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Titletown Five looks to score for Hornung With two Hall of Famers keeping watch over him Friday morning, Titletown Five seemed to be getting an inordinate amount of attention for a potential 30-1 shot in the field for Preakness 138. "I feel good, just being in it," said NFL Hall of Famer Paul Hornung, the ex-Green Bay Packer and part-owner of the colt who represents the "Five" in Titletown Five. "I've been here many times. This is the first time one of the horses I own is in a race of this magnitude. I'm going to be very interested in watching him run. We're gonna make a run somewhere." Hornung, who is the same age (77) as his Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas, knows he may not have many more chances like this on racing's big stage. And as a native of Kentucky Derby hometown Louisville, Hornung has always had more than a passing interest in horse racing, even when he was setting records on the gridiron at Notre Dame and helping the Packers win an NFL championship in 1965. "I've been to the Derby many times; I've been here many times; I've been to New York and Saratoga many times," said the former "Golden Boy," who along with ex-teammate Willie Davis and Lukas comprise the majority of the Tiznow colt's ownership. "This is a real thrill for me to be involved." Titletown Five is a colt that he and Lukas had high hopes for as a two-year-old, but following his maiden victory at Churchill Downs in October, the $250,000 purchase was found to have bone chips in a front knee that required surgery. "If Titletown Five didn't get that chip in his knee, he was going to be one of the really good horses," Lukas said. "I was devastated; he'd won by nine or 10 lengths. He's sound, but we lost the whole winter conditioning and everything." Titletown Five is winless in three starts this season, but it does bear mentioning that as a two-year-old he got the best of Kentucky Derby winner Orb in a maiden race at Saratoga. "He beat Orb," said Lukas, who is seeking his sixth Preakness win with a three-horse contingent that includes Oxbow and Will Take Charge. "It was early in his career and he's (Orb) a late-developing horse, but we still beat him." Hornung was there that August afternoon when Titletown Five finished second and Orb was third in one of Saratoga's key maiden races of 2012. "It gives me an idea that we've got a good horse," Hornung said. "I think we can do it if we run our race. If you do it once, you can do it again." Lukas pronounced all three horses ready for the assignment after Friday morning gallops at Pimlico. Julien Leparoux will be aboard Titletown Five for the first time Saturday. "I was really pleased with what I saw today," Lukas said. "They've gotten better every day since they got here (Tuesday)." Two more Hall of Famers, jockey Gary Stevens and Mike Smith, will have the mounts on Oxbow and Will Take Charge, respectively. Between them, they have won the Middle Jewel of the Triple Crown three times, Stevens won aboard Silver Charm (1997) and Point Given (2001) and Smith with Prairie Bayou (1993). Stevens was retired when Oxbow began his racing career at Saratoga last August. "When I saw Gary around January or February he was fit and I thought he looked better on a horse in the morning than prior to his retirement when his knees were bothering him," Lukas said. "He just looked better and seemed in a better place. There's no doubt about his talent, so I said to him, 'Gary, I've got a couple three-year-olds that are coming along. Watch them, and if one of them looks like it's going to be good enough, I'd have no problem putting you on.'" Still, Stevens was attempting a comeback at the age of 50 in a sport where most of the competitors were 20 or 30 years younger. "He started winning a few races at Santa Anita and I thought, 'Hell, let's go,'" Lukas said. "I was telling somebody else who was criticizing me for putting him on: 'You know any other combination that's got seven Derbys between them?' "Mike Smith has been good for us, too. The experience thing is huge in these races. It really shows up in these big ones -- pressure. These young guys they say, 'Aw, it doesn't bother me,' but it bothers them. And this may be more of a jockey's race than the other two. I think they better have their heads screwed on here." With saddling a third of the field, he feels good about his chances. "I only like to come here if I'm competitive," he said. "I think we are. Orb's the best horse, let's face it. This year it's exciting for me. I've got a lot of passion for it." Bet Horseracing Free Online at TwinSpires.com
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