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New Challengers Face Kentucky Derby Winner Big Brown In The Preakness Stakes

Big Brown could become the first Kentucky Derby winner since Citation 60 years ago not to face any of the horses who ran against him in the “Run For The Roses”. When he comes to Pimlico Race Course for the May 17 $1 million Preakness Stakes, the middle jewel of racing’s Triple Crown, Big Brown is likely to compete against eight new shooters.

The only Kentucky Derby finisher that might return to challenge the winner is Recapturetheglory, who finished 5th Saturday. Co-owners Louie Roussel and Ronnie Lamarque told Pimlico stakes coordinator Coleman Blind that a final decision could be made tomorrow. The son of Cherokee Run will remain at Churchill Downs until the verdict.

“Louie and Ronnie are still talking about it,” said Lara Van Deren, assistant to Roussel who also serves as Recapturetheglory’s exercise rider. “They want to see how many horses are likely to be in there before they make a decision.”

The Roussel and Lamarque team captured the Preakness Stakes 20 years ago with Risen Star.

According to Allan Carter, historian at the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in Saratoga Springs, NY, there have been as few as two Kentucky Derby starters race in the Preakness since 1923.

Meanwhile Michelle Nevin, assistant to trainer Rick Dutrow, reported all was well Monday morning at Churchill Downs with the winner of Saturday’s Kentucky Derby. Dutrow, who has been under the weather, took the morning off and is expected to be back at the track Tuesday morning.

Owned by IEAH Stables (Michael Iavarone and Richard Schiavo) and Paul Pompa Jr., Big Brown is not scheduled to return to the track until Wednesday morning. A decision on when the Kentucky Derby winner ships into Stall 40 of the Pimlico stakes barn will be decided by the end of the week.

“It is surreal and tough to digest,” said Iavarone. “The reason anybody gets involved in horse racing is for something like this. It is like hitting the lottery five times. It is like borderline unbelievable. Now we are starting to focus on the Preakness. We have our blinkers back on. I am not trying to think Triple Crown. We just want to get through the Preakness just like he did at the Derby. We will take it one step at a time.”

It will be a homecoming for Big Brown’s trainer and jockey.

Horse trainer Rick Dutrow was born in Hagerstown, Maryland and attended Atholton High School in Howard County. His father, Dickie Dutrow, battled King Leatherbury, Bud Delp and John Tammaro for training supremacy in Maryland in the 1970’s. The elder Dutrow captured four training titles at Pimlico during that decade. Dutrow’s older brother, Tony, was a top Maryland conditioner before moving his stable to Philadelphia Park four years ago.

Jockey Kent Desormeaux won five riding titles at Pimlico from 1987 to 1989. The Hall of Famer has had 10 career Preakness mounts, including a victory aboard Real Quiet in 1998.

The first Preakness horses to call Baltimore home will arrive Wednesday, May 7 when Kentucky Bear and Tres Borrachos are vanned into the Pimlico stakes barn from Kentucky.

Kentucky Bear, who finished third in the Toyota Blue Grass Stakes (gr. I) in his most recent start on April 12 at Keeneland, worked a bullet over that surface on Saturday, covering five furlongs in 59 seconds. The previous Saturday the son of Mr. Greeley worked a bullet at Churchill Downs. The Reade Baker trainee is expected to put in a five-furlong drill at Pimlico on Saturday morning, immediately after the renovation break (8:30 a.m.).

“The last two works were great,” said horse trainer Reade Baker, who arrives Friday to oversee the work. “We were very anxious to get into the Kentucky Derby. He is doing super. Since he arrived in Kentucky (April 2), he has put on 75 pounds. It is hard to believe but he is eating that green grass like a lawn mower. The new fad is not to come into Baltimore early but we are going to.”

Tres Borrachos galloped a mile and three-quarters at Churchill Downs after the renovation break under Andy Durnin. Trainer Beau Greely is expected to arrive in Louisville from his Southern California base on Tuesday to supervise a Wednesday work. Tyler Baze has the riding assignment for the 2008 Preakness Stakes. Durnin galloped the son of Ecton Park a bit further Monday morning than normal.

“The track was closed Saturday morning (because of heavy overnight rains) and he had just jogged the day before, so he needed to do more yesterday (a mile and a half gallop) and today,” Durnin said.

Wednesday’s work will be the third at Churchill Downs since a third-place finish in the April 12 Arkansas Derby (gr. II). Tres Borrachos will then to ship to Baltimore later Wednesday.

Also at Churchill Downs, Stevil, who finished fourth in the Blue Grass, worked a half-mile in :48.60 after the renovation break over a fast track under Megan Smillie. The move was the eighth-fastest of 40 at the distance on a sun-splashed morning and drew a nod of approval from horse trainer Nick Zito, who saddled Louis Quatorze to victory in the 1996 Preakness.

“He worked good and he has done well here since the Blue Grass,” Zito said. “He will work here again next week and then we will ship to Baltimore.”

Stevil, a Kentucky-bred son of Maria’s Mon, has compiled a record of 6-1-1-1 with earnings of $95,685. The lone win came at first asking and in all of his starts he has been competitive.

“He’s a very consistent horse and he has never run a bad race,” horse trainer Nick Zito said. “In the Louisiana Derby (gr. II) when he ran fifth, he drew the one hole and then Pyro beat him to a spot.”

Horse trainer Nick Zito would tie Max Hirsch for second on the all-time starter list among trainer with 19 if he saddles Stevil in Maryland’s signature race. D. Wayne Lukas leads all conditioners with 32 Preakness starters.

Meanwhile in Southern California, horse trainer Patrick Gallagher confirmed that California Derby winner Yankee Bravo is bound for the 2008 Preakness Stakes. Since the victory, the son of Yankee Gentleman finished third, behind Pyro in the Louisiana Derby (gr. II) and fourth behind Colonel John in the Santa Anita Derby (gr. I). Jockey Alex Solis, who won Preakness in 1986 aboard Snow Chief, has the riding assignment.

“He’ll work mid-week, sometime on Wednesday or Thursday,” horse trainer Patrick Gallagher said. “He didn’t have the earnings for the Derby so we decided to skip and take a close look at the Preakness.”

Yankee Bravo will arrive next Wednesday, May 14 on a plane that is also expected to bring El Gato Malo, who was fifth in the Santa Anita Derby, to Baltimore. That was the first time the son of El Corredor finished out of the money for trainer Craig Dollase.

At Belmont Park, home of the 2008 Belmont Stakes, horse trainer Richard Schosberg announced Giant Moon would be arriving at Pimlico next Thursday, May 15. The son of Giant’s Causeway, who won the first four races of his career including three stakes races in New York, finished fourth, behind Tale of Ekati, War Pass and Court Vision in the Wood Memorial (gr. I) last month.

“He went January until April between races,” horse trainer Schosberg said. “He needs time after a big effort and it was three weeks between the Gotham and the Wood and now it’s another six weeks to the Preakness Stakes. We thought about running in the Withers (April 26) in between, but a month between races is probably best. He really ran a big effort in the Wood after his race in the Gotham. The Gotham was run over some very bad conditions and he was in deep traffic and I think that race is a throw out. In the Wood he showed he belongs with horses at this level.

“Big Brown actually opens things up. He ran such a big race and was so impressive that he is going to scare off a lot of them and leave it to others to take a chance. I don’t care if it is two weeks or two days between the Derby and the Preakness, that was some effort.”

Schosberg indicated Giant Moon will work Wednesday and possibly again next Tuesday before arriving in Baltimore.

Horse trainer Todd Pletcher is expected to start a pair of Preakness entries for the second consecutive year. The Eclipse Award winning conditioner will be represented by Behindatthebar, who won Lexington Stakes (gr. II) at Keeneland on April 19 and Harlem Rocker, who captured the Withers (gr. III) a week later. The latter is owned by Magna Entertainment Corp. chairman Frank Stronach, who owns Pimlico. Stronach Stables won the 2000 Preakness with Red Bullet.

The post position draw for the Preakness is Wednesday, May 14 at 5 p.m. The Preakness is limited to 14 starters. Thirteen of the last 16 years have produced double-digit starters. Preakness Stakes post time is 6:15 p.m.

Edited from www.preakness.com

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"New Challengers Face Kentucky Derby Winner Big Brown In The Preakness Stakes" was posted on Monday, May 5th, 2008 at 9:37 pm and is filed under Horse Racing Industry, Horses, Preakness Stakes, Stakes Races. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Leave a response, or trackback from your own site.