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American Pharoah, Dortmund continue to receive positive reviews

Last updated: 5/12/15 3:08 PM

American Pharoah, Dortmund continue to receive positive

reviews

American Pharoah's affinity

for a wet track could come into play if the early weather

forecast holds

(Oaklawn Park/Coady Photography)

Kentucky Derby (G1) winner American Pharoah (Pioneerof the Nile) and

third-placer Dortmund (Big Brown) continued their Preakness preparations on a

mild Tuesday morning at Churchill Downs, galloping 1 1/2 miles.

"Those two looked good," trainer Bob Baffert said. "American Pharoah, he is

something to see out there. He just floats over the track. Dortmund looked like

a happy horse out there today."

Going on the track after the harrow break, the two backtracked to the front

side of the track. American Pharoah, with Jorge Alvarez up, began his exercise

with Dortmund and Dana Barnes following less than a minute later.

Baffert, who has won the Preakness five times, is three-for-three with his

Derby winners coming back in two weeks to prevail at Pimlico. Silver Charm was

the first in 1997, followed by Real Quiet in 1998 and War Emblem in 2002.

"They were totally different horses," Baffert said. "The main concern is that

they look healthy and are doing good. That is all you can hope for going into a

race."

Baffert's other Preakness winners, Point Given in 2001 and Lookin At Lucky in

2010, had finished fifth and sixth respectively in the Derby before going to

Pimlico.

"I always won with the best horse," Baffert said. "Usually those were the

best horses of that crop."

All five of Baffert's Preakness winners came on a fast track and the

62-year-old conditioner noted that the long-range forecast for Saturday in

Baltimore called for a chance of thunderstorms.

"If it rains, we know American Pharoah loves the mud," Baffert said alluding

to the colt's 6 1/4-length victory over a wet track in the Rebel (G2) at Oaklawn

Park. "I don't know about Dortmund."

After the two colts train Wednesday morning, Baffert and his Preakness

candidates are scheduled to fly to Baltimore.

In other Preakness news:

Firing Line wanted to do more

than gallop as he wrapped up Preakness preparations at Churchill

Downs

(Cecilia Gustafson/Horsephotos.com)

Kentucky Derby runner-up Firing Line (Line of David) completed the

Louisville, Kentucky leg of his preparation for Saturday's Preakness by

galloping 1 1/2 miles under exercise rider Humberto Gomez after the Tuesday

morning renovation break at Churchill Downs. The Simon Callaghan-trained colt

will also travel to Pimlico on Wednesday.

"He won't train in the morning," assistant trainer Carlos Santamaria said.

"He will load here at 10 and Simon will be waiting for us at Pimlico."

Firing Line had concluded his past two days of training with open gallops and

Gomez said the colt was looking for more on Tuesday.

"I wanted to give him an easy day today and he wants to do more," Gomez said.

"He's got a great attitude and when he gets to the quarter-pole. He wants to

go."

Santamaria is ready for the next step on the Triple Crown trail to commence

with the flight to Baltimore tomorrow.

"Everything has gone perfect," Santamaria said. "The weather has cooled and

he has done well. Knock wood, we keep it the same until we leave."

Danzig Moon still has 'lot

of energy' following a troubled

fifth-place Kentucky Derby effort

(Rickelle Nelson/Horsephotos.com)

Meanwhile, at Churchill, Charles Fipke's Tale of Verve (Tale of Ekati)

returned to the track Tuesday morning, galloping 1 1/2 miles under exercise

rider Kortez Walker. With Tale of Verve going out early for his morning

activity, trainer Dallas Stewart has had time to do a little scouting of his

other Preakness competition training at Churchill Downs.

"American Pharoah looks really good. He is the horse to beat," Stewart said.

"They all trained well before the Derby and Firing Line looks strong. Those two

look the strongest and (trainer Mark) Casse's horse (Danzig Moon [Malibu Moon])

always looks good training."

Danzig Moon galloped a mile at Churchill Downs under exercise rider William

Cano shortly after the track opened Tuesday morning. The son of Malibu Moon is

scheduled to train again Wednesday before boarding a flight to Baltimore under

the watchful eye of assistant trainer Norman Casse.

"Norman knows him better than anybody," said father/trainer Mark Casse, who

is slated to depart his home base in Canada for Baltimore on Thursday. "I stayed

around to watch for a couple days after the Derby and he was good. He's a pretty

simple horse to train. He's doing well and he's got a lot of energy."

The versatile colt is slated to make the fifth start of his sophomore

campaign at his fifth different racetrack in the Preakness. He was fifth in the

Kentucky Derby despite a traffic-marred trip at odds of 22-1, but his trainer

seems relatively at ease with the quick turnaround.

"Not that the two weeks is ideal for anybody, but I don't think it will

bother him much," Mark Casse said. "He's tough. You just never know until they

run, but we think he's still on his game."

Trainer Arnoud Delacour received confirmation from agent Matt Muzikar Tuesday

morning that champion jockey Javier Castellano will ride Divining Rod (Tapit) in

the Preakness Stakes.

Javier Castellano will pick

up the mount on Lexington winner Divining Rod

(Rickelle Nelson/Horsephotos.com)

Castellano, the two-time winner of the Eclipse Award, replaces Julien

Leparoux, who is scheduled to ride Danzig Moon. Divining Rod will be

Castellano's fourth Preakness mount. He won with Bernardini in 2006.

Divining Rod turned in a breakthrough performance winning the Lexington

Stakes (G3) at Keeneland on April 11. The dark bay colt sat off the pace,

accelerated when asked and moved on to a professional victory.

"I'm very interested to see how he will handle the step up in competition and

the stretch out," Delacour said. "I'm a lot more confident after the Lexington

about his ability to do both."

Earlier in his career, the colt used his speed to be on the lead and had some

trouble lasting. He committed to the lead from an inside post in the Tampa Bay

Derby (G2) and finished third. However, Divining Rod showed a different

dimension and rated kindly in the Lexington.

"I think the horse has started to understand it a little bit," Delacour said.

"This is the time of the year that a three-year-old should start showing that

experience. What I hope is going to make the difference now is that the horse

can still break well and get a position -- that he doesn't have to make the lead

and can sit off the pace a little bit if he needs to. That will be up to the

jock and why we have that kind of rider."

Neither Bodhisattva (Student Council) nor owner/trainer Jose Corrales are

household names, but Corrales is hoping that changes by the end of the Preakness

Stakes on Saturday.

"Most people can't even pronounce his name, not even me," said Corrales,

whose colt's rambling moniker is derived from a Buddhist term meaning

"enlightened one." Corrales, a former jockey, is himself a relative unknown

outside of Maryland making his first start in a Triple Crown race in either

capacity.

"He's doing great," Corrales said Tuesday morning from Laurel Park after his

chestnut colt jogged and galloped over the main track. "I don't know if he's

going to run a big race or what, but so far everything's going good. I'm so

low-key -- I was as a jockey and now as a trainer. I never wanted to say my

horse is better than your horse or my horse will win this because you never know

what's going to happen. So many things can happen in a race."

The Maryland Jockey Club has announced the security and pre-race procedures

for all horses scheduled to compete in the 140th Preakness Stakes at Pimlico

Race Course.

All Preakness entrants must be on the grounds and situated in Barns D, E and

C by noon on Thursday. Blood specimens will be drawn for all prospective runners

later that afternoon.

Security cameras are installed and will be operational in those three barns

upon the arrival of new barn occupants, and access to each barn will be

permitted only at each corner. All persons must sign in when entering any of

those barns.

Pre-race exams on Saturday will begin at 8 a.m. (ET) and horses must be

"clean-legged" and out of ice treatments until after they are examined.

Practicing veterinarians will provide the Racing Commission with a list of

treatments prior to administration except in an emergency.

No practicing veterinarian other than the one administering salix (Lasix)

shall be allowed into those barns after 6:15 p.m. on Friday without approval

from the state veterinarian and the stewards, unless it is a documented

emergency. All salix must be administered no later than three hours prior to

post time or the horse will be scratched.

Pre-race blood samples will be drawn from all horses entered in graded-stakes

races on the Preakness program. A Racing Commission representative will

supervise all treatments

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