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Kentucky Derby winner Super Saver gets a bath after his trip over the muddy track at Pimlico Thursday morning. |
Eleven of the 12 Preakness entrants are at the stakes barn at Pimlico, and most of these went out on the main track for either a gallop around the track or a jog the wrong way on the outside rail. It was chilly and damp on Wednesday morning, with a muddy track after overnight rain. Schoolyard Dreams is still at his Monmouth Park base and will ship in on Saturday morning.
Super Saver jogged once around the track. Trainer Todd Pletcher said, “We took him out and gave him an easy jog once around the track. The track was sloppy and we weren’t looking to do much, but I thought he handled everything really well. He had a good night; rested well and cleaned up his grain. His energy level is very good. It seems like he’s shipped in as well as we could have hoped. His energy level has been good and he’s bouncing back in good shape." | |
Lookin at Lucky jogged 1 3/8 miles under exercise rider Dana Barnes. Trainer Bob Baffert said, “On a muddy track you can’t really get a good grip of it, but he looked good. That’s not the surface we're going to be running on. He got a good look at the track around there. When there aren't any horses training on it, it’s sort of weird for him, but he took in all the sights pretty good. He went easy around there. We don’t do much once we get here with him. He’s doing well.” | |
Paddy O'Prado jogged twice around the track and posed for photographers on the homestretch. Trainer Dale Romans said, “He bounced out of the Derby as though he never ran. That’s why we’re here. We normally wouldn’t wheel one back in two weeks." | |
Dublin went out on the track around 6am. Trainer D. Wayne Lukas said, “My horse has got pretty good tactical speed, if you use it. I just don’t want to make that move as early as we’ve been making it. He was rolling pretty damn good in the Derby on the outside and he couldn’t see. When we pulled the blinkers off, two clods of mud as big as baseballs fell to the ground. He had no vision.” | |
Caracortado jogged over the muddy track on Wednesday. Co-owner Donald Blahut said, “After watching it on TV and with the weather and everything, I wasn’t too disappointed. But it would have been nice to go to the Derby. We would have liked to have had enough points to get there, but it wasn’t to be. We’re really not devastated by it. I think this is the race we fit better in of the three races. I think if we have some racing luck, we’ll be all right.” | |
Jackson Bend galloped the wrong way over the sealed muddy track. Trainer Nick Zito said, “He’s got to keep an eye on the pace. The way he’s coming up to the race, he’s pretty sharp, so I’d like to see him close up. The Derby is sometimes a kind of funny race. You never know who got the worst of it. Any time you run in a 20-horse race the stress factor is not recorded.” | |
Aikenite was out for a gallop on Wednesday. Trainer Todd Pletcher said, “We were very optimistic going into the Blue Grass. The third in the Fountain of Youth was a good race. Obviously, some other horses, like Ice Box, came out of it and ran very well. We were disappointed by the Blue Grass and kind of stumped by his poor performance. When he came out of it well and we couldn’t find a physical reason, Mr. Campbell wanted to try the Derby Trial and we felt like we got him back on track there. It was a good race. He finished up well. | |
Pleasant Prince jogged on Wednesday. Owner Ken Ramsey said, “All we did was jog him this morning. The track was sealed. I talked to Wesley and at first he was going to gallop him. Then he decided we’ll just jog him. We don’t want to come up with a bruise or something on the eve of the deal. He looks good, acts good, cleaned up his feed tub and posed for pictures.” | |
First Dude jogged on Wednesday. Trainer Dale Romans said, “We wanted to run him in the Derby, but he was excluded because of earnings. I’ve always thought he was a special horse and that the extra distance of the classic races would help him. He just hasn’t had the opportunity to show what he can do. He’s just coming into his own, and we’re expecting a big breakthrough race from him sooner or later. If he’s going to have it, I’d like it to be in a classic.” | |
Yawanna Twist galloped once around the main track. Jose Collazo, assistant to trainer Rick Dutrow said, "He shipped in good and everything went well. We just gave him a little exercise." Owner Jim Riccio added, “We thought it was worth taking a shot. He’s fresh and he moved forward when we tried him at two turns in the Gotham.” | |
Northern Giant was the first horse on the track at 5:30am, going once around and then returning to the barn to walk the shedrow and get a bath. Trainer D. Wayne Lukas said of the Preakness pace scenario, “I looks like it’s more moderate speed and closers. It may be a little bit bunchy on the turn.” | |
A look at the Preakness logo painted on the infield grass and the winner's circle taken from the roof of the grandstand. | |
The Busweiser Clydesdales are at Pimlico for the Preakness and were out walking in the stable area. As big as they are, it only took one guy to lead four of them! |
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