Kentucky Derby (G1) winner Always Dreaming arrived at Pimlico at 11 a.m. (EDT) Tuesday morning following a flight from Louisville.
“He’s so laid back, so easy going. He has no mental issues. He’s a quiet, easy-going horse. It seems like nothing stresses him out,” said assistant trainer Ginny DePasquale, who will supervise Always Dreaming’s scheduled one-mile jog at Pimlico Wednesday morning at 6:30 a.m.
Trainer Todd Pletcher will reportedly arrive at Pimlico on Wednesday afternoon.
Back at Churchill Downs on Tuesday, Gunnevera returned to the track following his seventh-place finish in the Derby. Alex Sano, the son of trainer Antonio Sano, said the two primary factors for running Gunnevera in the Preakness were “the horse did not seem like a horse who just came out of a mile and a quarter race” and “getting (jockey) Mike Smith.”
Gunnevera came back bouncing from his two-mile jog over the Churchill strip.
“We have a good horse, the horse is sound,” Alex Sano said. “The Preakness is our main goal right now. The idea is to have a complete and sound horse for the rest of the season, and also for a couple more seasons, so we can achieve the Haskell (G1), Travers (G1) and hopefully we can even get to the Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1).”
Mike Smith replaces Javier Castellano, who instead will ride Cloud Computing in the Preakness for Chad Brown. Cloud Computing placed in both the Gotham (G3) and Wood Memorial (G2) in his last two starts.
Gunnevera is expected to van to Baltimore on Saturday.
The Steve Asmussen-trained pair of Derby runner-up Lookin at Lee and Hence walked the shedrow Tuesday and will resume training on Wednesday. They are scheduled to fly to Baltimore next Tuesday.
Also flying out of Louisville next Tuesday will be Lexington (G3) winner Senior Investment, who walked Tuesday after working five furlongs at Keeneland on Monday, and Illinois Derby (G3) winner Multiplier, who jogged at Keeneland Tuesday morning for trainer Brendan Walsh.
Champion Classic Empire, fourth in the Derby, also walked the Churchill shedrow on Tuesday. Assistant trainer Norman Casse described the colt’s right eye “perfect” after it had swollen shut after the Derby.
