Pegasus

TRACK BANDIT PREVIEWS

Preakness (G1) third-placer JACKSON BEND (Hear No Evil) tops a field of six

in Saturday's $200,000 Pegasus S. (G3) and we won't go against the talented colt

on the cutback to 1 1/16 miles. Trained by Nick Zito, Jackson Bend chased

Eskendereya in second in both the Wood Memorial (G1) and Fountain of Youth S. (G2)

before recording a troubled 12th in the Kentucky Derby (G1). He trained

forwardly for the Preakness and didn't receive a clean trip that afternoon

behind horses. When he got clear in the stretch, he offered a determined rally

to miss by less than a length to Lookin at Lucky (Smart Strike), only a head

short of second-placer First Dude (Stephen Got Even). We never thought the

classic distances were a good fit and won't be surprised to see the chestnut

develop into a top contender for the seven-distance King's Bishop (G1) later

this summer, but 8 1/2 furlongs is still well within in his scope and he posted

a sharp four-furlong breeze in advance of this start. Zito's main man, Jose

Lezcano, picks up the mount, and Jackson Bend will be forwardly placed before

striking.

AFLEET EXPRESS (Afleet Alex) is a bit of a wildcard in his stakes debut

Saturday, but we loved his allowance score last time at Belmont (field-best 113

BRIS Speed rating) and won't be surprised to see him off a serious challenge.

The James Jerkens trainee has never been past seven furlongs, but he owns the

pedigree to relish a route and strode out in the stretch beautifully last time,

registering a 109 BRIS Late Pace rating for the 7 3/4-length score. He's a

threat to wire the field with Javier Castellano.

SOARING EMPIRE (Empire Maker) is eligible to improve upon a fourth in the

Dwyer S. (G2) and could offer some value to the exotics. A smart juvenile

performer, the Cam Gambolati runner returned to the races this season with a

sharp allowance tally at Gulfstream and was knocked around when stretching out

to nine furlongs in the Florida Derby (G1), checking in eighth. He offered a

good run to strike the lead on the far turn of the Dwyer last turn before

weakening to finish behind Drosselmeyer (Distorted Humor) and Fly Down

(Mineshaft), the next-out Belmont S. (G1) one-two, and we expect to see him move forward off that encouraging effort.

SCHOOLYARD DREAMS (Stephen Got Even) came up a little short in the Tampa Bay

Derby (G3) and missed the Kentucky Derby due to insufficient graded earnings

after bypassing the Illinois Derby (G3) for the Wood, where he finished fourth.

The Derek Ryan pupil returned off a freshening with a dull seventh in the

Preakness and looks vulnerable to us in this spot. He did display a sharp turn

of foot in three starts at Tampa Bay Downs earlier this season, so we can't

dismiss his chances for rebounding with a top-three placing.

AFLEET AGAIN (Afleet Alex) is also eligible to outperform our expectations. A

surprise winner of the Withers S. (G3) two back, the gray colt recorded a

fast-finishing third in the Spend a Buck S. last time following a wide trip. We

don't like the additional weight (123-pound highweight) he'll carry in this spot

and we're not sure that this is his best distance. We'll let him beat us. NACHO

FRIEND (Friends Lake) was no factor in the Spend a Buck last time and doesn't

look fast enough to offer a serious challenge here.