Divining Rod targeting Preakness

Last updated: 4/15/15 3:02 PM

Divining Rod’s connections are pointing the colt to the Preakness
(Keeneland/Coady Photography)

Divining Rod (Precious Kitten), a three-length winner of the
Lexington S. (G3) at Keeneland on April 11, is being pointed to the $1.5 million
Preakness S. (G1), the second jewel of the Triple Crown on May 16 at Pimlico.

It would be the first Preakness starter for
trainer Arnaud Delacour, who is gearing up for his return to the Fair Hill
Training Center in Elkton, Maryland, after spending the winter in Florida.

“Yes, I’m thinking of the Preakness,” Delacour
said. “The timing seems right. It’s five weeks after the Lexington. We had the
Preakness in mind before we entered in the Lexington, hoping he would step up to
that caliber of horses. His win in the Lexington was very encouraging.”

Divining Rod was beaten by just a neck while making his sophomore bow in the
January 31 Sam F. Davis S. (G3) and ran a
troubled third in the Tampa Bay Derby (G2) on March 7 before his breakthrough
victory at Keeneland. Under jockey Julien Leparoux, he tracked the early pace
before swinging outside and finishing full of run in 1:43 1/5 for 1 1/16 miles.

“I was very pleased because he really did it the right way,” Delacour said. “He took back a little bit, just relaxed there
and came with a big run in the stretch, so that was pretty exciting. He came
back very well from it.”

The $100,000 The Very One, a five-furlong turf sprint that is one of seven
stakes on the Preakness undercard, is a likely landing
spot for Divining Rod’s stablemate Ageless (Successful Appeal).

The six-year-old mare captured last year’s The Very One by
three-quarters of a length as the favorite, and parlayed that victory into a half-length triumph in the Royal North (Can-G3) at Woodbine in her
subsequent start. Ageless capped the year finishing fourth by less than a length in
the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint (G1) at 36-1.

“The program for fillies sprinting on the turf is limited. It is a good
program, but it’s pretty much the same races,” Delacour
said. “At the moment, I am thinking about The Very One for her. Hopefully, we’ll
be there on Preakness weekend.”

Ageless has been first, second or third in 15
of 18 lifetime starts with eight wins and nearly $490,000 in purse earnings. She
was second in her 2015 debut, the 5 1/2-furlong Giants Causeway S. on the Lexington
program, coming 4 1/2 months following the Breeders’ Cup.

“This filly is a very consistent filly. She always runs well, no matter what
the outcome is,” Delacour said. “She is amazing. I wasn’t really afraid of the
layoff because the last time we gave her a break, she won right off the layoff.
I knew she could be ready for that kind of race.”

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