Illinois Derby (G2) hero MUSKET MAN (Yonaguska), third in both the Kentucky
Derby (G1) and Preakness S. (G1), left his Monmouth Park stall Thursday morning
and headed to the farm for a vacation.
“We’ll let him chill out on the farm for two or three weeks,” trainer Derek
Ryan said. “He’s tired of traveling, and so am I.”
Ryan said that the dark bay colt would return to Monmouth in mid-June and
immediately start training for his next start, the $1 million Haskell
Invitational (G1) on August 2.
“The Haskell has always been our summer goal,” Ryan said. “I want to make
sure he’s ready.”
Musket Man has run at six different racetracks so far in his career,
compiling an 8-5-0-3 mark and earnings of $893,600 for owners Eric Fein and Vic
Carlson. He wintered at Tampa Bay Downs, where he garnered the Pasco S. and
Tampa Bay Derby (G3). He then shipped to Chicago to win the Illinois Derby at
Hawthorne, vanned to Churchill Downs, where he ran third (beaten a nose for
second) in the Kentucky Derby, and then vanned to Pimlico (via Monmouth Park)
where he ran third behind RACHEL ALEXANDRA (Medaglia d’Oro) and Derby winner
MINE THAT BIRD (Birdstone), beaten 1 1/2 lengths for all the money.
“He had a real chance to win the Preakness,” Ryan said. “He had to check hard
between the half-mile pole and the three-eighths pole. If he doesn’t get
stopped, he would have been two lengths behind the filly when he made his run in
the stretch, and would have had a chance. But instead, he checked and fell back
10 lengths behind her. He made the same move he always does, but he was too far
back by then. She got the jump on us.”
While Musket Man has temporarily left Monmouth, Grade 3 victor BIG DRAMA (Montbrook)
has shipped into the Jersey Shore venue, along with the rest of David Fawkes’
division. Plans are still being formulated for Big Drama, who finished fifth
behind Rachel Alexandra in Preakness 134.
“He’s fine,” the Calder-based Fawkes said on Thursday morning. “He ran a good
race, but things pretty much went downhill for him after he drew the one post.”
Big Drama became fractious in the gate under jockey John Velazquez while the
rest of the field loaded and had to be taken out and then reloaded.
“We’re just going to take another week and talk about plans for the summer,”
Fawkes said. “He’s only run twice since early December, so he’s just starting a
campaign that we hope will take him to the Breeders’ Cup. The question will be
what kind of races he’ll run in. One option is to go back to sprints.”
Big Drama won four straight races at Calder last year after a third-place
debut in mid-July, sweeping the three open divisions of the Florida Stallion
Stakes series, before capturing the $750,000 Delta Jackpot (G3) at Delta Downs
to complete his juvenile campaign. In his sophomore bow, the dark bay crossed
the wire first when setting a track record in the Swale S. (G2) at Gulfstream
Park, only to be disqualified and placed second for interference.