Champion Good Magic displayed a nice turn of hoof on Saturday over a sloppy, sealed track at Churchill Downs, but just could not reel in Kentucky Derby (G1) winner Justify.
The chestnut son of Curlin was doing well Sunday, one day after his runner-up effort in the Run for the Roses, and is scheduled to return to trainer Chad Browns’ Belmont Park base on Monday.
“He came out of the race real well,” Brown said. “We just took him out of the stall for a jog and he’s sound, which is a relief in a race like that, with a sealed track and all. He looks really good.
“It felt like this horse was coming into the race by far the best we’d ever seen him. He was by far our best chance going in but it just happened that it was one of the strongest fields we’ve seen in a long time.”
Brown was pleased with both Good Magic’s run and jockey Jose Ortiz’s decision making during the race. Trainer and jockey both believed Justify was the horse to beat and decided to keep Good Magic close to that rival.
“I could feel their confidence and I could feel all week that they thought their horse was so much the best,” Brown explained. “We kept Justify in close range.”
Ortiz was forced to take Good Magic around horses instead of through an opening that Bolt d’Oro beat them to, but Brown doesn’t think it would have made any difference to the result of the race.
“It probably cost us a couple lengths but I still can’t imagine a scenario where Justify wouldn’t have still been able to fend us off, how strong he was in the stretch,” Brown said. “That’s one critical part of the race but not the deciding factor. Other than that, though, that’s a pretty good trip for the Derby.”
After the Derby, Brown indicated Good Magic would not have a rematch with Justify in the 143 running of the Preakness Stakes (G1) at Pimlico on May 19. However, the trainer opened the possibility Sunday of his charge returning in two weeks for the second jewel of the Triple Crown.
“I want him back in New York and that gives me time to decide what’s next,” Brown said. “I think for me to rule it out this morning would be foolish. I don’t want to get into a situation where I commit to one way or another and I change my mind. I want to give myself a little room to really observe the horse. The horse will tell us.
“I want to provide the owners with as much information as possible about what I see and then let them decide. I’ll get their thoughts on it and let them weigh in on it. I’ll tell them what I see and see what they want to do.
“You run a horse back in two weeks off an effort like this, even if he’s not going to run for a while, it doesn’t mean it’s good for the horse long-term. That said, his sire came back in two weeks (off a third-place run in the Kentucky Derby) and won the Preakness.”
Good Magic’s sire, Curlin, won the Preakness by a head over Kentucky Derby victor Street Sense. He returned for the Belmont Stakes (G1) and just missed by a head to Kentucky Oaks (G1) queen and champion Rags to Riches in the “Test of the Champion.”
While not ruling out the Preakness, Brown went on to say the Good Magic was highly unlikely to try the 150th running of the Belmont Stakes on June 9.
“Whether we run in the Preakness will have no bearing on the Belmont,” Brown said. “I don’t see a mile-and-a-half for this horse.”
While Brown is still mulling his options, Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas has pretty much confirmed Kentucky Derby sixth-place finisher Bravazo for the Preakness.
“Yes, probably,” Lukas said when asked if his colt would go to the second Jewel of the Triple Crown. “I’ll talk to (Calumet Farm owner) Brad Kelley. He’s pretty game. I’d say we’ll probably go.”
Bravazo was bumped at the start of Saturday’s Kentucky Derby, recovered to run about five wide and put in a game rally to be sixth on the wire, beaten eight lengths by Justify.
“He ran beyond our expectations,” Lukas said. “He was very much in contention at the eighth-pole. When you get a 20-horse field and that kind of track, it changes the whole race. It compromises some and helps others. I was pleased with his effort, real pleased.”
Lukas is no stranger to winning the Preakness, earning his sixth victory in 2013 with 15-1 longshot Oxbow. It should be noted that, like Bravazo, Oxbow ran sixth in the Kentucky Derby and was campaigned by Kelley.
Lukas actually expects to saddle two runners in this year’s edition of the Preakness as he also has Sporting Chance for the race.
That dark bay son of Tiznow was unable to make the Derby field after accumulating only 12 points on the Road to the Kentucky Derby. He did, however, compete on Saturday at Churchill Downs, rallying from the back of the 14-horse field to finish fourth in the Pat Day Mile (G3) after checking at the five-eighths and running eight wide.
Others under consideration for Preakness 143 include Tampa Bay Derby (G2) winner and Arkansas Derby (G1) runner-up Quip, whose connections bypassed on the Derby despite having the points to make the field in favor of the second jewel of the Triple Crown; and Grade 3-placed Diamond King, hero of the Federico Tesio Stakes on April 21.
Quip is co-owned by China Horse Club, WinStar and SF Racing. Both China Horse Club and WinStar also are co-owners in Justify, and WinStar farm’s CEO Elliott Walden said the plan for Quip had not been formalized.
“I hesitate to say right now. We’ll see how the week plays out,” Walden said. “My first inclination is to go ahead and run him, but we need to talk to our partners and see.
“But we’d set the horse up to run in the Preakness and he worked very well on Thursday. If Justify is supposed to win the Triple Crown, he’ll beat Quip. I just think you try to manage your horses the best you can and that it’s the right thing for Quip.
“Not making a final decision today. The horse is doing really well, and we’ll see.”
