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Orb coming up to Preakness at least as well as Derby
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| Shug McGaughey will tell Joel Rosario to ride Orb with confidence
(Wendy Wooley/EquiSport Photos) |
Stuart Janney III and Phipps Stable's Orb galloped an energetic 1 1/4 miles
at Pimlico Friday morning, letting exercise rider Jenn Patterson and trainer
Shug McGaughey know that he's ready for Saturday's 138th running of the
Preakness Stakes."He took a nice little hold of Jenn, was right on with his leads and moved
over the track great, so I couldn't be more pleased with what I saw," McGaughey
said.
Orb has pleased his trainer every day since he captured the Kentucky Derby by
2 1/2 lengths. While training at Belmont, where he produced an eye-catching
half-mile workout on Monday, and since arriving at Pimlico Monday afternoon, Orb
has given his trainer the same signals he gave off during his pre-Derby
training.
"I think it's been every bit as good. I think maybe his work at Belmont was
even better. Since he's gotten down here, he's really, really settled in well,"
McGaughey said. "He's been eating really well. I'm very pleased with his
appearance and everything is on 'go.'"
Orb, who is the even-money favorite for the nine-horse Preakness, has boosted
his trainer's confidence in his chances to add the Middle Jewel of the Triple
Crown to his resume. McGaughey, however, isn't counting the winner's share of
the $1 million purse just yet. |
"There are a lot of ways to lose, as we all know. Freaky things can happen. I
think we're in the position where we can kind of dictate the race and hope, if
we don't get in trouble, that he can make his run and then see what happens,"
McGaughey said.
"We hope he doesn't get in trouble; we hope he handles the track; we hope he
handles the kickback of dirt; we hope he handles the day. If he does all that, I
would have to think it's going to take a pretty darn good horse to beat him."
If there has been anything that could possibly be perceived as a negative for
Orb, it's probably his No. 1 post position that may hold at least the slight
potential to get him trapped inside.
"I don't think it's a problem. I think he'll be fine; it's a long distance,"
said jockey Joel Rosario, who rode Orb to victory at Churchill Downs two weeks
ago.
Rosario's flawless ride in the Derby did nothing but boost McGaughey's faith
in his jockey's big-race ability.
"I don't know if anyone could have ridden him better. He got him over a
little bit to get around the first turn without losing a whole lot of ground. He
held his position there, got him to the outside and was very patient with him,"
McGaughey said. "Being that far back, you might want to move a little bit
quicker than you want to and hang. But he was very patient and he told me he was
relaxed and got into the flow of the race very well and 'was just waiting on
me.' "
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| Itsmyluckyday has been looking good, according to rival trainer Bob Baffert
(Harold Roth/Horsephotos.com) |
McGaughey said he wouldn't give Rosario detailed instructions on how to ride
Orb in the Preakness."I'm a man of very little instructions, because you never know what's going
to happen once the gate opens," he said. "We will talk a little bit, but the
biggest thing I'll tell him is, 'Ride him with confidence.'"
Winning the Kentucky Derby for the first time realized a career-long dream,
but McGaughey isn't ready to rest on his laurels.
"I think winning the Derby does take a little pressure off you," he said.
"But I also think that we're excited about giving him a whirl tomorrow afternoon
and see if we can't get it done so we can go on to the next step."
Eddie Plesa Jr. looked on as Itsmyluckyday's coat glistened in the morning
sun following a bath outside the Preakness Stakes Barn Friday morning. The
veteran South Florida trainer liked what he saw, just as he liked what he saw at
the 2012 Ocala Breeders' March Sale.
"I liked the pedigree and I liked what he would become as far as growing up.
You can look at horses and you can envision what they're going to turn out to
be. That's part of the process," Plesa said. "He certainly exceeded my
expectations."
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When he purchased Itsmyluckyday for his wife, Laurie, and the Trilogy Stable
for $110,000, Plesa didn't exactly envision that the son of Lawyer Ron would
develop into a Kentucky Derby and Preakness starter.
"For someone to say that, you're telling a little story. Way, way, way back
in your mind, you might say, 'I hope.' But I didn't look at him and say, 'My
Derby horse!'" Plesa said. "I liked the pedigree and I liked what I saw, and we
were lucky enough that he fell into our price category."
Itsmyluckyday, who went to the track for a routine gallop Friday morning,
finished 15th in the Kentucky Derby over a sloppy track that his connections
blame for the subpar performance. His only "off" track experience produced a
four-length victory in a minor stakes at Calder last year.
"People look to Calder and you can't compare them. Calder's like no other
racetrack when it's sloppy. It's a sand racetrack and when it rains, it tightens
the racetrack up. There might be puddles on top and it might splash back at you,
but as far as firmness for the horse, it's firmer when it rains than when it
doesn't rain," Plesa said. "The slop line at Calder…people who put credence into
it are doing wrong."
Plesa said he was hoping for a fast track, over which everyone would get a
fair chance.
Trainer Doug O'Neill broke up his regular routine Friday morning and sent
Santa Anita Derby winner Goldencents out nearly two hours before his usual
Pimlico appearance for a one-mile maintenance gallop shortly after 7 a.m. (EDT).
The result was the same as it's been all week.
"He looked great," said O'Neill, who saddled Kentucky Derby winner I'll Have
Another for a victory in last year's Preakness. "He's had a terrific week. This
track in the morning is almost like a training center. It's so tranquil and
quiet. We enjoyed it last year, and so far, so good this year."
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| Jockey Kevin Krigger could make Preakness history aboard Goldencents
(Harold Roth/Horsephotos.com) |
Owned by W.C. Racing, Dave Kenney and Louisville basketball coach Rick
Pitino's RAP Racing, the $62,000 yearling purchase has proven an outstanding
investment. A three-time stakes winner, the Into Mischief colt already has
bankrolled $1.25 million with four victories from seven starts.
The downside to Goldencents is his dismal 17th-place finish in the Kentucky
Derby over a sloppy, sealed racetrack at Churchill Downs. He was listed at odds
of 8-1 in the morning line for the Preakness after drawing the No. 2 post
position in the field of nine.
"We haven't closed our eyes and just said, 'Oh, we'll do the exact same thing
that we did going into the Derby,'" O'Neill said. "We tweaked a few things and I
just think with the track looking like it's going to be a nice, safe, fast
track, that's one less excuse, too. But when they throw in a head-scratcher, the
next time, as confident as you may be, it's tempered a little bit."
A colt with great tactical speed, Goldencents had been in every other race
he'd started, his close fourth in the San Felipe at Santa Anita being the worst
performance before his Derby flop.
"He gallops at a real high cruising speed and we kind of reeled that in
before the Santa Anita Derby," said O'Neill, who decided not to conduct a formal
workout between the Derby and Preakness. "Now we've kind of gone back to our
original way of preparing him and we'll see what happens. He looks really,
really good and I'm excited about him. I think he's going to run a big race."
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Part-owner Dave Kenney was here last year as part of O'Neill's much larger
post-Derby entourage, and although he didn't have any stake in I'll Have
Another, he did get a taste of the Preakness flavor.
"The experience has been great," said Kenney, who owns a large transportation
dealership in Southern California and counts multiple Grade 1 winner Richard's
Kid among his many Thoroughbred holdings. "We're anxiously excited about the
race. The people at the Preakness have just been phenomenal to us. They're
gracious hosts, and hopefully we can get a little different result than the last
big race."
Jockey Kevin Krigger, who has been aboard all seven starts for Goldencents,
will try to become the first African-American rider to win the Preakness since
Willie Simms captured the 1898 edition with Sly Fox.
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