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As usual, the grueling trip around Churchill Downs has weeded out many of the pretenders, leaving a more compact and contentious field for the Preakness at Pimlico. We will attempt to handicap the probable Preakness field using angles that have pointed at the winner in past years. It is well-known that to win the Preakness, you have to have raced in the Derby. If the Kentucky Derby is not in the horse's past performances he is an immediate toss for the win. He may finish second like Magic Weisner in 2002, but rarely wins. Although Pimlico is always called a speed-favoring oval, about half of Preakness winners came from off the pace, while 1/3 of winners stalk. Horses more than 10 lengths off the pace after half a mile generally don't win the Black Eyed Susans and closers need to be in contention at the top of the stretch.
We also recommend checking workout patterns in the final week since these are a good indicator of who is ready. Preferably you're looking for horses that came out of the Derby and only had one (no more, no less) workout between starts, preferably at Pimlico.
The Cliff's Edge |
Smarty Jones - The Kentucky Derby winner will undoubtedly go off as the favorite again at Pimlico. This is a strong angle given than the favorite in the Preakness wins almost 40% of the time, higher than the overall average of about 30% for all other races, and they finish in the top 3 over 80% of the time. His stalking style should suit him well, especially if once again the track comes up wet. He has five starts as a three-year-old, which is within the ideal range for Preakness winners, but he only has 2 starts as a juvenile. Only 2000 winner Red Bullet raced less than 3 times in his juvenile season. Finally, the Beyer par for the Preakness is 106; Smarty Jones' 107 in the Derby satisfies this requirement. With all these angles on his side, Smarty Jones looks primed to go on to Belmont Park with a Triple Crown on the line. His two knocks include lacking a stakes win at two and his trainer's insistence not to give him a timed workout before the Preakness, instead merely galloping him at Philadelphia.
Imperialism - He closed from 17th early to finish third at Churchill and he is our third choice by this analysis. He has the preferred rallying style but most importantly, is never more than 10 lengths back after half a mile. He has enough starts at three including a graded stakes (the San Vicente), and has had a workout during the 2 week layoff, but he was overraced at two (which doesn't seen to have bothered him), has not run to the Beyer par, and did not win a stakes at two despite his eleven starts.
Borrego - He finished a disappointing 10th in the Derby as a 14-1 longshot, but just being in the Derby makes him a Preakness contender. His rallying style is the preferred one for the Preakness, and looking at his past races, with the exception of the Louisiana Derby he was never more than 10 lengths back after half a mile, which is where a closer has to be positioned to win this event. He has run 4 times at three and 4 times at two, both within the accepted range, and has had a workout during the layoff. Unfortunately, he has yet to run to the Preakness par of 106, his top Beyer having been his 105 in the Arkansas Derby when beaten by Smarty Jones, and has no graded wins at three nor a stakes win at two.
Lion Heart |
Water Cannon - He is the local hope, coming off his win in the Federico Tesio, but not coming out of the Derby is a huge negative angle. He also has yet to run better than an 88 Beyer, well below the par of 106, and lacks stakes wins at 2 and graded wins at 3. To his advantage, he likes to stalk the pace rather than go to the front, has enough starts at two and three, and has had a workout between his last start and the Preakness. It is worth noting that the local horses don't often win the Preakness but they do finish in the money, often at long odds, like Magic Weisner's second place finish in 2002.
Little Matth Man - He has not raced since finishing seventh in the Wood. Like Water Cannon, this is a negative since he was not in the Derby. He was overraced at two (eight starts; the limit is seven), has not run better than an 89 Beyer, and lacks a stakes win at two and a graded win at three. Although he likes to rally from off the pace, which is a positive angle, he likes to drop back more than 10 lengths off the pace, a negative angle. He does have enough starts at three and a workout before the race, but there are too many negatives to give him serious consideration on Saturday.
Sir Shackleton - The Derby Trial winner is the second most underraced entrant, with just four career starts all this year, and did not race for the Roses, a negative. He likes to stalk the pace and has enough starts at three with the aforementioned graded win, and has had a workout, but his inexperience means he does not have enough starts at two nor a stakes win that year, and his best Beyer was a 97 in a 7 furlong allowance race at Keeneland. He simply is not ready to step up into Grade 1 Triple Crown company.
Rock Hard Ten |
Eddington - He also did not make the Derby field, a huge knock this week, and did not have enough starts at two, nor a stakes win at two. His best Beyer is a 101 in an allowance race at Gulfstream, too slow for Triple Crown competition. The only positives we could find are in his stalking style, his starts at three, and his workout this week.
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