I'll Have Another settles in; Creative Cause, Teeth of the Dog confirmed for Pre

I'll Have Another settles in; Creative Cause, Teeth of the

Dog confirmed for Preakness

"Everything went as smooth as could be," Sisterson said. "He enjoyed the

flight, enjoyed the van ride and took it right in his stride. It was great."

I'll Have Another is the first Kentucky Derby winner in more than a decade to

ship into Pimlico within a week of the race in Louisville. Since O'Neill is

based in California and he does not have a division stabled in Kentucky, he

decided to send his Derby winner straight to Baltimore and give him plenty of

time to adjust to a new track.

"The guys at Pimlico couldn't have been better," Sisterson said. "They are

really accommodating to us. Anything we want they get us. They're stopping by

every five minutes asking if there is anything we need. It's been fantastic.

They really like it that we're here. We're happy. They're happy. It's a winning

combination."

I'll Have Another leads all Preakness prospects with $2,060,600 on the

graded-earnings list, on which the first seven automatically earn a berth in the

14-horse field. I'll Have Another, Bodemeister, Dullahan, Went the Day Well, and

Creative Cause qualified for an automatic Preakness start by earning a check in

the Derby. Hansen and Liaison round out the top seven.

In the second tier of the Preakness qualifying system, which is based on

open-stakes earnings, Isn't He Clever, Optimizer, Hierro and Teeth of the Dog

are currently sitting eighth through 11th.

In the third tier, which is based on total earnings, Pretension, Tiger Walk

and Paynter round out the 14 available spots as of Tuesday.

Zetterholm, Cozzetti, Guyana Star Dweej and Brimstone Island (in order

listed) are on the also-eligible list in which two spots will be available at

entry time.

Creative Cause is a likely Preakness starter, trainer Mike Harrington said

Tuesday. The three-time graded-stakes winner was shipped back to Harrington's

stable in California after he finished fifth in the Kentucky Derby. Harrington

likes the way the colt looks thus far and said he is scheduled to make the trip

to Baltimore next week.

"We're planning on it; we've got the flight booked," Harrington said. "We

have to see how he bounces back."

Creative Cause is scheduled to be on a May 16 flight that originates in

California, stops in Louisville to pick up some more horses and completes its

journey at Baltimore-Washington International Airport.

Teeth of the Dog, who had been pointed to Saturday's Grade 2 Peter Pan at

Belmont Park, has been confirmed for a start in the Preakness. The son of

Bluegrass Cat finished third in his stakes debut in the Grade 1 Wood Memorial at

Aqueduct on April 7. In his previous start, he broke his maiden at Gulfstream

Park in a 1 1/8-mile race, in which Went the Day Well, the fourth-place Derby

finisher, came in fourth.

"He came out of the Wood fine and has done well," said trainer Michael Matz

said from his barn at Fair Hill Training Center in Elkton, Maryland, Tuesday

morning.

Matz reported that Union Rags was doing well after finishing a disappointing

seventh in the Kentucky Derby after a troubled trip.

"He was outside for three hours this morning," Matz said. "He came out of the

race fine."

In other Preakness news:

Trainer Graham Motion couldn't have been more pleased with Went the Day

Well's physical condition Tuesday morning after shipping from Churchill Downs to

Team Valor International's barn at Fair Hill Training Center.

"I'm just amazed how this horse has handled everything," said Motion, whose

colt overcame a troubled trip to finish a fast-closing fourth in the Kentucky

Derby. "Everything has gone smoothly, knock on wood."

Motion said he has watched the replay of the Kentucky Derby a half dozen

times.

"I'm not sure seeing it that you get a true appreciation for the trouble that

he had," said Motion, who saddled last year's Kentucky Derby winner, Animal

Kingdom, for a second-place finish in the Preakness. "Every time I've watched

it, it amazes me how in a jump or two more, I think, he hits the board or

finishes second."

Pretension, who captured the Canonero II Stakes at Pimlico Saturday, is

scheduled to return to the track at Bowie Training Center Wednesday.

"He'll go back to training and see where he is and make a decision by the end

of the week. Or maybe that decision will be made for us, depending on how the

earnings go," said trainer Chris Grove, whose colt was ranked 12th on the

qualifying list of prospects Tuesday.

Pretension, a New York-bred stakes winner this year, captured the Canonero II

after finishing a distant ninth in the Grade 3 Illinois Derby.

"When we went to Illinois and didn't run well, we asked ourselves, 'Is he on

fade?' He had no excuse for getting beat other than he didn't take to the

racetrack," Grove said. "This was kind of reassurance that he is back to where

we thought he was before the Illinois Derby."