old season.
Union Rags, a son of Dixie Union owned by Chadds Ford Stable, suffered his only setback in four races in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile. The bay son of Dixie Union is trained by Michael Matz, who saddled Barbaro to win the 2006 Kentucky Derby, and scored stakes wins in the Champagne (GI) and the Saratoga Special (GII).
Algorithms, owned the Starlight Racing partnership headed by managing partner Jack Wolf, burst onto the road to the Triple Crown with an impressive five-length victory over Hansen in the Holy Bull. That race was the debut in stakes competition for the Todd Pletcher-trained son of 2006 Preakness winner Bernardini and his third in as many starts. He has won his three races, including a maiden victory last June at Belmont Park and a pair of wins this year at Gulfstream Park.
Other winners of major stakes races on the list of early Triple Crown nominees include CashCall Futurity (GI) winner Liaison; Creative Cause, third in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile and winner of the Norfolk (GI) and Best Pal (GII); Hopeful (GI) winner Currency Swap; Dixiana Breeders’ Futurity (GI) winner Dullahan; unbeaten Kentucky Jockey Club (GII) winner Gemologist; and Delta Jackpot (GIII) winner Sabercat.
Brisnet is providing free online past performances of all the 2012 Triple Crown nominees in PDF format at http://www.brisnet.com/brisnet_promos/TC12noms.pdf.
Of this year’s 397 nominations, 344 are colts and there are 37 geldings. The list also includes 10 ridglings.
Horses bred in Kentucky again dominated the roster of Triple Crown nominees. Of the 297 nominees, 303 were born in Kentucky. Florida was next with 27 horses, followed by New York with 13 and California with 12. Fourteen of the nominees were produced outside of the United States, a number that includes six horses bred in Ireland.
The list of nominees includes six fillies, and that group is headed by Anita Cauley’s On Fire Baby, winner of the Golden Rod (GII). She ran third to Triple Crown nominee Junebugred when she faced males in Oaklawn Park’s Smarty Jones on Jan. 16.
Ahmed Zayat’s Zayat Stables LLC leads all owners with 13 nominees to the 2012 Triple Crown. Robert LaPenta is next with 10 and Klaravich Stables Inc. has nine nominees, either on its own or in partnerships.
Five-time Eclipse Award-winning trainer Todd Pletcher, who scored his first Kentucky Derby victory with Super Saver in 2010, led trainers for the third consecutive year with 32 Triple Crown nominees. Pletcher was tied at 20 atop last year’s list with Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert, who ranks second 21 nominated horses. Steve Asmussen and Nick Zito are next with 15 nominees, and Dale Romans nominated 14.
There is a tie atop the roster of leading Triple Crown sires between two-time Breeders’ Cup Classic (GI) winner Tiznow and Unbridled’s Song, each with 12 Triple Crown nominees. Malibu Moon and Street Sense, the winner of the 2007 Kentucky Derby whose first crop of foals are 3-year-olds, share the next spot with 11 nominees. War Front sired 10, with Hard Spun and Smart Strike next with nine.
The Kentucky Derby field has been limited to 20 starters since 1975, and accumulated earnings in prestigious graded stakes races along the “Road to the Triple Crown” have determined the field for the 1 ¼-mile classic since 1986. The field for the Preakness, the 1 3/16-mile second jewel of the Triple Crown, is limited to 14 starters, while Belmont Stakes, the “Test of the Champion” and finale of the series at 1 ½ miles, permits a maximum field of 16 horses.
A Triple Crown sweep – one of the most difficult feats in all of sports – has been accomplished on just 11 occasions: Sir Barton (1919), Gallant Fox (1930), Omaha (1935), War Admiral (1937), Whirlaway (1941), Count Fleet (1942), Assault (1946), Citation (1948), Secretariat (1973), Seattle Slew (1977) and Affirmed (1978). Fifty other horses have finished one win shy of the honor.
The 2011 Triple Crown races yielded three different winning horses and the connections of each of the winners experienced their first victories in the coveted series.
Animal Kingdom, owned and bred by the Team Valor partnership headed by Barry Irwin, scored an emphatic victory in the Kentucky Derby to kick-off the 2011 Triple Crown. The winner was trained by H. Graham Motion and was ridden by jockey John Velazquez, who picked up his winning mount the day before the race. Mike Lauffer and W.D. Cubbedge’s Shackleford, fourth in the Kentucky Derby for trainer Dale Romans, held off the surging Animal Kingdom by a half-length at Pimlico to win the Preakness under jockey Jesus Castanon. The Belmont Stakes went to George and Lori Hall’s Ruler On Ice, a late nominee to the Triple Crown who had been excluded from the Kentucky Derby field because of insufficient earnings in graded stakes races. The son of Roman Ruler won by a half-length under jockey Jose Valdivia Jr. and provided trainer Kelly Breen with his first success in a Triple Crown race.
The current 33-year streak without a Triple Crown winner is the longest in the history of the series. The previous record was a 25-year gap between the Triple Crown earned by Citation in 1948 and Secretariat’s stunning sweep in 1973.
For a complete list of horses nominated to the Kentucky Derby and 2012 Triple Crown, click here.
Shackleford Back at Churchill Downs
Mike Lauffer and Bill Cubbedge’s homebred Shackleford returned to Churchill Downs just before 10:30 (Eastern) Sunday morning after returning from Baltimore and his half-length triumph in Saturday’s $1 million Preakness (Grade I), the second jewel of the Triple Crown.
Returning with Shackleford to trainer Dale Romans’ Barn 4 was Donegal Racing’s Paddy O’Prado, who won Pimlico’s Dixie Handicap (GII) in the race preceding the Preakness.
“It was awesome. He ran a heck of a race,” Romans said by telephone from Baltimore. The Louisville-born trainer, who earned his first Triple Crown victory, will spend the next three days in Maryland at the Midlantic Two-Year-Olds in Training sale at Timonium and will be back in Louisville on Wednesday afternoon.
“A lot of the people in the barn watched it (the Preakness) back here,” said Baldemar Bahena, Romans’ Churchill Downs assistant. “I was watching it over on the other side because we had had a horse in the 10th race.”
Shackleford was ridden by Jesus Castanon, who picked up his first Triple Crown victory and also the first for his agent, Dennis Cooper.
“These three races are a lot different from the Dubai World Cup or even the Breeders’ Cup,” said Cooper, a jock’s agent for the past 25 years. “Those races are nice, but these races are the ones people talk about.”
Cooper, who took out his trainer’s license in 1966 and trained for 19 years, had Mark Guidry’s book for 14 years, Rene Douglas for seven years and Shaun Bridgmohan for two years before hooking up with Castanon in September 2009.
This winter at Gulfstream Park, Castanon and Shackleford hooked up for the first time and the result was a 2 ¼-length allowance victory and a partnership was formed.
“We got on him in Florida and they just clicked,” Cooper said. “Jesus has a lot of confidence in him.”
In the Preakness, Shackleford stalked the pace set by Flashpoint before moving to the lead at the head of the lane.
“When I saw him look to his right at the head of the stretch and he hadn’t pushed the button yet, I knew he had a lot of horse left,” Cooper said. “He was not worried at all about the horse on his left (Flashpoint). He knew he had him. There was only one horse (Kentucky Derby winner Animal Kingdom) coming and Jesus said that as soon as Shackleford saw him, he was not going to let him by.”
READY’S ROCKET DOING WELL AFTER RECORD RUN – Veteran starter allowance star Ready’s Rocket entered the Churchill Downs record book on Saturday when he when he persevered at the end of a long stretch drive won the second race by a neck.
It was the ninth victory in 23 starts on the main track beneath the Twin Spires for the 8-year-old son of More Than Ready. The victory made Ready’s Rocket the first horse to win nine races at Churchill Downs since 1991, which is the first year detailed information was gathered by Equibase.
Trainer and co-owner Tim Glyshaw was happy with the way his gutsy gelding came out of the race. “He’s not sore at all or anything,” Glyshaw said. “He came out of it really well.”
Ready’s Rocket is likely to make another start during the Churchill Downs Spring Meet in June.
“Nothing definite is picked out for him yet,” Glyshaw said. “We’ll take a look at the condition book and find something.”
Eight-time winners at Churchill Downs since 1991 and the years they raced here are Athenium (1991-94), two-time Aristides (GIII) winner Bet On Sunshine (1995-2002), Canela (2005-10), Crown Lease (1991-95), Lord Rusty (1993-2000) and Maxxed (1995-98).
It is possible that prior to 1991 when detailed records were not maintained that other horses could have reached or exceeded that plateau. One such example is Herreno, who was trained by Phil Thomas. Herreno won nine races from 40 starts from 1982-85 at Churchill Downs at distances ranging from six furlongs to a mile and eighth.
MUSKETIER ASSIGNED TOP WEIGHT FOR LOUISVILLE HANDICAP – Multiple graded stakes-winning 9-year-old Musketier (GER) has been assigned the high weight of 122 pounds by racing secretary Ben Huffman for Saturday’s 74th running of the $100,000-added Louisville Handicap (GIII). Owned by Stella Perdomo and trained by Roger Attfield, Musketier was victorious in the Elkhorn (GII) at the Louisville Handicap distance of 1 ½ miles in his most recent start.
The next high weights are Will Farish Jr.’s Pool Play (119) and Claiborne Farm and Adele Dilschneider’s Grassy (118).
Weighted at 117 pounds and a probable starter in the race is Keertana, third in the Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf (G1) over the Matt Winn Turf Course last fall and winner of the Bewitch (GIII) at Keeneland in her most recent start. Owned and bred by Barbara Hunter, the 5-year-old daughter of Johar has compiled a record of 25-10-5-6 with earnings of $914,371.
Others considered probable by Churchill Downs officials and their weights are Bearpath (116), Memorial Maniac (116), Dark Cove (114) and defending Louisville Handicap winner Free Fighter (113). Grade I winner Stately Victor is a possible starter for the race.
Entries for the Louisville Handicap will be taken Wednesday.
WINNING COLORS FIELD COMING TOGETHER – The field for the eighth running of the $100,000-added Winning Colors (GIII) is beginning to take shape. The six-furlong event for fillies and mares will be contested over the main track on Memorial Day, May 30.
Considered as probable starters by Churchill Downs officials and their trainers are Beat the Blues (Bret Calhoun), Indian Ink (Mike Rone), Jocata (Cecil Borel), My New Lady (Robert Hackworth Jr.), Stephanie Got Even (Marty Wolfson) and Wind Caper (Ronan Cunningham). Listed as possible for the race are Bell’s Shoes (Jinks Fires) and Fortune Play (John Booker Jr.).
Dubai Majesty won the Winning Colors last year and then returned to Churchill Downs in November to win the $1 million Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Sprint (GI).
BARN TALK – Jockey Fabio Arguello Jr. captured his 236th Churchill Downs victory in the 11th race on Saturday aboard 44-1 longshot Bk’s Clearanceisle. The win gave Arguello, who is ranked 23rd in career Churchill Downs wins, his first victory under the Twin Spires since crossing the wire first aboard Senorita’s Secrets on Nov. 18, 2009. Arguello’s biggest victory at Churchill Downs came aboard Philip Maas’ Luv Me Luv Me Not in the 1992 Kentucky Oaks. …
Double R Stable’s Deborah’s Moment, a half-sister to last week’s impressive 2-year old debut winner Sum of the Parts, broke her maiden in the opener at Churchill Downs on Saturday afternoon. Trained by Dallas Stewart, the 3-year-old daughter of Lemon Drop Kid was guided to victory by Brian Hernandez Jr.
WORK TAB – Wertheimer and Frere’s Exhi, winner of the Ben Ali (GIII) at Keeneland last month in his 2011 debut, worked a half-mile early Sunday morning over a track labeled as “good” in :48.20 for trainer Todd Pletcher.
Preakness Hopes Midnight Interlude, Astrology Work; Nehro Still On Fence
ASTROLOGY/NEHRO – The two possible Preakness contenders in the Churchill Downs barn of trainer Steve Asmussen turned in easy half-mile works over a sloppy and sealed track on Monday morning.
Stonestreet Stable and George Bolton’s Iroquois (GIII) winner Astrology covered the distance in :51.60 just after the track opened for training at 6 a.m. (EDT). Zayat Stable’s Nehro, the runner-up to Animal Kingdom in the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (GI), breezed a short time later and was timed in :50.80 for his half-mile. Carlos Rosas was in the saddle for both works.
Astrology, considered a definite starter in the second jewel of the Triple Crown, completed his work in fractional times of :14.40, :27.40 and :39.40 and galloped out five furlongs in 1:06.20.
“He went over the track very well, very handy,” Asmussen said. “There were concerns about an awfully wet race track this morning, but he handled it well and went over it well.”
Nehro, who continues to be listed as “possible” for the Preakness, was timed in :12.80, :25.40 and :37.80, and galloped out five furlongs in 1:05.20.
Owner Ahmed Zayat was at Churchill Downs to view the work.
“We’ll just evaluate how he’s doing, how he comes out of the race and how he’s acting,” Asmussen said of Nehro’s possible Preakness bid. “I thought he went over the race track well (this morning) and traveled good.”
Nehro’s runner-up finish in the Kentucky Derby was his third race in six weeks, with second-place runs in the Louisiana Derby (GII) and Arkansas Derby (GI) prior to his run at Churchill Downs.
Asmussen said a decision on a Preakness run would be made on Tuesday. The flights that will carry horses from Churchill Downs to Baltimore for Saturday’s race at Pimlico leave Wednesday.
“He’s done a lot over a short period of time,” Asmussen said. “I think you’re trying to evaluate the runs, the races themselves and how he’s doing, while also trying to weigh the opportunity that is ahead of you.”
Mike Smith will ride Astrology in the Preakness. Corey Nakatani was aboard Nehro in his runner-up efforts in the Kentucky Derby and Arkansas Derby.
MIDNIGHT INTERLUDE – Arnold Zetcher’s Midnight Interlude worked a brisk three furlongs in :35.60 after the morning renovation break over a sloppy track with Peter Hutton in the irons.
Working on his own, the 16th-place finisher in Kentucky Derby 137 posted a first furlong fraction of :12 and then gallop-out times of :48.60 and 1:02.80 before pulling up at the track kitchen by the half-mile pole.
“He acted like he got into his work this morning,” trainer Bob Baffert said. “The track was a little greasy this morning and we haven’t had the best of luck with him here catching fast tracks for works.
“After what I saw today, we are going to the Preakness. I feel pretty good about him. I think he is better now than he was before the Derby. He never really ran in the Derby; he just laid a big goose egg.”
Midnight Interlude broke from the 15 hole for the Kentucky Derby and Baffert feels the post position draw will be key for his horse in a 14-horse Preakness field.
“He was stuck outside in the Derby,” Baffert said. “His Santa Anita Derby (G1) was a good race, and if he runs back to that, he’s right in the mix (in the Preakness).”
For Baffert, a five-time Preakness winner including last year with Lookin At Lucky, there is no question of who the horse to beat in Saturday’s Preakness is.
“Animal Kingdom is definitely the horse to beat,” Baffert said. “He was the best horse in the Derby, no question.”
Baffert also trains Peachtree Stable’s Plum Pretty, winner of the Kentucky Oaks (GI) here on May 6. Baffert said no decision has been made on the filly’s next start.
BARN TALK – Four other Preakness probables housed at Churchill Downs had routine mornings on Monday.
The Estate of Edward P. Evans’ Dance City jogged a little more than a mile before the renovation break; Robert LaPenta’s Dialed In galloped a mile and a half under Stacy Prior a little after 7 o’clock; Michael Lauffer and W.D. Cubbedge’s Shackleford, the Kentucky Derby pacesetter, jogged two miles after the renovation break under exercise rider Faustino Ramos; and, Batman Stable, Philip Lebherz, Cindy Olsen, Janet Sharp and Glen Wallace et al’s Sway Away walked the shedrow.
One horse that would need several defections by horses under consideration for the Preakness to make the field, Robert Baker and William Mack’s Saratoga Red, walked a day after working five furlongs in 1:02.80.
NBC Sports Group Reassembles Triple Crown
The NBC Sports Group will broadcast all three legs of horse racing’s prestigious Triple Crown, renewing the rights to the Preakness Stakes and reacquiring rights to the Belmont Stakes. As previously announced, NBC and Churchill Downs, Inc. renewed rights to the Kentucky Derby. This marks the first time that all three races will be on one network since NBC aired them in 2005. The agreements were announced today by Dick Ebersol, Chairman, NBC Sports Group, Tom Chuckas, President and Chief Operating Office, Maryland Jockey Club, and C. Steven Duncker, NYRA Chairman. Like NBC Sports’ agreement with Churchill Downs, each agreement announced today gives NBC exclusive rights to the Preakness and Belmont through 2015.
The agreements include coverage of the Black Eyed Susan Stakes and other Preakness-day and Belmont-day programming on VERSUS. Additionally, expanded Derby week programming including the Kentucky Oaks and Derby day programming will air on VERSUS. In all, the NBC Sports Group will broadcast more than 25 hours of Triple Crown coverage (detailed schedule to be released at a later date). Financial terms of the deals were not disclosed.
“Everyone at NBC Sports Group is delighted that the Triple Crown has been reassembled. We are now uniquely positioned to significantly expand the reach of these iconic events with extensive coverage on VERSUS,” said Ebersol. “As we previously announced, we are continuing our long-standing partnership with the Kentucky Derby. To add this extension with the Preakness while reacquiring the Belmont gives our new NBC Sports Group the three most important events in thoroughbred racing. And we want to thank Churchill Downs Incorporated and CEO Bob Evans for his leadership in paving the way for the Triple Crown to return to NBC.”
“We are pleased to renew our broadcast partnership with NBC Sports,” said Chuckas. “Our relationship with NBC allows us the opportunity to reach more than just sports fans. The partnership not only affords us the stature and exposure of a continued presence on network television but provides the added benefit of NBC’s consistent promotion through the Kentucky Derby leading into the Preakness.”
“We are thrilled to return our premier race to NBC Sports,” said Duncker. “They have done a terrific job covering horse racing, including their Kentucky Derby and the Preakness broadcasts over the prior decade. With an excellent production team that has pioneered innovative camera angles, and a tremendous group of on-air talent that offers unique insights into the races, NBC Sports will be a great partner for the Belmont Stakes.”
NBC SPORTS AND HORSE RACING: The NBC Sports Group is now the exclusive home to Horse Racing’s Triple Crown. This marks the first time that all three races will be on one network since NBC last aired the Triple Crown in 2005. NBC has been the exclusive home of the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness Stakes since 2001.
KENTUCKY DERBY: In the 10 years that Churchill Downs and NBC Sports have been together the event has experienced remarkable growth. The Kentucky Derby is now seen by 7.4 million more viewers than the last Kentucky Derby broadcast by ABC in 2000 (16.5 million vs. 9.1 million, up 51 percent).
The shared vision of Churchill Downs and NBC Sports’ successful ‘Big Event Strategy’ to assemble the broadest possible audience led to the 2010 Kentucky Derby being the most-watched Kentucky Derby in 21 years, in addition to the year prior which was the most-watched Derby in 20 years. Last year’s Kentucky Derby averaged 16.5 million viewers, the most watched Kentucky Derby since 1989 when Sunday Silence won the Derby (18.5 million).
PREAKNESS STAKES: Since NBC Sports began broadcasting the Preakness in 2001, every Preakness telecast on NBC over that period attracted more viewers than any Preakness telecast on ABC in the previous seven years. Viewership for the Preakness is up an average of 69% in the 10 years on NBC compared to the previous seven years on ABC.
BELMONT STAKES: NBC Sports broadcast the Belmont from 2001-05, including three straight years in which the Belmont had a Triple Crown at stake. The 2004 Belmont featuring Smarty Jones racing for the Triple Crown was seen by 21.9 million viewers, the most for a Belmont broadcast since Seattle Slew captured the elusive Triple Crown in 1977.
Since its involvement in the Triple Crown, NBC Sports has been honored with 11 Eclipse Awards for its thoroughbred racing coverage, Preakness (2002-03-05-06-08), Kentucky Derby (2007), Belmont (2004) and Breeder's Cup (2001). Additionally, NBC Sports has won three Eclipse Awards in the features category: 2002 on War Emblem (Preakness broadcast), 2005 Afleet Alex (Kentucky Derby broadcast) and 2009 Mine That Bird (Preakness broadcast), and the 2005 and 2006 Preakness broadcasts were nominated for the Sports Emmy Award for Outstanding Live Sports Special.
2011 Nominees to the Kentucky Derby and Triple Crown
2011 TRIPLE CROWN NOMINEES
f – filly g – gelding r- ridgling
A
Abjer (FR)
Abra
Achaemenes
Admiral Rocket – g
Adulare
Afleet’s Acclaim
Albergatti
Alexander Pope (IRE)
Alternation
Ameri Weber – g
Animal Kingdom
Annual Update
Anthony’s Cross
Apply
Arch Traveler
Archarcharch
Ari C
Artful Run
Arthur’s Tale
Associate
Astrology
Atlantic Bull
August Osage
Awed
Awesome Bet
Awesome Patriot
B
B F Bird
Back Room Deal
Balladry
Bandbox
Bayamo
Beamer
Become the Wind
Bellamy’s Boss – g
Bench Points – g
Benergy
Bert B Don
Big Herman
Big Mack Daddy
Billy Smart
Birdway
Black N Beauty
Blue Laser
Bluegrass Reward – g
Bomber Boy
Bonaroo
Boys At Tosconova
Br. Alexander
Break Up the Game
Brethren
Brickyard Fast
Brilliant Speed
Brock
Brooklyn Legend
Bryan Daniel
Burns – g
C
C J Russell
Cal Nation
Caleb’s Posse
Cane Garden Bay
Cash Michael
Casino Host
Casper’s Touch
Cassini Flight
Cat Sweep – g
Charlies Swell
Chasing Moonlight
Chico d’Oro - r
Classic Legacy – g
Clear Attempt
Close Ally
Cloud Man
Clubhouse Ride
Coil
Coming Through
Comma to the Top – g
Commander
Commonwealth Rush
Complete Dyno
Concealed Identity – g
Conway
Cook Inlet
Cool Blue Red Hot
Crimson China
Crossbow
Crossed the Line
Crushing
Cryin Out Loud
D
Da Ruler
Dance City
Data Link
Death Star
Decisive Moment
Denny the Great – g
Depeche Chat
Derby Kitten
Derby Obsession
Derivative
Dialed In
Disfraz
Distorted Appeal
Dixon Lane
D’marin
Doc La Pointe
Dominus
Doubledown on Ten
Dream Drop Kid
Dreamy Kid
Dubber
Duca
Dynamize
E
Eastside Train
Economic Summit
El Grayling
Elite Alex
Energized
Eurasian – g
Extra Fifty
F
Factum
Fad
Fairview Heights
Fantasy of Flight – f
Fire With Fire
Flashpoint
Fly On the Wall
Foreboding
Fort Hughes
Fort Larned
Forum
Free Entry
Free Pourin
Free Ticket
French Fury
Fusa Code – g
G
G Ten
Gallant Dreams
Glint
Gnarly Dude – g
Golden Triumph
Gourmet Dinner
Grace’s Devil – g
Grande Shores
Grip Hands
Guest Star
Guy on the Go
Gypsy Wind
H
Hammersmith
Harlan’s Hello
Heat Shield
Heron Lake
Hoorayforhollywood
Hot Faucet
Houston Harbor
Humble and Hungry
Hy Lime Time
I
I’m Steppin Up
Imhotep
Indian Knight - r
Indian Winter
Industry Leader
Indy Heir
Indy Tune – g
Infrattini
Iscar
Isn’t He Perfect
J
J J’s Lucky Train
J P’s Gusto – r
Jack London
Jakesam
Jaycito
Jeanbaptiste Corot
Just Meteor
Justin Phillip
K
Kanagaroo
Kid You Not – g
King Alpha
King Congie
L
Lauburu
Le Mans
Leave of Absence
Lemansky
Lemon Ghost
Liondrive – g
Litigate – g
Lou Brissie
Lumberyard Jack – g
M
Mach Twelve
Machen
Mac’s Surprise
Maestro
Magnet Cove
Majestic Harbor
Major Art (GB)
Major Duomo
Major Gain
Manhattan Man
Manicero
Manresa Road (IRE)
Mas Trueno
Master Dunker
Master of Hounds
Meadow Road
Meistersinger
Messner
Midnight Interlude
Mister Pippit
Monroe’s Music
Mont Pelato
Monzon – g
Moon On Fire
Moonhanger
Moreno Star
Mr Artistic M D – g
Mr. Commons
Mucho Macho Man
My Dividend
Mysticism
N
Nacho Business
National
Nehro
New Hyde Park – f
Night Hunt
Night Party
Nolangrant’skitten
Northern Indy
O
Occelli
Old Guys Rule
Old Hickory
One Cool Dude (ARG)
Opening Move
Ordained
Orsonian
Our Eli – g
P
Pants On Fire
Parent’s Honor
Perfect Coconut
Peter Martins
Pleasant Run
Point of Entry
Populist Politics
Poseidon’s Warrior
Positive Response – g
Post Ranch
Powhatan County
Praetereo
Praise the Bird
Preachintothedevil
Premier Pegasus
Pride of Silver – g
Prime Cut
Prime Objective
Printing Press
Private Prize
Purely Awesome
Q
Quail Hill
Queen’splatekitten
Quiet Assault
Quiet Pride
R
Racing Aptitude
Raison d’Etat
Rattlesnake Bridge
Razmataz
Read the Contract
Red Ace
Red Maserati
Redwood Falls
Rescind the Trade
Ribo Bobo – g
Riveting Reason
Robie the Cat
Rock So Hard
Rocking Out
Rogue Romance
Roman Classic
Ronin Dax
Rothko
Runflatout – r
Rustler Hustler
S
Sachem
Sampo – g
San Pablo
Santiva
Sasueno
Scuff
Seal Rock
Sensational Slam
Sequoia Warrior
Shackleford
Shadow Warrior
Shamino
Silver Medallion
Simbamangu
Sinai
Sinorice
Sky Music
Skylord
Slammer Time
Small Town Talk
Smash
Smug
So Bold
Sockarooni
Soldat
Son of a General
Sorgho
Southern Sculptor
Sovereign Default
Special Tree
Sports Day
Star Harbour
Starliner
Stay Thirsty
Sterling Legend
Stormberg
Strike Oil
Supreme Ruler
Surfactant – g
Surrey Star (IRE)
Sway Away
Sweet Ducky
T
Tale of the Dance
Tapaway
Tapizar
Taptowne
Tech Fall
Tazered
Ten Devils
The Factor
The Fed Eased
Thirtyfirststreet
Tiz Blessed
To Honor and Serve
Toby’s Corner
Tokubetsu
Toreador
Travelin Man
Turbulent Descent – f
Twice the Appeal
Twinspired
Tyrus
U
Unbridled Kimanchi
Unbridled Sheriff
Uncle Mo
Uncle Sam – r
Uncle Smokey – g
Unex Dali (GB)
V
Valiant Tenebob
Violadellamora – f
W
Warren’s Dr. Ying
Warren’s Knockout
Washington’s Rules – g
Wegner
Western Aristocrat
What a Rush
Wilburn
Wilkinson
Willcox Inn
Winchill
Wolfcamp
World Renowned
Would You
Y
Yankee Passion
Z
Zoebear – g
Zorro Veloz
Unbeaten Champion Uncle Mo Heads Roster of 364 Early Nominees to 2011 Kentucky Derby, Triple Crown
Headed by unbeaten Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (Grade I) and Eclipse Award champion Uncle Mo, 364 3-year-old Thoroughbreds have been nominated early as prospects to contest the 2011 renewals of the three classic races that make up American horse racing’s Triple Crown.
The first of those spring classics – the 137th Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (GI) – is set for Saturday, May 7, at world-famous Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky., followed on May 21 by the 136th running of the Preakness Stakes (GI) at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Md., and the 143rd Belmont Stakes (GI) on June 11 at New York’s Belmont Park. The early nomination period, during which each nomination costs $600, closed on Saturday, Jan. 22. A late period for nominations – at $6,000 each – will conclude on Saturday, March 26.
This year’s early nomination total is just two less than last year’s early total of 366. Six horses were made eligible for the Triple Crown series during last year’s late nomination period, which raised the final total of 2010 nominees to 372.
Aside from being the leader in the 2011 class of 3-year-olds, Uncle Mo, owned by New Yorker Mike Repole, has a chance to give trainer Todd Pletcher back-to-back victories in the $2-million Kentucky Derby, America’s most coveted race. Pletcher notched his long-awaited first Derby win last year with WinStar Farm’s homebred Super Saver. Overall, the five-time Eclipse Award winner has saddled 28 Kentucky Derby starters. Uncle Mo’s dominant 4 ¼-length victory in last fall’s Breeders’ Cup Juvenile at Churchill Downs made Repole’s colt the early favorite for the 2011 Derby.
The list of Triple Crown nominees includes 15 of the 20 horses ranked atop the 2010 Experimental Free Handicap, an annual performance rating of the year’s most accomplished 2-year-olds. Uncle Mo, currently stabled in Florida, heads that group, which also includes fellow East Coast stars To Honor and Serve, winner of the Remsen (GII), and Champagne (GI) winner Boys at Tosconova; West Coast stars Comma To The Top, winner of the CashCall Futurity (GI), and Jaycito, who took top honors in the Norfolk (GI); and Del Mar Futurity (GI) victor J P’s Gusto, now training in Arkansas after moving from his former Southern California base.
Four fillies are among the 364 nominees. The female contingent is headed by Turbulent Descent, who was unbeaten in three races at two and runner-up in her 2011 debut in the Grade I Las Virgenes at Santa Anita. Two Triple Crown races have been won by fillies in the past five years: eventual Horse of the Year Rachel Alexandra took the Preakness in 2009 and Rags to Riches won the 2007 Belmont Stakes. Three fillies have won the Kentucky Derby, with Winning Colors being the most recent in 1988.
A mild surprise in this year’s early roster of Triple Crown nominees is the list includes only six horses from Europe. Trainers Jeremy Noseda, with three nominees, and Clive Brittain, with one, carry the hopes of Great Britain. Irish training star Aidan O’Brien has a pair of nominees.
Notably absent from the roster nominating owners is Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum’s powerful Godolphin Racing. The Dubai-based operation usually nominates several prospects during the early phase, but Godolphin representatives have informed Triple Crown officials that the stable will wait until after the March 26 UAE Derby at Dubai’s Meydan Racecourse to decide if any of its horses would be nominated to the 2011 series.
“The impressive roster of nominees to the Triple Crown provides proof that the desire to achieve horse racing’s ultimate dream of a Kentucky Derby win and Triple Crown sweep of the Preakness and Belmont Stakes is as strong as ever,” said Don Richardson, senior vice president of Racing for Churchill Downs. “Despite a difficult economy, a reduction in annual foal crops and other challenges to our horse industry, the Triple Crown’s early nominations are basically flat with last year’s total. That’s a wonderful show of faith on the part of the international group of owners and trainers that have nominated horses to this year’s races. We appreciate their support and anticipate a thrilling and memorable Triple Crown series in 2011.”
Pletcher leads the list of nominee numbers for the second straight year, but shares 2011’s top spot with Hall of Famer and three-time Kentucky Derby winner Bob Baffert. Both nominated 20 3-year-olds to the Triple Crown. Steve Asmussen, who is searching for his first Kentucky Derby victory but has a pair of wins in the Preakness, is alone in the next spot on the trainers’ list with 17 nominations, and filling out the top five are Hall of Famers and multiple Triple Crown race winners D. Wayne Lukas and Nick Zito, both with 12 nominations. Also posting double-figure nomination totals are Kiaran McLaughlin with 11 and Mike Maker with 10. McLaughlin and Maker are seeking their first victories in Triple Crown races.
Other Hall of Fame trainers represented by nominees include Bill Mott with seven; Neil Drysdale and Richard Mandella, each with four; Shug McGaughey with three, and Carl Nafzger and Jonathan Sheppard, each with one.
Darley, another arm of Sheikh Mohammed’s worldwide racing operation, leads the ownership bracket with 13 nominees, followed by the partnership of Klaravich Stables and W.H. Lawrence and Zayat Stables, both with eight Triple Crown prospects. Westrock Stables nominated six 3-year-olds, while Robert LaPenta, Ken and Sarah Ramsey, Stonestreet Stables and Michael Tabor each nominated five prospects.
Bursting on the scene as leading sire is 2006 Preakness Stakes winner Bernardini with 18 progeny on the list, far outrunning the rest of the pack. Second among the leaders is another young sire, Tapit, with 13. Third on the list is 2010 Triple Crown sire leader Distorted Humor, who sired 10 of this year’s nominees. He is followed closely by Dynaformer, Indian Charlie and Lemon Drop Kid, each with nine.
The Kentucky Derby field has been limited to 20 starters since 1975, and accumulated earnings in prestigious graded stakes races along the “Road to the Triple Crown” have determined the field for the 1 ¼-mile classic since 1986. The field for the Preakness, the 1 3/16-mile second jewel of the Triple Crown, is limited to 14 starters, while Belmont Stakes, the “Test of the Champion” and finale of the series at 1 ½ miles, permits a maximum field of 16 horses.
A Triple Crown sweep – one of the most difficult feats in all of sports – has been accomplished on just 11 occasions: Sir Barton (1919), Gallant Fox (1930), Omaha (1935), War Admiral (1937), Whirlaway (1941), Count Fleet (1942), Assault (1946), Citation (1948), Secretariat (1973), Seattle Slew (1977) and Affirmed (1978). Fifty other horses have finished one win shy of the honor.
The 2010 Triple Crown yielded different winners for all three races, although WinStar Farm owned and bred two of the winners. WinStar’s Super Saver, trained by Pletcher and ridden by Calvin Borel, won the Kentucky Derby. Karl Watson, Mike Pegram, and Paul Weitman’s Lookin At Lucky, trained by Baffert and ridden by Martin Garcia, won the Preakness on his way to earning an Eclipse Award that honored the colt as America’s 3-year-old champion. WinStar collected a bookend Triple Crown victory when Drosselmeyer, another homebred, won the Belmont Stakes for trainer Mott and jockey Mike Smith. The Belmont victory was Mott’s first Triple Crown win..
The current 32-year streak without a Triple Crown winner is the longest in the history of the series. The previous record was a 25-year gap between the Triple Crown earned by Citation in 1948 and Secretariat’s stunning sweep in 1973.
Preakness Runner-Up First Dude Back Home, While Blame Has Stephen Foster On The Horizon
PREAKNESS RUNNER-UP FIRST DUDE BACK AT CHURCHILL, SET FOR NEXT STOP IN BELMONT STAKES – Donald Dizney’s First Dude did not win the second jewel of the Triple Crown, but trainer Dale Romans could not have been much happier had he managed to hold off Lookin At Lucky in Saturday’s $1 million Preakness (Grade I) at Baltimore’s Pimlico Race Course.
The Churchill Downs-based First Dude sprung from post 11 in a field of 12 3-year-olds in the 1 3/16-mile Preakness to grab the lead and the rail from Super Saver, winner of the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (GI), heading into the first turn. He set strong early fractions under Ramon Dominguez then battled the victorious Lookin At Lucky through the stretch to fall three-quarters of a length short of picking up his second victory in seven starts, but the imposing son of Stephen Got Even immediately established himself as a major contender for the Triple Crown’s final jewel: the 1 ½-mile Belmont Stakes (GI) on June 5 at Belmont Park.
The connections of Kentucky Derby winner Super Saver and Preakness champ Lookin At Lucky confirmed Sunday that neither horse would run in the Belmont Stakes, so Romans believes First Dude could well be the horse to beat in the big race three weeks down the road.
“I think so, and so does Ramon,” Romans said Sunday. “The mile and a half should help him.”
First Dude returned to Churchill Downs on Sunday morning following a flight from Baltimore. Also on the plane was stablemate Paddy O’Prado, Donegal Racing’s third-place finisher in the Kentucky Derby on May 1 who finished sixth in Saturday’s Preakness.
Romans said the Belmont is the clear goal for First Dude, while the immediate future is less clear for Paddy O’Prado, a versatile winner on turf and synthetic surfaces who did not fire at Pimlico.
“He came out of it good,” said Romans of Paddy O’Prado. “I’ll talk with Jerry (Donegal Racing managing partner Jerry Crawford) later in the day and see what we want to do with him.”
The Preakness bid by First Dude, while it fell just short, served as validation for high hopes Romans and his staff has held for the colt since his arrival in the barn.
"We are proud of him,” Romans said. “We kept thinking all along that he was this kind of horse, but he just had circumstances that kept him from running a big, big race. Finally nothing went wrong and he put it all together and he got beat by a champion.”
OTHER BELMONT HOPES AT CHURCHILL DOWNS – With word that neither Super Saver nor Lookin At Lucky would compete in the third jewel of the Triple Crown, a large field of contenders is beginning to take shape for the June 5 race at Belmont Park.
First Dude is one of at least four Churchill Downs-based horses that could run in the Belmont. The others include the D. Wayne Lukas-trained Dublin, Robert Baker and William Mack’s son of Afleet Alex who finished fifth in the Preakness following a horrible start; Thomas and Jack Conway’s Stately Victor, winner of the Toyota Blue Grass (GI) and eighth in the Kentucky Derby; and Richard, Elaine and Bert Klein’s Stay Put, a winner of an allowance race at Churchill Downs on Kentucky Derby Day.
Trainer Steve Margolis said the Louisville-based Klein family is, at this point, pointing Stay Put toward the third jewel of the Triple Crown.
“We’ve been talking about it over the last week or 10 days,” Margolis said of Stay Put’s Belmont bid. “As long has he stays healthy and well, he’s got two more breezes and we’re gonna go.”
Stay Put, a homebred son of Broken Vow, has won three of seven career starts, but finished fifth in both the Louisiana Derby (GII) and the Risen Star (GII) at Fair Grounds in his only efforts in stakes competition.
“There’ll be some tough horses in there in (Derby runner-up) Ice Box, (Dwyer winner) Fly Down and (Dwyer runner-up) Drosselmeyer,” Margolis said of the Belmont. “But we’re running good, and as long as we stay healthy and good and are training good, we’ve got to take a shot.”
BLAME BOUND FOR STEPHEN FOSTER FOLLOWING RETURN VICTORY IN PIMLICO’S SCHAEFFER – Adele Dilschneider and Claiborne Farm’s Blame looked like a horse with a big future when he whipped older rivals to win Churchill Downs’ Clark Handicap (GII) as a 3-year-old in late November.
The anticipated return to racing by the now 4-year-old homebred son of Arch did nothing to diminish those expectations when Blame rolled to an easy 1 ½-length victory in Saturday’s William Donald Schaefer Handicap (GIII) on the Preakness undercard at Pimlico on Saturday. With that successful return to competition behind the colt, trainer Al Stall Jr. will now point Blame to his next goal: a run in the $600,000-added Stephen Foster Handicap (GI) on June 12 at Churchill Downs.
“He’s a good horse and it’s really good to get that one under his belt,” Stall said. “It was definitely time for him to go run, and you just don’t know what’s going to happen. Sometimes they don’t come back like you think and sometimes they’re not as ready as you think they are, so there was a little more anxiety than in a regular race.”
That case of race-day nerves aside, Stall said Blame had blossomed during his training over the synthetic Polytrack course at Keeneland in recent weeks and he felt the colt was ready for a good effort.
“In the last three or four weeks he just really let you know that it was time,” Stall said. “He’s a great looking horse, but he really just started looking phenomenal. He just was really good to go.”
Now Stall will focus completely on the 1 1/8-mile Foster, a race in which Blame is expected to face the likes of defending winner Macho Again and Alysheba (GIII) Arson Squad.
"We’ve got four weeks, to the day almost, to the Foster,” said Stall. “I can map out sort of a simple schedule to get him there. It gives you something to get out of bed for, that’s for sure.”
The Schaeffer victory improved Blame’s career record to 6-1-2 in nine races – including a 2-1-0 slate in three starts at Churchill Downs, which will also be the host track for the $5 million Breeders’ Cup Classic on Nov. 6. Blame has earned $676,747.
THISKYHASNOLIMIT IMPRESSES IN RETURN TO RACING IN MATT WINN – He had been on the sidelines for a good while, but a sharp victory Bob and Cathy Zollars and Mark Wagner’s Thiskyhasnolimit in Saturday’s ninth running of Churchill Downs’ $108,000 Matt Winn Stakes had it look as if the colt had never been away.
The 3-year-old son of Sky Mesa, away from racing since late November, rallied from fourth and wore down favored Cool Bullet to win the seven furlong race for 3-year-olds by three-quarters of a length. He covered the distance over a fast track in 1:22.29.
The victory by Thisskyhasnolimit was the third in the Matt Winn for trainer Steve Asmussen, but, despite the long layoff, it came as no surprise to assistant Scott Blasi, who oversees Asmussen’s Churchill Downs stable.
"He had been training like a bear,” Blasi said Sunday morning. “The way he was training I would have surprised if he hadn’t won.”
Thiskyhasnolimit had not run since a sixth-place finish as the favorite in the $150,000-added Kentucky Jockey Club (GII) on Nov. 28 – a race won by WinStar Farm’s future Kentucky Derby winner Super Saver.
"We just gave him some time,” said Blasi. “I don’t remember any specific problem. He was just a big, immature colt He’s doing good this morning. Steve will get together with the owners and we’ll see where we go next with him.”
The victory improved the winner’s career record to 3-1-1 in seven races and increased his career earnings to $204,439.
While disappointed by the loss, trainer Steve Margolis was upbeat about the effort by Robert and Lawana Low and Winmore LLC’s Cool Bullet,
“The horse ran a big race and got a great trip,” Margolis said. “He fought on game, but the other horse just had a little more.”
It was the second consecutive runner-up finish in the Winn for Margolis, who saddled Richard, Elaine and Bert Klein’s Cash Refund for a second place Winn finish behind Capt. Candyman Can in its 2009 renewal.d
Margolis said Cool Bullet could run next in the $175,000 Jersey Shore Breeders’ Cup (GIII) on July 4 at Monmouth Park.
BARN TALK – Gold Mark Farms LLC’s Backtalk returned to serious training on Sunday following his run in the Kentucky Derby. The Tom Amoss trainee, who finished last in the Derby field of 20 3-year-olds, breezed four furlongs over a fast track in :51.80. … Owner/trainer Tom McCarthy said Woodford Reserve Turf Classic (GI) winner General Quarters is scheduled to work on Monday, but McCarthy is keeping an eye on the weather and the plan could change because of track conditions. General Quarters has now won Grade I races on turf and synthetic surfaces. He took the 2009 Toyota Blue Grass (GI) over the Polytrack surface at Keeneland before running 10th over the main track at Churchill Downs in the 135th Kentucky Derby (GI).
Romans-Trained Preakness Duo Completes Local Preps ... Baffert Tabs Garcia ... Mission Impazible to skip Preakness
ROMANS DUO COMPLETES CHURCHILL PREPARATIONS FOR PREAKNESS – Routine gallops were the order of the day on Tuesday for a pair of Preakness contenders trained by Louisville native Dale Romans, who is looking forward to saddling his double-barreled bid for a first victory in a Triple Crown classic.
Donegal Racing’s Paddy O’Prado, third to Super Saver in the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (Grade I), will be joined in the starting gate on Saturday by stablemate First Dude, Donald Dizney’s third-place finisher behind Stately Victor and Paddy O’Prado in the $750,000 Toyota Blue Grass (GI) at Keeneland on April 10.
Paddy O’ Prado will enter the Preakness without a work between the Kentucky Derby and Saturday’s race in Baltimore. Beaten Kentucky Derby favorite Lookin At Lucky, sixth in the ruggedly-run race, also heads to Pimlico Race Course without a work between races.
“He didn’t need to work,” Romans said of his gray colt. “If’s he not fit now, a half-mile work is not going to do him much good.”
Romans was relieved that First Dude finally seemed assured of a spot in the starting gate in Saturday’s Preakness. Earlier in the week, it appeared that the 1 3/16-mile second jewel of the Triple Crown could attract an overflow field and Romans’ imposing bay son of Stephen Got Even could be left on the outside looking in.
“I wanted to run him in the Derby,” said Romans. “I think he’ll run good.”
The trainer’s confidence in First Dude was boosted on Sunday when the Nick Zito-trained Fly Down, who has handed First Dude a pair of narrow defeats at Churchill Downs and Gulfstream Park, scored a runaway victory in Sunday’s Dwyer (GII) at Belmont Park. First Dude has a record of 1-3-1 in six career races.
“He’s a nice horse,” said Romans of First Dude. “He’s a big, strong colt and he’s run with some of the best. Fly Down just beat him twice and came back and crushed ‘em in the Dwyer. We just think a lot of him.”
There is a potential for rain at Pimlico over the next few days, but Romans said track condition should be of little concern to his Preakness hopes.
“It shouldn’t bother either one of them,” he said. “I think both of them will run on anything. Paddy’s already proven that by running well on grass, Poly[track] and mud. I don’t see why running on a fast track would be any different.”
SUPER SAVER WELL ON EVE OF JOURNEY TO BALTIMORE, NO PREAKNESS FOR MISSION IMPAZIBLE – WinStar Farm’s Super Saver, winner of the $2 million Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (Grade I), was reported to be doing well on the morning after Monday’s Churchill Downs workout that completed his serious training for Saturday’s 135th running of the Preakness (GI), the second jewel of the Triple Crown.
The son of Maria’s Mon worked three furlongs in :36.60 over a fast track under regular jockey Calvin Borel on Monday. Mike McCarthy, the assistant who oversees Derby-winning trainer Todd Pletcher’s stable at Churchill Downs, said Super Saver was doing well Tuesday morning.
Pletcher will be represented in the Preakness by Super Saver and Dogwood Stable’s Aikenite, runner-up in the $200,000 The Cliff’s Edge Derby Trial (GII) on April 24 at Churchill Downs. Both horses are scheduled to fly from Louisville to Baltimore at midday on Wednesday.
Pletcher confirmed via text message that Twin Creeks Racing Stable’s Mission Impazible, the ninth-place finisher in the Kentucky Derby, would not travel to Baltimore to compete in the Preakness. He said the next start for the winner of the Louisiana Derby (GII) at Fair Grounds has not been determined.
The Pletcher duo and other Preakness contenders on the grounds at Churchill Downs are schedule to board vans at the Pletcher barn for the brief journey to Louisville International Airport around 11:30 a.m. (all times EDT). The Sutton Forwarding Co. flight that will carry the horses to Baltimore is set to depart from Louisville at noon.
LOOKIN AT LUCKY GALLOPS, GARCIA NOW DEFINITE FOR PREAKNESS RIDE – Karl Watson, Mike Pegram and Paul Weitman’s Lookin At Lucky, a troubled sixth in the Kentucky Derby and America’s reigning 2-year-old champion, galloped at Churchill Downs on Tuesday, the eve of the colt’s departure for Baltimore to run in Saturday’s Preakness Stakes.
Trainer Bob Baffert said all was well with the 3-year-old son of Smart Strike, who will bid to provide the three-time Kentucky Derby-winning trainer with his fifth victory in the middle jewel of the Triple Crown. Baffert notched earlier wins in the 1 3/16-mile classic with Kentucky Derby winners Silver Charm (1997), Real Quiet (’98) and War Emblem (2002), and with Point Given, who also won the Belmont Stakes in 2001 after a fifth-place finish as the favorite in the Kentucky Derby.
Baffert said 26-year-old Martin Garcia is confirmed to ride Lookin At Lucky in the Preakness. It will be the first Preakness ride for Garcia, who will replace Garrett Gomez in the saddle after Lookin At Lucky endured troubled journeys in the Santa Anita Derby (GI), where he finished third, and the “Run for the Roses.”
The trainer consulted with several more experienced riders who were available to ride in the Preakness, but decided to go with Garcia.
The thing with Martin is that he’s been on him – he’s worked him a lot,” Baffert said. “And he wins for me.”
Baffert has said that his decision to replace Gomez is not a reflection on the rider’s talent, but an effort to reverse the recent run of bad luck for the horse.
LUKAS LEAVES EARLY WITH DUBLIN, NORTHERN GIANT – Hall of Fame trainer and five-time Preakness winner D. Wayne Lukas decided against a plane ride to Baltimore on Wednesday for his pair of Preakness contenders, who boarded a van Tuesday morning for the overland trip to Pimlico Race Course.
Robert Baker and William Mack’s Dublin, seventh in the Kentucky Derby for Lukas, completed his major preparation for the Preakness with a half-mile work on Monday in 48.40. Also on the van on Tuesday was Westrock Stables’ Northern Giant., who had breezed three furlongs on Monday at Churchill Downs in :36.40.
Westrock’s Tidal Pool, a game third behind Blind Luck in the $500,000-added Kentucky Oaks (GI), was also on the van to Pimlico to run in Friday’s $175,000 Black-Eyed Susan Stakes (GII) for 3-year-old fillies. The Lukas-trained Yankee Gentleman filly is the morning line favorite in a field of nine and will be ridden by Calvin Borel.
SUTTON FLIGHT TO CARRY 10 PREAKNESS HOPES TO BALTIMORE – Wednesday’s Sutton Forwarding Co. flight from Louisville to Baltimore for Saturday’s Preakness will carry 10 Preakness contenders to Pimlico – including eight that have been training at Churchill Downs.
The noon flight will carry the Todd Pletcher-trained duo of Kentucky Derby winner Super Saver and Aikenite; Lookin At Lucky; the Dale Romans duo of Paddy O’Prado and First Dude; the Nick Zito-trained Jackson Bend, who finished 12th in the Derby; and Hurricane Ike, winner of The Cliff’s Edge Derby Trial.
The flight will originate in Ontario, Cal. and Preakness contender Caracortado will board the plane there. Joining the group of Preakness hopes in Louisville will be Florida Derby (GI) runner-up Pleasant Prince, who has been training at Keeneland for Wesley Ward since his third-place run in The Cliff’s Edge Derby Trial.
Also boarding the plane in Louisville will be Claiborne Farm and Adele Dilschneider’s Blame, the Al Stall, Jr.-trained winner of last fall’s Clark Handicap (GII) who is scheduled to make his 4-year-old in the Schaefer Handicap (GIII) at Pimlico on Preakness Day. He has been preparing his 2010 debut at Keeneland.
WORK TAB (Track: WET FAST) – Aspire, runner-up in the 2009 Hopeful (GI) and third in the Champagne (GI), breezed five furlongs for trainer Eddie Kenneally in 1:00.60 – the fastest of 16 moves at the distance. … veteran sprinter Euroears breezed a half-mile in :48 … John Battaglia Memorial winner Vow to Wager breezed a half-mile in :50 … Iroquois (GIII) winner Thiskyhasnolimit breezed four furlongs for trainer Steve Asmussen in :50.80.
Derby Winner Super Saver Works Under Borel; Gomez Gets Acquainted with Dublin; Rachel Returns to Work Tab
DERBY WINNER SUPER SAVER WORKS THREE FURLONGS IN :36.60 – WinStar Farm’s Super Saver worked three furlongs in :36.60 under jockey Calvin Borel after renovation break over a track rated as “fast.”
Working on his own, Super Saver notched fractions of :12.40, :36.60, out a half in :49.20 and five-eighths in 1:02. The move was fifth fastest of 29 at the distance.
“I was very pleased with the work,” trainer Todd Pletcher said. “We are very encouraged by what we’ve seen since the Derby from him. Everything is good. I got him in :36 and change and out in :49.”
“It was real good – just what we wanted,” said Borel. “He switched leads on key – we’ve been working on that a little bit. I was perfect. You couldn’t ask for better, I don’t think.”
Super Saver is scheduled to ship to Baltimore on Wednesday and Pletcher said that Super Saver would gallop at Pimlico on Thursday and Friday and have a paddock schooling session on Thursday.
Pletcher is seeking his first Preakness victory, which would give him a Triple Crown of sorts bookended by Super Saver’s Kentucky Derby triumph and Rags to Riches’ victory in the 2007 Belmont.
“He is pretty unique,” Pletcher said of Super Saver when asked to compare him with other horses he has trained. “He is very athletic, a good mover and very efficient.”
Borel said Super Saver made great progress since his runner-up finish to Line of David in the Arkansas Derby on April 10. While he had displayed sharp speed early in his career, the colt rated off the pace that day and relaxed so well on Kentucky Derby Day that he settled more than eight lengths off of a fast pace in the mile and a quarter classic. His rider believes that Super Saver’s new versatility will serve him well in Saturday’s 1 3/16ths-mile Preakness.
“That’s a great feeling,” he said. “He’s not like a horse like Street Sense [2007 Kentucky Derby winner and Preakness runner-up] who’s got to come out the back door. He doesn’t have to be on the lead – if they give to me, good – if they don’t, no. That’s a big plus – he plays with me. I can do what I want with him.
“Todd did a good job with him – him and his assistant [Mike McCarthy] and exercise rider [Kevin Willey]. When I rode him last year as a 2-year-old he was a pretty aggressive colt. He wanted to run pretty early, and now he’s on-command. That’s what you want in these kind of races because you never know what they’re going to throw at you – there might be a ‘rabbit’ or two, so you want get him to relax and not to be there fighting with them and go from there.”
Also working for Pletcher after the break was Twin Creeks Racing Stable’s Mission Impazible, the ninth-place finisher in the Kentucky Derby. With exercise rider Kevin Willey up, Mission Impazible covered three furlongs in :36.40. The move was third fastest of 29 at the distance. Fractions for the breeze were :12 and out a half-mile in :49.60.
“I thought he worked well,” Pletcher said. “We are still on the fence with him about the Preakness. I am going to get with the owners this afternoon.”
Dogwood Stable’s Aikenite walked the shedrow Monday a day after working five furlongs in 1:01.40.
“He came out of the work fine,” Pletcher said of Aikenite, who will be ridden in the Preakness by Javier Castellano.
BAFFERT SAYS LOOKIN AT LUCKY IS LIKELY FOR PREAKNESS – It’s looking more likely that reigning juvenile champion Lookin At Lucky will get a chance at redemption in the 135th Preakness (Grade I) following his sixth-place run behind Super Saver in the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (GI) on May 1.
Karl Watson, Mike Pegram and Paul Weitman’s 3-year-old son of Smart Strike galloped 1 ½ miles over a “fast” surface Monday under exercise rider Peter Hutton and trainer Bob Baffert said he was expecting to run the beaten Kentucky Derby favorite in the Preakness. The colt is scheduled to board a flight to Baltimore on Wednesday for Saturday’s race at Pimlico Race Course.
“I’m planning on it unless I see something between now and getting on the plane,” said Baffert. “There’s no urgency. I told everybody yesterday to go on and get their [hotel] rooms and stuff.”
Baffert said Lookin At Lucky would not have a workout between his troubled Kentucky Derby run and the Preakness.
“We’ll just gallop him into the race,” said Baffert. “He’s a different kind of horse. He doesn’t need a work.”
If Lookin At Lucky does go in the Preakness, Baffert said Martin Garcia is expected to ride in what would be his debut in the second jewel of the Triple Crown. Garrett Gomez had ridden the colt in all of his previous nine starts, but has already accepted a mount on Dublin for the Preakness.
“It’s not for sure yet – I’ve got a lot of other calls from different riders, but Martin’s on hold,” said Baffert. “Martin knows the horse. He’s worked him.
“I think he’s got a lot of raw talent, but he’s young. He rides good for me – we’re clicking pretty good. Everywhere I send him he wins a race – he even won one for me here at Churchill. I think he’s just too young to understand the meaning of these races – but sometimes that can be good. Just like Affirmed and Steve Cauthen, he might have been too young to understand what the hell was going on.”
Kentucky native Cauthen was 18 when he won the 1978 Kentucky Derby and Triple Crown aboard Affirmed, the last 3-year-old to sweep the covered three-race series.
Garcia, a native of Veracruz, Mexico, is 26.
Baffert made the move to replace Gomez after Lookin At Lucky endured difficult journeys in both the Santa Anita Derby and Kentucky Derby, but said the move should be no reflection on Gomez’s ability.
"I love Garrett – it’s just luck,” he said. “We were just having bad luck on that horse. I told him it might be a one-shot deal. I just wanted to try something different.”
GOMEZ GUIDES LUKAS’ DUBLIN THROUGH HALF-MILE WORK IN :48.40 – Robert Baker and William Mack’s Dublin, seventh in the Kentucky Derby for trainer D. Wayne Lukas, worked a half-mile in company with Bird Empire in :48.40, the 15th fastest move of 69 at the distance.
With new rider Garrett Gomez aboard, Dublin posted fractions of :13, :25, and :37 and galloped out five furlongs in 1:01 in the work that occurred immediately after the track opened at 6 o’clock.
“I liked what I felt under me,” said Gomez, who is replacing Terry Thompson on Dublin. “He was very responsive. Wayne wanted a good easy half and didn’t want much of a gallop-out. He wanted solid :12s.”
Gomez was asked if much could be learned about a horse like Dublin in a quick test run?
“Yes. He was nothing like what you may have heard about in Hot Springs (at Oaklawn Park) when he bolted a few times,” Gomez said. “He was no problem today. He’s just a big ol’ boy. I feel good about my chances.”
After the work, Lukas said to Gomez: “I hope you feel good about him.”
Gomez responded: “I do.”
“It was a very good work and he galloped out in 1:01.” Lukas said. “Garrett liked it. He’s enthused and that’s all that matters.”
Westrock Stables’ Northern Giant was the next out for Lukas, working three furlongs in :36.40, third fastest of 29, under Arielle Witkowski. Fractions were :12.60, :36.40 and out a half-mile in :49.80.
“He went well,” Lukas said of Northern Giant, on whom a rider has not been confirmed. “I want to see who shows up there for the other stakes” (before naming a rider).
JACKSON BEND DRILLS BULLET HALF FOR PREAKNESS – Robert LaPenta and Fred Brei’s Jackson Bend signaled his readiness for a run in Saturday’s Preakness by working a bullet half-mile in :46.60.
The move, accomplished shortly after 7 a.m., was the fastest of 69 at the distance. Working in company with Latigo Shore and with Stacy Prior in the saddle, Jackson Bend produced fractions of :11.80, :23, :34.80 and out five furlongs in :59.80.
“It was really quick, but the good thing about it is that he did it on his own,” trainer Nick Zito said. “Stacy was not asking him at all.
“If he has a good week, this is the shot you take. He will get a break after this.”
HURRICANE IKE WORKS SEVEN FURLONGS IN 1:25.80 – Ike and Dawn Thrash’s Hurricane Ike and jockey Robby Albarado had a seven-furlong, get-acquainted session after the renovation break.
The John Sadler-trained winner of Churchill Downs’ The Cliff’s Edge Derby Trial (GIII) on April 24, Hurricane Ike worked seven furlongs in 1:25.80 with the final five-eighths clocked in 1:01.40.
“I thought it went well. He hit the ground nice and I think I am in good shape,” Albarado said, adding with a laugh, “I put him in tight next to the fence so nobody can sneak inside of him.”
After the work, Albarado relayed his thoughts on the test run over the phone to Sadler’s assistant Larry Benavidez.
This work was more for me than for him to let me get a feel for him,” Albarado said after the call. “We broke off at the seven-eighths and I just eased him into the work.”
Tne other Preakness hopeful worked after the break, Steel Your Face Stables’ Yawanna Twist.
With assistant trainer Michelle Nevin up and working solo, Yawanna Twist covered five furlongs in 1:01.80. Fractions were :12.60 and :36.60 for the move that was 13th fastest of 27 at the distance.
“It was a basic work for him. It went well,” Nevin said of Yawanna Twist, runner-up in the Illinois Derby (GIII) in his most recent start.
Trainer Dale Romans had both of his Preakness prospects on the track Monday. Donald Dizney’s First Dude jogged two miles in his first day back at the track since a five-eighths work in 1:00.60 on Saturday. Donegal Racing’s Paddy O’Prado, third-place finisher in the Kentucky Derby, galloped a mile and a half.
RACHEL ALEXANDRA CRUISES IN FIRST WORK SINCE UPSET LOSS IN LA TROIENNE – Stonestreet Stable and Harold McCormick’s 2009 Horse of the Year Rachel Alexandra returned to serious training following her upset loss in the $400,000-added La Troienne (GII) at Churchill Downs with an easy half-mile breeze on Monday at Churchill Downs.
The Steve Asmussen-trained 4-year-old daughter of Medaglia d’Oro worked the four furlongs over a “fast” track under jockey Shaun Bridgmohan in :50. She covered the distance in fractional times of :13, :25.60 and :38.60 and galloped out five furlongs in 1:05.60.
“It was an easy first work back,” said Asmussen. “It’s nice cool morning and everything is ideal today. It’s another step in the process.”
Asmussen said there’s no target for Rachel Alexandra’s next race following back-to-back losses to Zardana by three-quarters of a length in the New Orleans Ladies on March 13 and Unrivaled Belle by the margin of a head in the La Troienne at Churchill Downs on the April 30 Kentucky Oaks Day program.
“All options are open,” Asmussen said.
Rachel Alexandra’s record stands at 11-4-0 in 16 races with earnings of $3,074,050.
WORK TAB (Track: FAST) – Emmy Darling breezed a half-mile in :48 under Calvin Borel for trainer John Sadler … Florida Oaks (GIII) winner Diva Delite breezed a half-mile in :50 for trainer Ian Wilkes … Ravi’s Song breezed four furlongs in :50 … multiple turf and dirt stakes winner Acoma breezed five furlongs in 1:00.40 for trainer David Carroll …Cash Refund, winner of the Duncan Kenner and F.W. Gaudin Memorial at Fair Grounds, breezed five furlongs in 1:00.60 for trainer Steve Margolis … Stay Put, an allowance winner on Derby Day and a possible Belmont Stakes candidate, breezed four furlongs in :49, also for Margolis … Kensei, winner of the 2009 renewals of the Dwyer (GII) and Jim Dandy (GII), breezed a half-mile in :48.80 for trainer Steve Asmussen.
