Although some changes were made, the list of horses being considered for the
Trainer Neil Howard said that his Lexington S. (G3) runner-up PRIME CUT
However, Magdalena Racing’s CASPER’S TOUCH (Touch Gold), who was third in the
The group of horses being considered consists of seven that ran in the
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Owners Stonestreet Stables and George Bolton confirmed Tuesday that ASTROLOGY
(A.P. Indy) will
make his third start of 2011 in the Preakness at Pimlico Race Course.
Astrology worked six furlongs Monday in 1:12 2/5 over a fast Churchill Downs
track, as he continues to move forward in his three-year-old
campaign.
Winner of the Iroquois (G3) and a close second in the Kentucky Jockey Club S.
(G2) at two, Astrology began 2011 with a second-place finish in the Sunland Derby
(G3) on March 27. He filled the same finishing position in the April 23 Jerome
H. (G2), rallying late over the sloppy conditions at Aqueduct in what
was intended to be a Preakness prep.
Stonestreet and George Bolton teamed during Curlin’s 2007 Preakness victory
and Stonestreet enjoyed another garland of Black-Eyed Susans in 2009 when Rachel
Alexandra became the first filly to win the Preakness in 85 years.
Pimlico Race Course has thus been established as a special place for Astrology’s
connections.
“We are excited to try and win the Preakness for Stonestreet for the third
time in five years,” Asmussen assistant trainer Scott Blasi said.
Kentucky Derby runner-up NEHRO (Mineshaft) walked the shedrow at Churchill
Downs Tuesday. The Asmussen pupil is expected to skip the Preakness in favor of
a five-week rest into the Belmont S., but the maiden winner remains under
consideration for the second jewel of the Triple Crown.
Philip Bauer, assistant to trainer Kenny McPeek, contacted Maryland Jockey
Club stakes coordinator Coley Blind on Tuesday to say that Casper’s Touch is a
candidate for the race. Casper’s Touch worked five furlongs in a bullet :59 3/5
Sunday at Churchill Downs.
Federico Tesio winner CONCEALED IDENTITY (Smarty Jones), owned by Linda
Gaudet and Morris Bailey, had another quiet morning Tuesday, walking the shedrow
at trainer Eddie Gaudet’s barn at Bowie.
Purchased for $16,000, the gelding won two of his first three starts last
year and has bounced back from an injury to win his last two outings, both at 1
1/16 miles at Pimlico. Concealed Identity rolled to a 3 1/2-length score in an
April 15 allowance/optional claimer before posting a two-length decision in
Saturday’s Tesio.
“He lost his right eye after winning the Maryland Juvenile Championship (in
December) and we had a blinker on it to protect him so sand would not be hitting
him in the eye,” said his 80-year-old trainer. “That didn’t agree with him so we
took it off and he has won both races. He has been more aggressive and two turns
has been the key.”
With four victories in eight starts, including a pair of ungraded stakes,
Concealed Identity has purse earnings of $120,780, which put him in contention
for a spot in the field.
“He trains well and is a very professional horse,” Gaudet added.
Sheldon Russell, the leading rider at the current Pimlico meet, will ride
Concealed Identity in the Preakness.
The Estate of Edward P. Evans’ DANCE CITY (City Zip) jogged a mile at
Churchill Downs before the morning renovation break with exercise rider Obed
Perez up.
Third in the Arkansas Derby (G1) in his most recent start, the Todd Pletcher
trainee is scheduled to have his final work for the Preakness on Sunday.
Robert LaPenta’s DIALED IN (Mineshaft) walked the shedrow at Churchill Downs
and is scheduled to return to the track on Wednesday trainer Nick Zito said.
Dialed In went to the track before the morning renovation break during Derby
Week and Zito said the beaten Derby favorite may have early activity Wednesday
to avoid the heat on a day when highs are expected to reach the high 80s.
Zito found a major positive in Dialed In’s eighth-place finish on Saturday.
“They ran the slowest first three-quarters in the Derby since 1947 and my
horse ran the second fastest (final) half-mile (in :47.02),” Zito said. “Only
Secretariat ran a faster final half (:46 2/5). He (Dialed In) was not a short
horse. We are going to keep doing what we’ve been doing with him when he was in
Florida.”
Peachtree Stable’s speedy FLASHPOINT (Pomeroy) is definite for the Preakness.
Trainer Doodnauth Shivmangal said that his two New York-based colts, HARLAN’S
Nearing the mid-point of his 3-year-old season, Isn’t He Perfect has already
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“Isn’t He Perfect ran in the Wood Memorial and he is the horse that really
looked Uncle Mo in the eye,” Shivmangal said. “I thought the jock moved a little
too early and used him up around two turns. He is a speedy horse and he can be
up there. He also ran in the Gotham and we made a mistake of asking the jockey
to stay back too far.
“We think that Pimlico is a track that favors speed, so we want to give him a
shot and see what he does. He’s a nice, little horse and we think he has a
shot.”
Harlan’s Hello last raced in a turf allowance on May 1. He is entered in an
allowance/optional claimer on Friday at Belmont Park.
“He has a lot of speed and broke his maiden against older horses,” Shivmangal
said. “We ran him in the Jerome, which is a seven-furlong race, which wasn’t
good for him because he likes to go long. We tried him on the grass the other
day and he didn’t like it. We also think that he is a horse that needs to go
long, too.”
West Point Thoroughbred’s KING CONGIE (Badge of Silver) walked at trainer Tom
Albertrani’s barn at Belmont Park Tuesday, the morning after breezing five
furlongs in 1:01.
Albertrani said the colt came out of the work fine and would likely return to
the track on Wednesday. He said jockey Robby Albarado, who was taken off Derby
winner Animal Kingdom (Leroidesanimaux [Brz]) the day before the race, will ride
King Congie in the Preakness.
Arnold Zetcher’s MIDNIGHT INTERLUDE (War Chant), 16th in the Kentucky Derby,
walked the shedrow at Churchill Downs Tuesday and is scheduled to return to the
track to gallop on Wednesday morning. The Santa Anita Derby (G1) winner remains
a candidate for the Preakness.
“I’ll know Monday after I watch him train,” Baffert said.
The connections of Santa Anita Derby third-placer MR. COMMONS (Artie
Schiller) have notified the Maryland Jockey Club racing office of their
intention to run in the 1 3/16-mile Preakness. A maiden and allowance winner in
his first two starts this year, the John Shirreffs-trained colt will be making
his second stakes attempt if he goes postward in the Preakness.
Trainer Kathy Ritvo said the Derby third-placer MUCHO MACHO MAN (Macho Uno)
was doing well at her barn at Belmont Park and remains a serious prospect for
the Preakness. She said that a report on the internet that Mucho Macho Man would
pass the Preakness and race next in the Belmont Stakes was not accurate.
“That is absolutely not true,” Ritvo explained. “The horse is doing well.
We’re in New York and the horse is doing really good and we’ll see in the next
couple days. He’s definitely not out of the Preakness.”
Ritvo said the bay son of Macho Uno owned by Reeves Thoroughbred
Racing and Dream Team Racing has looked great in the days since his run in the
Derby.
“He’s bounced right out. I just want to be cautious with my horse and make
sure that I have all the information before we point toward the Preakness,” she
said, “but he’s doing really well.”
Chris Grove, the leading trainer in Maryland last year, has been pointing his
colt, NORMAN ASBJORNSON (Real Quiet) to the Preakness since late winter and said
that the Gotham (G3) runner-up is showing him he is ready for the state’s
biggest race.
“This horse is peaking right now and that is what is so exciting,” Grove
said. “He is at his best right now. It seems that every day he keeps taking
those baby steps forward. That was his best mile work last week that proves he
just keeps inching toward his best performance.”
While the Kentucky Derby is the goal of every horseman, Grove said he is
happy with how things have worked out. Norman Asbjornson broke his maiden at
Penn National in December, picked up an allowance win in January then ran second
to Stay Thirsty (Bernardini) in the March 5 Gotham. He was fourth, beaten 4 1/2
lengths, in the Wood Memorial (G1) on April 9.
“I didn’t want to go to Kentucky,” Grove said. “I wanted to do the Preakness
and then the Belmont (G1). If we run in the Derby too many things can go wrong
and we would miss out on the best day in Maryland racing. So, all along, I
didn’t want him to win the Wood and then it was mandatory that we go to the
Derby. As far as I can tell, he and I are on the same page. He is peaking going
into the biggest race of his career and the biggest race of my career.”
And Grove said the colt fits in the Preakness field.
“From what I can tell, this horse has a legitimate shot,” he said. “I don’t
think we are taking advantage of being Marylanders just running in the
Preakness, which sometimes happens. I don’t think that is one of those stories.
I think we legitimately belong in the race and all signs point to a big effort.”
Norman Asbjornson galloped 1 1/2 miles Tuesday under exercise rider Tara
Lewis at the Bowie training center and is scheduled to breeze five furlongs at
Pimlico Friday morning after the renovation break. Julian Pimentel, who has been
aboard for the colt’s last two starts, will ride him in the Preakness.
Trainer Kelly Breen said he would talk with owner George Hall on Tuesday
about whether to run the beaten Federico Tesio favorite RULER ON ICE (Roman
Ruler) in the Preakness. Third in the Sunland Derby two back, the gelding has a
2-2-1 record in six career starts.
Tom Walters’ SANTIVA (Giant’s Causeway) Santiva walked the shedrow on
Tuesday. The sixth-place finisher in the Kentucky Derby is expected to return to
the track on Wednesday, and he remains a possibility for Maryland’s signature
race.
Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas contacted Blind (MJC stakes coordinator)
on Tuesday and said the maiden winner still remains under consideration for the
Preakness.
SHACKLEFORD (Forestry), who finished a commendable fourth after setting the
pace in the Derby, walked the shedrow at Churchill Downs Tuesday and is
scheduled to return to the track Wednesday. A head second in the Florida Derby
(G1) two back, the Dale Romans-trained is considered definite for the Preakness.
SWAY AWAY (Afleet Alex), the last horse excluded from the Derby field due to
insufficient graded earnings, will get his chance to join the Triple Crown fray
in Baltimore. The Jeff Bonde pupil jogged a mile before the renovation break at
Churchill Downs Tuesday under exercise rider Keith Davis.