Barbaro Updates: 281
updates are now here.
Update 1899: Hard Spun may now breeze a little tomorrow at Delaware Park, Pino is scheduled to ride: Hard Spun could breeze Wednesday morning.
Update 1898: Steve Haskin looks at the decision to run Circular Quay in the Preakness and also notes his poor trip in the Derby: Steve Haskin's Preakness Report: Late Quay Decision a Smart One.
Update 1897: Pimlico's Preakness update for tuesday:
The Pimlico horsemen's relations office has been informed by the connections of Circular Quay that their Louisiana Derby winner will run in Saturday's Preakness Stakes.
Circular Quay's owners, Michael and Doreen Tabor, and bloodstock agent Demi O'Byrne have made arrangements to attend the Middle Jewel of the Triple Crown at Pimlico Race Course.
Trainer Todd Pletcher, who has started only one horse in the Middle Jewel of the Triple Crown (Impeachment, third in 2000), will saddle Circular Quay, the sixth-place finisher in the Kentucky Derby, as well as King of the Roxy, for Preakness 132.
Prior to the Derby, Circular Quay had been off the board only once in seven career starts, coming in fifth in the Grade 3 Risen Star at Fair Grounds on Feb. 10. His finish was compromised when his rider was forced to alter course to avoid a fallen rider. Circular Quay was second in last fall's Breeders' Cup Juvenile, in which he finished 10 lengths behind this year's Kentucky Derby winner Street Sense.
Jockey John Velazquez is expected to maintain the mount on Circular Quay, allowing Garrett Gomez to pick up the mount on King of the Roxy.
"I'm on one of them," said Ron Anderson, Gomez's agent. "I'm assuming it is King of the Roxy because we worked him over the weekend, but I haven't been given the final word."
Circular Quay won his first three starts as a 2-year-old. Following his Risen Star disappointment, he made a sweeping move to capture the Grade 2 Louisiana Derby on March 10 in his final prep before the Kentucky Derby. Pletcher had initially hoped to get another race into him (the Wood Memorial) before the Derby, but later decided to train up to the May 5 engagement.
King of the Roxy has won three of seven lifetime starts, winning the Grade 2 Hutcheson in his 3-year-old debut at Gulfstream before finishing second in the Grade 1 Santa Anita Derby in his last start on April 7.
King of the Roxy originally sold for only $8,000 as a yearling, but was purchased by Team Valor for $350,000 after breaking his maiden at Hollywood Park. In his first start for Team Valor, King of the Roxy was a close second in the Grade 2 Saratoga Special. He won the Futurity at Belmont next out, before finishing eighth behind Street Sense in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile.
Both Circular Quay and King of the Roxy are scheduled to arrive by van at Pimlico on Thursday.
C P WEST -- The son of Came Home is scheduled to arrive Wednesday at Pimlico for Hall of Fame trainer Nick Zito seeking his second career victory and first as a 3-year-old.
"He just walked under tack today," said assistant trainer Tim Poole from Belmont Park. "He jogged a little around the shedrow and he'll gallop tomorrow. That's pretty much all there is to do right now."
C P West worked four furlongs in 47 1/5 seconds at Belmont Park Monday morning.
Zito and D. Wayne Lukas have the distinction of being the only trainers in this year's Preakness to have won all three legs of the Triple Crown. Zito won the Preakness with Louis Quatorze in 1996 and has had three other runners finish in the money among his 17 starters. Go for Gin was second in 1994; A P Valentine second in 2001; and Hemingway's Key was third last year. Zito saddled two Kentucky Derby winners, Strike the Gold (1991) and Go for Gin (1994), as well as Belmont Stakes victor Birdstone (2004).
Owner Robert LaPenta is trying to win his first Triple Crown event with the colt, a $425,000 purchase at the 2005 Keeneland September Sale.
CURLIN – Assistant trainer Scott Blasi said Tuesday morning that the Smart Strike colt was looking good after breezing a half-mile at Churchill Downs Monday.
"He came out of his work great," Blasi said.
As is typical the day following a breeze, Curlin's exercise was limited to being hand-walked.
Blasi is handling the colt for the next few days for trainer Steve Asmussen, whose grandmother died this week.
Curlin is scheduled to leave the Asmussen barn at Churchill Downs at 7 a.m. Wednesday for the flight to Baltimore. Jockey Robby Albarado, who rode the colt to wins in the Rebel and Arkansas Derby and a third-place finish in the Kentucky Derby, will ride Curlin in the Preakness.
Blasi said everything is progressing smoothly with Curlin.
"He's been a joy to train," Blasi said. "There's been no glitches in the road yet. All is well."
Following the breeze on Monday, Asmussen said Curlin is quite mature despite a small resume of only four races.
"Experience is the word everybody uses; he had a lack of racing," Asmussen said. "But I've had horses who have run 20 times that don't know what he knows. So I don't think that's an accurate description of it.
"I think he's a horse that ran third in the Kentucky Derby in his fourth race. I expected him to win, but credit to the horses who beat him. He beat 17 of the best 3-year-olds at one time in his fourth race. Gotta figure out how to beat the other two."
Derby winner Street Sense and the runner-up, Hard Spun, are both headed to the Preakness.
Asmussen said he did not look at the Middle Jewel in the Triple Crown as a rematch with Derby winner Street Sense.
"We're trying to win the Preakness," Asmussen said. "We're not taking a shot at anybody. We've got an outstanding 3-year-old that's very healthy at an extremely important time of the year, with an opportunity of winning a classic. That's the focus."
FLYING FIRST CLASS -- Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas was more than satisfied with his colt's half-mile work Tuesday morning at Churchill Downs.
"We got exactly what we wanted," Lukas said by telephone. "The one thing I told Stacy Pryor, the exercise girl, is 'Please do not break 49 (seconds).' I just wanted him to stretch his legs a little bit. I told her to stay on the north side of 49. She went 49 4/5, which was perfect.
"We were real pleased with it. I actually slowed him down a little bit in the lane. It was good."
As Pryor was approaching the finish of the breeze, Lukas motioned to her to not allow Flying First Class to gallop out strongly.
"I thought he had done enough," Lukas said. "We're Tuesday going on a Saturday and we've got a dead-fit horse. I didn't want to do any more."
Flying First Class, bred at owner Ellwood Johnston's Old English Rancho in California, rebounded from losses in the Rebel and Arkansas Derby at Oaklawn Park to win the Derby Trial at Churchill Downs on April 28.
Lukas said that the Perfect Mandate colt performed in the Derby Trial the way he hoped.
"I was extremely confident in the Derby Trial that he'd win," Lukas said. "I didn't expect him to run 1:08 and change and keep on going. He validated all my faith in him."
Flying First Class completed the 7-1/2 furlongs of the Derby Trial in 1:29 1/5 and won by nearly four lengths.
Lukas, 71, will accompany the colt on a flight from Louisville, Ky. Wednesday morning.
HARD SPUN -- Larry Jones has been inspired by the performances of Hard Spun this spring, particularly his colt's second-place finish behind Street Sense in the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs two weeks ago. The 50-year-old trainer will have another source of inspiration when he and his colt arrive at Pimlico from Delaware Park tomorrow.
He and Hard Spun will be sharing space in the Preakness Stakes barn with trainer D. Wayne Lukas, who will be arriving from Churchill Downs with Preakness hopeful Flying First Class.
"Wayne Lukas has always been my idol, my hero," Jones said. "This winter, we were both at Oaklawn and we became good acquaintances and friends. I really respect what he's achieved.
"We share the same birthday, September 2nd," Jones said. "He's just a year or 21 older than me."
Jones, who conditioned Hard Spun for his impressive Kentucky Derby performance off just two prep races and a six-week layoff, likes Lukas' style.
"Wayne is never afraid to step up to the plate and do something out of the ordinary," Jones said. "Maybe, that's why I am the way I am, why I do some things that maybe others don’t."
Hard Spun, who will not have an official workout between the Derby and Preakness, jogged a quarter of a mile and galloped a mile and a half at Delaware Park Tuesday morning. Hard Spun, who'll be ridden by Mario Pino in the Middle Jewel of the Triple Crown, will be vanned to Pimlico Wednesday afternoon.
MINT SLEWLEP -- Mint Slewlep walked the shedrow at Pimlico Tuesday morning, one day after pleasing trainer Robbie Bailes with a five-furlong workout that was timed in 59 4/5 seconds. With most of the Preakness horses scheduled to arrive in Baltimore Wednesday, Tuesday was the last day Mint Slewlep had the Preakness Stakes Barn to himself.
"When they start feeding in, he'll already be used to everything. He's already used to the cameras," said Bailes, who reported that the son of Slew City Slew came out of his work in good order. "That's the one advantage of getting here real early."
Mint Slewlep will be making only his second start around two turns in the Preakness, the first coming in a fifth-place finish in the Grade 3 Gotham at Aqueduct in his 2007 debut.
"The more distance the better for him," Bailes said. "In the Gotham, the pace was so slow and he got hung up in the back of the field and a horse almost fell in front of him. It may not have cost him a win, but he probably would have been fourth or third."
Alan Garcia will ride Mint Slewlep in the Preakness.
STREET SENSE -- The Kentucky Derby winner had a final breeze at his favorite track Tuesday morning, clocking five furlongs in a minute flat under jockey Calvin Borel at Churchill Downs. Street Sense is scheduled to be on a flight to Baltimore that is expected to arrive Wednesday at 1:45.
"The horse worked perfect," said Nafzger, who will drive to Pimlico and be on hand for the nationally televised draw for post positions Wednesday at the ESPN Zone at the Inner Harbor. "It was a little faster than we wanted, but he was very comfortable and did it well. He did it without any effort. He wasn't trying to work; that's his gait."
The breeze was almost identical to Street Sense's final work before the Derby when he went in a 1:01 1/5, also four days before the first leg of the Triple Crown. Street Sense went in a moderate first quarter-mile of 25 seconds, a half-mile in 48 3/5 and galloped out in 1:12 3/5.
"He worked super good," said Borel, who will be riding his first Preakness. "The horse is going forward in every trip."
Nafzger, a 65-year-old Texas native, had the favorite in the 1990 Preakness with Derby winner Unbridled and finished second behind Summer Squall. Street Sense, a slight 9-2 betting choice in this year's Derby, will be the morning-line favorite for Saturday's race.
"He looked great," said a bubbly Nafzger, who is looking for his first Preakness victory with only his third starter. "Everything's on target."
XCHANGER -- The Federico Tesio winner walked the shedrow at Fair Hill Training Center Tuesday morning, reported trainer Mark Shuman.
"He walked today. He'll train two more days, then walk on Friday," he said.
Shuman regards the decision to pass on the Kentucky Derby with Xchanger as a key to his Florida-bred colt's chances for an upset in the Middle Jewel of the Triple Crown.
"I respect the top two finishers. They ran their eyeballs out in the Derby," said Shuman, referring to winner Street Sense and runner-up Hard Spun. "But that's why it could work in our favor. I don't wish anything negative on anyone else, but I think it's only going to help that they're coming back in two weeks after running a hard race and we're coming in fresh with four weeks (between races)."
Xchanger, who'll be ridden by Ramon Dominguez, will ship from Fair Hill to Pimlico on Saturday morning.
Update 1896: Street Sense worked this morning at Churchill, going 5/8ths in 1:00: Derby Winner Street Sense Quick in Final Preakness Workout, excerpt:
"He worked a lot faster than we thought, but he did it the right way and it didn't hurt him," said Nafzger, adding that the work was in line with the :58 2/5 five-furlong work for Street Sense prior to winning the Derby. "The horse did it without any effort. He wasn't charging the bit. He wasn't trying to work...He looked very happy coming off the track. I don't think he even took a deep breath. He did it easy. He didn't come unraveled. He didn't stress."
Borel agreed that the work was not too fast. "He worked super good. He is going forward every trip, work-wise."
It is a tough decision whether to work or not, and how far to work, when there is only a two week break between the Derby and the Preakness. At this point the decision is not to work Hard Spun, although that could change quickly. Others have already worked (Curlin and Circular Quay). Works need to be simply for maintenance and stretching their legs, nothing more.
Update 1895: Another gorgeous and breezy morning this morning at Fair Hill. A great day to be riding horses ... and I only had three to go (again). First was Real Lace. She went to the Tapeta track (as did they all) along with Tim on Who's Happy. Real Lace galloped a mile and a quarter. Very uneventful. Second to go was Grandma, who appears to be really starting to mature nicely, both physically and mentally. She galloped a mile and a quarter in behind Tim on Nautical Agent. I layed about a length and a half behind the whole way and both went very nicely. My final ride was Farouche, and she led Tim on Nonpariel around the Tapeta track for a mile and a quarter. Again both went well. The track was a little busy this morning, but it is all down to timing. If you are on the track the same time as either Graham Motion's or Michael Matz's strings its going to be busy. I would guess that between the two trainers they employ half the Fair Hill exercise riders! I saw Mark Shuman (Xchanger trainer) as I was coming back from the track on Farouche, he was all smiles and all is well with Xchanger.
Update 1894: Godolphin's Discreet Cat and Day Pass are now returning from Dubai: Discreet Cat returning, excerpt:
Mettee said Discreet Cat is in light training overseas and that the earliest he would most likely return to the races would be at Saratoga, a track over which he won a maiden race at 2 and an allowance race at 3.
"We'll get a pretty good gauge on him when we get him up there," Mettee said. "That's an easier track to get an idea where he is at than [Belmont] or Aqueduct. I'm not going to get in any big rush with him."
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Good morning FOB's
Rest in peace Barbaro!
Posted by: Paul at May 15, 2007 11:00 AM