Preakness: Tuesday notes

From the Maryland Jockey Club

Baltimore

Big Brown, the unbeaten Kentucky Derby winner, is scheduled to ship from Churchill Downs to Pimlico Wednesday afternoon on a flight with Preakness runners Tres Borrachos and Racecar Rhapsody.

Preakness officials have been told the flight with Big Brown is scheduled to land at Baltimore-Washington International Airport at 5:30 p.m. The van carrying the horses from BWI is expected to arrive at Pimlico approximately one hour later.

Trainer Richard Dutrow Jr. is expected to attend the Preakness post-position draw, to be held at 5 p.m. Wednesday at the ESPN Zone in downtown Baltimore.

Dutrow was born and raised in Maryland, where his father, the late Richard E. Dutrow, was a prominent trainer for many years.

Big Brown will be the younger Dutrow’s first Preakness runner. His father started one horse in the Preakness, Spartan Cat, who finished sixth in 1998.

Dutrow is scheduled to attend the annual Alibi Breakfast Thursday morning at Pimlico. He has been selected as the Fox News “Power Player of the Week” and will be interviewed by Fox News anchor Chris Wallace Thursday afternoon for the segment that will air Sunday morning.

If Gayego and Big Brown both run Saturday, it will be the sixth time since Kentucky Derby horses began running in the Preakness in 1918 that only two Derby starters moved on to Baltimore for the Preakness. The last time was in 1980 when Codex defeated the Derby-winning filly Genuine Risk in the Preakness. Codex was Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas’ first winner in a Triple Crown race. Lukas, who has saddled five Preakness winners, is tied with “Sunny Jim” Fitzsimmons with a record 13victories in races in the Triple Crown series.

Big Brown, a son of Boundary, won his first start for Pompa and trainer Patrick
Reynolds by 11¼ lengths in a turf race at Saratoga Race Course on Sept. 3. The victory on the closing day of the 2007 Saratoga season quickly produced offers to purchase the colt. Pompa sold 75 percent of Big Brown to the IEAH partnership headed by Michael Iavarone and the colt was transferred to Dutrow, who handles many of IEAH’s runners.

Since recovering from hoof problems during the late fall and winter, Big Brown has reeled off three consecutive victories for Dutrow. The colt was entered in a turf race at Gulfstream Park in Florida on March 5 for his 3-year-old season debut. Wet conditions forced the race to be moved from the turf to the main track, where Big Brown romped to a 12¾-length victory. Dutrow brought the colt back in the Florida Derby (G1) 24 days later and he won by five lengths after starting from the outside post in the field of 12. He started from post 20 in the Derby, quickly got into a stalking position under Hall of Fame jockey Kent Desormeaux, moved to the lead at the head of the stretch and drew away to a 4 ¾-length victory.

Gayego a go

Trainer Paulo Lobo reported Tuesday that Gayego is a “go” for Saturday’s Preakness Stakes. The son of Gilded Time, who galloped 1¼ miles at Hollywood Park Tuesday morning, is scheduled to arrive at Pimlico Wednesday afternoon following a cross-country flight that he will share with Preakness hopeful Yankee Bravo.

“He’s an extremely good shipper,” said Lobo, whose colt shipped to Oaklawn Park in April for a victory in the Arkansas Derby and shipped again for a start in the Kentucky Derby on May 3.


Gayego finished a disappointing 17th in the Derby as the sixth betting choice in a field of 20, compromised by a sluggish start and early crowding. Lobo reported that the Kentucky-bred colt didn’t overexert himself in the Run for the Roses.

“He came back very well,” he said. “He’s been eating everything. He’s feeling happy.”

Giant Moon on the muscle

Under exercise rider Caesar Correa, Giant turned in a bullet half-mile work in :47.77 Tuesday morning at Belmont Park.

“Actually it was a little quicker than we had anticipated,” said trainer Richard Schosberg. “I was looking at somewhere between :48 and :48 2/5, but he seemed to have done it in good order.

“He jumped on the bit right away at the beginning of the work, which for him is a bit unusual when he’s working by himself. But he’s pretty sharp right now and he went the first quarter pretty quick. It was more like a good three-eighths blowout and he galloped out in :47 3/5 for the half.

“It looks like he’s fine. He cooled out in good order and he’s biting and playing and acting like himself after the work. So I’m not too worried about him.”

Schosberg said Giant Moon completed the first quarter in :22 4/5 and covered three furlongs in :35 4/5.

Giant Moon, a son of Giant’s Causeway, was named the 2007 champion 2-year-old male at the New York Thoroughbred Breeders’ annual award dinner Monday night in Saratoga Springs.

Schosberg had said that track conditions would determine whether Giant Moon had his final breeze for the Preakness on Tuesday or Wednesday. He decided the track had dried out sufficiently from the rain that fell on Sunday and Monday and sent the colt out for the work Tuesday.

“The track was good and he handled it well,” Schosberg said. “If he was going a little bit quick, maybe it’s better that we had an extra day. Certainly, we’re in good order fitness-wise for the race. We don’t have to do a whole lot, just basically keep him happy and get him down there in good order.

Boy, that's a long ride

Hey Byrn arrived by van at Pimlico shortly after 6 a.m. Tuesday, following an uneventful 20-hour journey that originated at Calder Race Course outside Miami.
While Hey Byrn figures to be a long shot in the Preakness, veteran handicappers might give him a longer look, having learned from experience to respect Calder shippers.

“Maybe it’s that the horses appreciate getting out of the hot climate,” said trainer Eddie Plesa, whose Preakness hopeful was accompanied in the van by Gottcha Gold, a contender for Friday’s Maryland Lottery Pimlico Special (G1). “People may tend to overlook the quality of horses that are stabled at Calder. It’s probably a combination of both.”


The Federico Tesio Stakes-winner Icadbad Crane, who was bred in New York by Marlene Brody, at Gallagher's Stud, galloped 1½ miles over the Tapeta racing surface at Fair Hill Training Center Tuesday morning and will remain in the country setting until he is vanned to Pimlico on Preakness morning. Trainer Graham Motion said he prefers to keep Icabad Crane in his daily routine.

“We’re not restricted by a racetrack environment and training hours. It’s a more relaxed environment here and gives us more options,” Motion said.

Icabad Crane’s development has been a pleasant surprise. “We thought he’d do well, but we didn’t expect him to perform at this level,” Motion said. “He’s matured physically and mentally. His development is probably due to his attitude. He’s got a wonderful temperament and is a pleasure to train.”

Stevil, Tres Borrachos breeze at Churchill

Stevek left a solid impression in his final workout at Churchill Downs Tuesday morning, breezing four furlongs in :47.80 under exercise rider Megan Smillie over a fast surface. It was the sixth-fastest work of 61 runners at the distance.

“It was pretty nice, and he galloped out real nice,’’ said trainer Nick Zito, who will be saddling his 19th Preakness starter, a number that ties him for second all-time with the legendary Max Hirsch. Only D. Wayne Lukas (32) has run more horses in the Middle Jewel of the Triple Crown.

“He’s a very consistent horse, and hopefully he’ll run well Saturday,’’ said Zito, who collected fourth money in last year’s Preakness with C P West. Zito won the 1996 Preakness with Louis Quatorze, who shares the official record for the 1-3/16-mile stakes with Tank’s Prospect and last year’s winner, Curlin (1:53 2/5).

Stevil, whose best stakes outing this season was a fourth-place finish in the Blue Grass (G1) in his last start, hasn’t won since his debut last fall in New York. John Velazquez, the regular rider for trainer Todd Pletcher, has the mount for the first time on the Robert LaPenta-owned colt. Stevil was scheduled to arrive by van later on Tuesday.

“We’re ready. He’s been running good all winter,” Zito said. LaPenta also owns 2-year-old champion War Pass, who was injured before the Kentucky Derby, and Cool Coal Man, who finished 15th in the Derby field.

California-based rider Tyler Baze flew in to ride Tres Borrachos in his final work at Churchill Downs Tuesday morning, a four-furlong breeze that clockers timed at 50.40 seconds, slightly slower than the 49 4/5 that Greely calculated.

“It went very well,’’ said Greely, who saddled Borrego for a seventh-place finish in the 2004 Preakness. “He went nicely, came home in 11 (seconds) and change, so that was good. Tyler seemed to be happy with it, and he seemed to come back ready.’’

Tres Borrachos ran on synthetic surfaces in California for his first five career starts, but his speed figures have improved dramatically in his last two outings on dirt tracks.

He was third in the El Camino Real Derby (G3) at Bay Meadows, then third again in the Arkansas Derby (G2) at Oaklawn in his last start after dueling with eventual winner Gayego. Greely had toyed with the idea of trying blinkers for the Preakness, but abandoned the notion Tuesday for the work.

“It was just probably the fact that in Arkansas a horse had passed him and then he came back and dug in and beat that horse,’’ said Greely, whose colt will arrive at BWI Airport along with Derby winner Big Brown late Wednesday afternoon. “It was just a thought that went through my mind. We tried it one morning, and he actually went no different. After rethinking it, he’s got enough speed to where I’d just hate to mess it up and put a little too much (speed) into him.’’

Baze, who will be riding in his first Preakness, was impressed with Tuesday’s exercise.

“It was so beautiful it was ridiculous,’’ said Baze, who flew back to California after the work. “He did it the right way and finished well. He is so impressive, the way he worked today and went over a dirt track like that and not be blowing. I’m hoping Saturday is my day. I know this is a good horse now that I’ve ridden him in Arkansas and I know him. I’m really looking forward to it.’’