Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas confirmed Tuesday that Titletown Five
will be entered for the Preakness, giving him three starters for the second time
in his career. Kentucky Derby runners Oxbow (sixth) and Will Take Charge
(eighth) are also scheduled to compete in the middle jewel of the Triple Crown.
Lukas decided to add Titletown Five to the roster of Preakness candidates
after the Tiznow colt worked a half-mile in :47 3/5 Tuesday morning at Churchill
Downs. It was the fifth fastest of 35 recorded at the distance. Titletown Five
has a record of 1-2-1 from seven starts. In his most recent outing, he was
fourth in the Derby Trial.
“We had flirted with the idea of going into the Kentucky Derby and late
additions bumped us from that,” Lukas said. “He has been doing so well lately
and today just highlighted that. It was a brilliant work and a great gallop out.
I just thought that it was a good spot maybe to try him. He’s an exceptional
horse He’s very talented with good tactical speed. He’ll make some noise there.”
Lukas saddled Editor’s Note (third), Victory Speech (fifth) and Prince of
Thieves (seventh) for the 1996 Preakness. If all three go to the post on May 18,
it will extend his Preakness record to 40 competitors, including winners Codex
(1980), Tank’s Prospect (1985), Tabasco Cat (1994), Timber Country (1995) and
Charismatic (1999).
“I feel comfortable starting this horse,” he said. “I own a piece of him with
Paul Hornung and Willie Davis, the all-pro (football) players. They’re excited
about him and so am I.”
Lukas said he was securing a rider for Titletown Five.
Itsmyluckyday, who finished 15th in the Kentucky Derby, was confirmed Tuesday
morning as a likely starter in the Preakness. Trainer Eddie Plesa Jr. expressed
confidence that the sloppy track at Churchill Downs was the reason for his
Gulfstream Park Derby and Holy Bull winner’s subpar showing.
“For a horse to train that well and run that poorly and come out of the race
so well, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure it out,” he said.
Itsmyluckyday has shown his connections nothing but positive signals since
the Derby.
“Everything’s going 100 percent,” Plesa said. “He went to the track today,
and my assistant trainer (Frankie Perez) and exercise rider (Peter Shelton) gave
him a 10-plus on a scale from 1-10.”
The son of Lawyer Ron jogged two miles at Churchill Downs.
“It’s a good thing we went around twice and not once because I might not have
gotten him back to the barn, because he was feeling so good,” Shelton said.
Itsmyluckyday was scheduled to leave Churchill Downs at 4 p.m. (EDT) and is
expected to arrive at Monmouth Park at approximately 2 a.m. Wednesday. Plesa
said his colt would likely arrive at Pimlico on Monday or Tuesday.
Meanwhile at Belmont Park, trainer Shug McGaughey was pleased with what he
saw in Kentucky Derby winner Orb Tuesday morning.
“We walked him under tack. Right now we’re in good shape,” McGaughey said.
“He looks the picture, looks bright, happy with himself.”
McGaughey said Orb would return to the racetrack Wednesday morning.
The Bob Baffert-trained Govenor Charlie worked six furlongs at Churchill
Downs Tuesday morning in preparation for his Preakness bid.
Working in company with Fed Biz, Govenor Charlie was clocked in 1:11 2/5
after posting fractions of :12, :23 4/5, :35 2/5 and :58 3/5 under Ricardo
Santana Jr. Stakes winner Fed Biz, who was ridden by Rosie Napravnik, was also
clocked in 1:11 2/5.
Also at Churchill, Illinois Derby winner Departing galloped 1 1/2 miles
Tuesday morning and is scheduled to tune up for the Preakness with a breeze on
Saturday or Sunday.
Mylute, fifth-place finisher in the Derby, walked the shedrow and could
return to the racetrack on Wednesday morning.
Chad Brown-trained Normandy Invasion, the fourth-place Derby finisher, and
Rudy Rodriguez-trained Vyjack, who finished 18th in the Derby, remain Preakness
possibles.
Street Spice, the fifth-place finisher in the Illinois Derby, is under
consideration for a run in the Preakness. Trainer Greg Geier said Tuesday that
he will make the decision on whether to try the Preakness after he works the
Street Sense colt this weekend.
The Kentucky-bred has a 2-0-1 record in six starts, all at Chicago-area
tracks. At odds of 44-1, he finished 5 1/2 lengths behind Preakness-bound
Departing in the Illinois Derby on April 20 at Hawthorne.
“He had a lot of trouble in the Illinois Derby and got bumped around three or
four times,” Geier said. “He was about eight-wide all the way around there.”
Bellarmine, an allowance winner on the Kentucky Derby undercard, has been
withdrawn from Preakness consideration by trainer Ken McPeek.
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