Friesan Fire, Papa Clem, Musket Man turn in Preakness works

Friesan Fire recorded a superb five-furlongs drill at Old Hilltop on Tuesday (Jim McCue/Maryland Jockey Club) Showing no ill effects from his troubled journey in the Kentucky Derby, FRIESAN FIRE (A.P. Indy) fired a bullet at Pimlico Tuesday morning. The beaten favorite in the Run for the Roses prepped for Saturday's Preakness S. (G1) with a sensational five-furlong workout over the fast main track in :58 2/5 under jockey Gabriel Saez. "All went well. He warmed up really good for it; he broke off very relaxed as far as not trying to send him away from there; but anytime you put the blinkers on him, he gets focused and wants to start rolling; he finished up well," said trainer Larry Jones, whose colt worked shortly after the track reopened from the renovation break at 8 a.m. (EDT) Friesan Fire had turned in a blistering five-furlong workout in :57 4/5 a few days before the Kentucky Derby.

"We really meant to work him well that day, and he did," said Jones, whose

colt had a seven-week layoff between the Louisiana Derby (G2) and the Kentucky

Derby. "This one here was just to let him stretch his legs and see if he came

out of the Derby well. I know when I galloped him the last two days, he sure

seemed like he was doing well. We're very happy, very pleased. He's cooling out

good, so all's well. Right now we will push on and run Saturday."

Saez echoed Jones' satisfaction with the workout.

Papa Clem taking a leisurely breeze around the Pimlico oval (Jim McCue/Maryland Jockey Club) "I think this work was kind of better than the last time," he said. "The main thing is: the horse is sound and handled the track really well." Friesan Fire had suffered cuts all over his legs, particularly in his left front foot, during his eventful run in the Derby, in which he was bumped around at the start and raced in heavy traffic before fading to 18th. "We wound up having to walk him four days, but one of the days was a ship day. Then we went back and jogged a little bit. We couldn't do a lot with that foot; we had to keep a patch on him while we were training him to prevent him from irritating it," Jones said. "Today (Tuesday) is the first day we've been able to go and not have to put a patch on it, and he came back really well. I'm very pleased with the way it's healed up. You sure couldn't feel anything when I rode him the last couple days. If you didn't know he'd had an issue, you wouldn't know it."

When Jones had a chance to examine Friesan Fire following the Derby, he

discovered strips of bandages lodged between the hoof and the shoe of the left

front foot.

"When we first saw it, we thought it was part of his hoof that had peeled up

in there," he said. "But when we got to checking it, we could see that it was

some kind of material. So we took a couple nails out of his shoe where we could

get it pried out, and it was a bandaging material."

The mystery of where the bandage came from was solved the next morning at the

nearby Cracker Barrel, where he bumped into Bennie "Chip" Woolley, trainer of

Derby winner MINE THAT BIRD (Birdstone), and Bob Baffert, who saddled PIONEEROF

THE NILE (Empire Maker) for a runner-up finish in the Run for the Roses. While

they traded war stories of Derby 135, Baffert mentioned that one of Pioneer of

the Nile's bandages had a round piece missing after the race.

Trainer Derek Ryan sneaked a peak under Musket Man's head during a bath (Bill Denver/Equio-Photo) "I asked him, 'You didn't have on black bandages, did you?' He said, 'Well, yes, I did.' I said, 'Well, I know where it is,'" Jones recalled. "So, apparently, we got close to Pioneerof the Nile someplace, sometime." PAPA CLEM (Smart Strike), the fourth-place finisher in the Kentucky Derby, worked a leisurely five furlongs in 1:05 under exercise rider Emundo Cedeno shortly after 7 a.m. over the Pimlico main track. "I was hoping for a faster time, but I'm not worried about it,'' said affable trainer Gary Stute after watching the move from the clubhouse box area. "The track may have been a little slow if you look at the earlier works. All his workouts before the Derby were bad except for the last one. Coming back from the Derby in two weeks, I just mainly wanted him to get a feel for the track." The Kentucky-bred colt's first quarter-mile was accomplished in :25 with a half-mile in :51 4/5. He galloped out six furlongs in 1:22 3/5. Papa Clem has only run once on a fast dirt surface when he upset Old Fashioned in the Arkansas Derby (G2) in his final Derby prep.

"I never really thought of him as Derby horse because he never really trained

like one, but every time he's run, he's run a lot better than he trained," said

Stute, who will walk the colt Wednesday and possibly get him a visit to the gate

Thursday or Friday. "He's always kind of shocked me how good he ran off the way

he worked."

MUSKET MAN (Yonaguska), the third-place finisher in the Kentucky Derby,

worked a bullet four furlongs in :46 3/5 Tuesday morning at Monmouth Park under

exercise rider Daniel Centeno. Eibar Coa, who was aboard for Musket Man's last

two starts, will ride him in the Preakness.

"It went perfect, just what I wanted," said trainer Derek Ryan, who will ship

his colt on race day. "I haven't run any horses at Pimlico in quite a while, but

it's a similar track to Monmouth. I've won a couple stakes there.''

Musket Man went to Kentucky off back-to-back wins in the Tampa Bay Derby (G3)

and Illinois Derby (G2), but Ryan said he wasn't as sharp on the sloppy, sealed

surface at Churchill Downs.

"All that rain and it never dried out," said Ryan, who will saddle his first

Preakness runner. "He's got a good turn of foot, but on a sloppy track you don't

have that turn of foot you would have on a dry track."

Still, Musket Man missed second money by only a nose.

The weather forecast for the Baltimore area is much more promising the rest

of the week than it was Derby week in Louisville, with only a chance of

scattered showers on race day.

After working five furlongs in 1:02 3/5 at Pimlico on Monday, BIG DRAMA

(Montbrook) jogged a mile and galloped a mile at Old Hilltop Tuesday morning.

"He came out of the work great. He galloped really well," said trainer David

Fawkes, whose wife, Celia, was aboard for the morning exercise.

Big Drama has blossomed since arriving at Pimlico last week, said Fawkes, an

Illinois native who has been training in South Florida for 11 years.

"It does a lot for them. It helps to build their blood up. They get sharp and

happy. They like that climate change. I've had a lot of luck shipping out of

Calder," he said. "It's 90 (degrees) in Florida right now and 48 (degrees) here.

You move a horse out of that into cool weather and it makes a huge difference."

Bob Baffert watched as Chip Woolley got Mine That Bird loaded for the trailer rider to Pimlico (Reed Palmer Photography/Churchill Downs) TONE IT DOWN (Medaglia d'Oro), meanwhile, galloped 1 1/2 miles at Laurel on Tuesday for trainer Bill Komlo, who indicated he may give the colt a three-eighths breeze on Wednesday morning. "He seems to be right on target," Komlo said. "We went pretty good today. We'll just see how he's feeling tomorrow." Kent Desormeaux will be aboard the third-place finisher in the Federico Tesio S. for the first time, and he may not see the horse until Saturday when Komlo vans him in. "He's an experienced rider," Komlo said. "I would certainly like to have him get on the horse, but it's going to be what it is. I can't do much about it."

A few minutes after 9 a.m. Tuesday morning, Kentucky Derby (G1) winner Mine

That Bird rolled out of the Churchill Downs barn area headed for Baltimore and

the second leg of racing's Triple Crown.

With trainer Woolley behind the wheel of the Ford F-450 Lariat

and exercise rider Charlie Figueroa riding shotgun, the Kentucky Derby-winning

team left Barn 42 with Mine That Bird comfortably ensconced in the trailer

behind the truck.

"I think he is ready," Woolley said. "If we make the trip up there good and

he eats good, I couldn't ask for anything better."

Mine That Bird will pick up the services of Mike Smith in the Preakness  (Ed Van Meter/Horsephotos.com) Woolley arrived pulling the trailer at 6 a.m. and began the process of loading everything for the 10-hour trip to Pimlico. Mine That Bird, who had worked a half-mile in :49 1/5 on Monday morning, walked the shedrow for 20 minutes and grazed behind the barn for another 15 minutes before returning to his stall for 10 minutes before loading on the trailer. The only stops Woolley planned to make was the occasional restroom break and to grab a bite to eat. "I have about 115 gallons and hauling the trailer I get about 8 1/2 miles a gallon," Woolley said. "This will be about like our first day coming here when we went from El Paso to Lone Star Park (in suburban Dallas). We won't need to stop for gas. When we stop to eat, I'll open the top of the window and let him look out and take things in. He's a good shipper. Nothing bothers him." Woolley was eager for the trip to begin. "It's getting exciting; things are starting to build and I am eager to run again," Woolley said. "I came here as the underdog with no pressure. Things have changed slightly."

Before Mine That Bird walked into the trailer, Baffert, astride his

stable pony Leo, rode up from Barn 33 where his Kentucky Derby runner-up

Pioneerof The Nile is housed.

"I just want to see how this is done," Baffert said with a laugh.

The two trainers shook hands, wished each other luck and then it was time to

go.

With Baffert running interference on Leo, Woolley pulled in right behind and

had a clear shot to Gate 6 and the open road east.

In other Preakness-related activity at Churchill Downs:

Rachel Alexandra continues to please her new connections (Ed Van Meter/Horsephotos.com) TERRAIN (Sky Mesa), with exercise rider Jimmy Valdez up, jogged in the mile chute alongside a pony for about five minutes and then galloped once around the main track before the renovation break Tuesday morning. Trainer Al Stall Jr. said Terrain would gallop Wednesday morning and is scheduled to be on a 1:30 p.m. flight to Baltimore. Kentucky Oaks (G1) winner RACHEL ALEXANDRA (Medaglia d'Oro) was on the track at 6:20 a.m. Tuesday, going once around with exercise rider Dominic Terry up. Rachel Alexandra had worked a half-mile in :48 2/5 on Sunday and walked Monday. Rachel Alexandra was purchased last week and transferred to trainer Steve Asmussen from trainer Hal Wiggins' barn. Assistant trainer Scott Blasi said the transition has been pretty easy. "I think we're all getting used to each other, but it's been really smooth so far," he said. "We're just trying to keep her happy and she's responding to everything that we're doing."

Blasi and one of Wiggins' assistants, Brett McClellan, are very good friends

and that connection has helped shorten the adjustment period.

"Mr. Hal and the whole team has been very cooperative," Blasi said. "They

want nothing but the best for the filly and have been very supportive and

helpful."

According to Blasi, Rachel Alexandra has reacted well to the barn change.

"It's like being around a great horse," he said. "She's just very classy and

kind of takes in whatever you want to do with her."

And for a horse who clearly relishes getting out for her exercise, that

includes accepting the standard day away from the track following a work.

"It was her walk day yesterday," Blasi said. "She felt good, but she wasn't

out of hand or anything. She walked, went in the house and went to sleep like

she always does."

Pioneerof the Nile walked the shedrow a day after working a half-mile in :47

3/5. Trainer Bob Baffert said Pioneerof the Nile would go to the track Wednesday

morning and then leave for Baltimore on the 1:30 p.m. flight.

Getting a jump on the migration east to Baltimore was owner/trainer Tom

McCarthy's GENERAL QUARTERS (Sky Mesa) as well as five horses trained by D.

Wayne Lukas, including Preakness hopefuls FLYING PRIVATE (Fusaichi Pegasus) and LUV GOV (Ten

Most Wanted). All were gone before the track opened for training at

6 a.m.