The Annoyed One on The Preakness

"The Derby is a race of aristocratic sleekness, for horses of birth to prove their worth to run in the Preakness."
– Ogden Nash

Yes, it’s time for our yearly snippet of Ogden Nash verse and our visit to “Old Hilltop”, Pimlico Racecourse. Enjoy it while you can, folks. Magna Entertainment, the owner of Pimlico and several other racetracks is in bankruptcy proceedings and there are rumors the tracks will be sold and the Preakness may have to move. If this is the end of an era we’re certainly going out with a bang. We have the 50-1 Derby winner returning to prove that race was no fluke, but he’s going to have to do it without his Derby rider who has ditched him for a filly. We have the aforementioned filly who was the star of Derby weekend after winning the Kentucky Oaks by over 20 lengths. We have six other Derby horses, including the well-beaten favorite, looking to avenge their loss. And we have the usual new faces looking to make an impression.

I've listed the entries and the usual factoids and unsubstantiated opinions about each of the horses below. Remember the race at Pimlico is 1 3/16 miles long – slightly shorter than the Derby. While Pimlico is often thought to favor early speed horses, closers often do well in the Preakness too. The weather forecast currently calls for a chance of an isolated thunderstorm with highs near 80­° F.

Big Drama – He last raced 7 weeks ago when he won the Swale Stakes in a new track record, unfortunately he was DQ’d to 2^nd for bumping in the stretch. He’s never raced further than 1 1/16 miles and his pedigree might be a bit light in stamina in the closest generations. He’s only raced once this year due to an injury he sustained back in January. He’ll be racing without blinkers for the first time. He should be one of the pacesetters in the race.

Mine That Bird – He appears to have come out of his Derby win in good shape. He had a very nice workout at Churchill Downs on Monday and then got another van ride to get to Pimlico. Observers say he’s been looking really fit this week. Trainer Chip Wooley thinks that they have now found Mine That Bird’s preferred running style as a come from behind horse. Of course Calvin Borel, the jockey who piloted that brilliant come from behind trip in the Derby has dumped his Derby winner for the filly. Now admittedly he’s really just honoring the commitment he made earlier in the year to ride Rachel Alexandra in all her races, but this Derby winner-jilting sure does make for some interesting headlines. Mike Smith picks up the mount.

Musket Man – He’s been training at Monmouth Park in New Jersey since his 3^rd place finish in the Derby and he put in a bullet work there on Tuesday. He’ll be vanning to Pimlico on Saturday morning. Jockey Eibar Coa was also the regular rider for Big Drama, but decided to stick with Musket Man for the Preakness. Coa will probably try to repeat his Derby ride where he sat about midpack behind the leaders.

Luv Gov – He’s named after Eliott Spitzer, former governor of NY, who resigned after it was revealed that he was a customer of a prostitution ring. Luv Gov is trained by D. Wayne “I’ve won 5 Preaknesses and don’t you forget it” Lukas. The horse has raced 10 times, but just won for the first time in his last race. He’s never run in a stakes race and he’s never raced farther than 1 1/16 miles. His win did come on a sloppy track on the Derby Day undercard, so maybe D. Wayne is arranging for a convenient downpour as the horses come on the track Saturday. The pedigree does have plenty of stamina.

Friesan Fire – He finished 18^th in the Derby as the favorite, but he had a pretty bumpy run, stepping on his own foot and sustaining several cuts on his legs. The cuts have healed though and he posted a very sharp workout at Pimlico on Tuesday. While his pedigree has quite a bit of stamina he’s never actually won at any distance longer than 1 1/16 miles. This will be his 2^nd race back off a 7 week layoff which often means a good showing from a horse.

Terrain – Appropriately enough given his name, he’s a very well traveled horse. He’s run 8 times at 7 different tracks. He won 3 times last year, but has spent the last several months running 3^rd or 4^th to horses like General Quarters, Big Drama, Friesan Fire, and Papa Clem. Julien Leparoux rode him in his last 2 races but decided to stick with General Quarters for the Preakness. Jeremy Rose picks up the mount on Terrain. They should be closing from the back of the pack at the end of the race. The pedigree is not chock full o’ stamina, but he ought to be able to get 1 3/16 miles reasonably well.

Papa Clem – He’s been taking it easy after his 4^th place finish in the Derby. He had a rather leisurely workout at Pimlico on Tuesday but he’ll have a 1/8 mile blowout on Friday to perk him up a bit. He should be stalking just off the pace just like he did in the Derby. Trainer Gary Stute’s father, Mel, won the Preakness in 1986 with Snow Chief. Gary would love to win the race with his father watching on Saturday.

General Quarters – He came out of the Derby in great shape so owner/trainer/groom Tom McCarthy decided to head for the Preakness. After a leisurely workout at Churchill Downs on Monday he was vanned to Pimlico. Thank goodness he did because we were running the risk of having no Polish horses in the race. His speed figures have been indicating he’s on a good race – not so good race pattern and he’s due for the good race this time. Jockey Julien Leparoux is sticking with him over Terrain. Look for them to try to stay fairly close to the leaders.

Pioneerof the Nile – He finished a gritty 2^nd in the Derby after looking like he was home free at the top of the stretch. On Monday he had a very sharp workout at Churchill Downs then shipped into Pimlico. He still hasn’t raced on a dry dirt track. He’ll probably be stalking the leaders like he did in the Derby. His owner, Ahmed Zayat, along with the owner of Mine That Bird were the folks who floated the idea of entering extra horses in the race to fill out the field and exclude Rachel Alexandra. After receiving a great deal of criticism they both reconsidered.

Flying Private – Can he go from last place in the Derby to first place in the Preakness? Trainer D. Wayne “I’ve won 5 Preaknesses and don’t you forget it” Lukas seems to think it’s possible. Flying Private had a nice workout at Churchill Downs on Monday and then shipped to Pimlico. His best race was 3 back when he ran 2^nd to Hold Me Back on fake dirt. He’s actually only won 1 race in his career. His pedigree might be a little light on stamina up close, but he is a Polish horse.

Take the Points – His last race was 6 weeks ago when he ran 4^th in the Santa Anita Derby behind Pioneerof the Nile and Chocolate Candy. He’s been training well at Belmont Park for the last couple of weeks. Trainer Todd Pletcher thought about running in the Derby but decided to wait for this race instead. The pedigree has some stamina but it’s mostly 3 – 4 generations back. His dam’s name was Ginger Ginger. Former Maryland Riding God, Edgar Prado, has the mount. Look for them to be stalking the pace.

Tone It Down – There’s always a local horse. He ran 3^rd in the Frederico Tesio Stakes at Pimlico 2 weeks ago in his first stakes race. Former Maryland Riding God, Kent Desormeaux picks up the mount after the connections dumped Current Maryland Riding Demi-God, Mario Pino. Kent will be going for back to back Preakness wins. He’ll probably try to be on or near the lead with Tone It Down, but they’ll have to break sharply and get it going quickly to keep ahead of Rachel Alexandra just to their outside. His pedigree indicates he should get the distance ok.

Rachel Alexandra – She was the runaway winner of the KY Oaks two weeks ago without being asked to run by Calvin Borel. Some people think she didn’t have much competition in the race, but she beat the ones that were there by over 20 lengths. Since the Oaks she has been sold to Jess Jackson (Kendall-Jackson winery, owner of Preakness winner, Curlin) for an undisclosed amount and been transferred to a new barn with a new trainer, new groom, etc. Now she’ll be running against the boys for the first time at a longer distance than she’s raced before. That’s a lot of new stuff to deal with, but she doesn’t seem to be a horse who rattles easily. In the crowded paddock at Churchill Downs she stood quietly on Oaks day while a little girl patted her on the nose. She’s a big filly with stamina in the pedigree and a great deal of tactical speed. It will be interesting to see if Calvin tries to get her a rail trip from the far outside post position.

There’s the field. It’s the usual assortment of short-priced horses and long shots. In the 13ARFTCHC Joey has broken alertly to take the lead with the rest of us tightly bunched behind him as we head into the Clubhouse turn. Who will make a move to catch him? Send me your three picks by post time on Saturday (approx. 6:14 pm), and we’ll see. We’ll also find out if we‘ll have a Triple Crown prospect to look forward to, or maybe find out the girl’s all that. Or just maybe we’ll get another 50-1 shot to come in. Hey, the new Star Trek movie is really good so it appears long shots are paying off all over the place this month!

My picks will be:

Pioneerof the Nile – I always dance with the one what brung me.

Friesan Fire – ditto

Rachel Alexandra – I love her for her mind.

May the horse be with you.

And also with you.
Lift up your bridle.

We lift them up to the jockey.

Let us shower tokens upon the jockey, our commander in the field.

It is right to give him thanks and painted daisies.

~The Annoyed Handicapper

I remember the night I danced with Shamans.