Road to the Triple Crown

ROAD TO THE TRIPLE CROWN

MAY 24, 2006

by James Scully

Like a punch to the gut, Saturday's Preakness S. (G1) delivered a cruel blow

when BARBARO (Dynaformer) broke down. Thoroughbred racing lost its budding

superstar, and the gallant colt now faces a difficult recovery. Barbaro embodies

the spirit of a fighter and if any racehorse can recover from three fractures

and a dislocated ankle in a hind leg, he's the perfect candidate. We're all

rooting for Barbaro now.

His Kentucky Derby (G1) victory is one for the ages. The imposing dark bay

cruised through the stretch to an effortless 6 1/2-length decision, impressively

eating up ground with massive strides to remain unbeaten in his sixth career

start, and Barbaro had so much more to offer in the future. He excelled on turf,

slop and fast tracks, proving to be a special racehorse that doesn't come around

often. It hurts so bad to see it end so soon.

There are no answers for what happened. Sire Dynaformer throws hard-knocking

horses, and Barbaro was perfectly suited to handle a two-week layoff. He created

plenty of anxiety when breaking through the gate before the start of the race,

but Edgar Prado quickly pulled him up and Barbaro went back to the starting gate

in good order. I don't buy any rumors trying to make sense out of the

unexplainable. Barbaro was poised to thrash his rivals again in the middle leg of the

Triple Crown, but it wasn't meant to be.

BERNARDINI (A.P. Indy) stepped up to capture the Preakness in only his fourth

career start and two-turn debut, drawing off to 5 1/4-length score in front of

the grieving crowd at Pimlico. Trained by Tom Albertrani, the Darley Stables'

homebred finished fourth when making his career bow at Gulfstream Park in early

January and didn't run again for nearly two months, reappearing with a 7

3/4-length triumph in a one-mile maiden special weight event. Off another 56

days, Bernardini returned to take the one-mile Withers S. (G3) by 3 3/4 lengths

on April 29, defeating a couple of nice foes with more seasoning at Aqueduct

while earning a 110 BRIS Speed rating. Bernardini looked very promising, but his

inexperience made him a much more attractive prospect for the Travers S. (G1) in

late summer, not the Preakness.

Sent off the near 13-1 fourth choice in Saturday's nine-horse field,

Bernardini broke sharply from post 8 and raced close to the pace as LIKE NOW

(Jules) led into the clubhouse turn. Jockey Javier Castellano wound up in tight

quarters between SWEETNORTHERNSAINT (Sweetsouthernsaint) and BROTHER DEREK

(Benchmark) early on the backstretch and wound up easing the bay colt back out

of the congestion. Bernardini came with a furious rally up the rail midway on

the far turn, blowing past a retreating Brother Derek before swinging out wide

to confront Sweetnorthernsaint, who didn't offer much of a fight to his oncoming

challenger as Bernadini charged down the stretch with a widening advantage. The

winner sailed unopposed to the wire under a vigorous hand ride, stopping the

clock for 1 3/16 miles in a very respectable 1:54.65, the fastest Preakness

since Louis Quatorze in 1996. He registered a whopping 114 BRIS Speed rating.

Sweetnorthernsaint reportedly grabbed a quarter early in the race and

finished a clear second, six lengths better than third placer HEMINGWAY'S KEY

(Notebook), but he did not go on upon reaching the top of the stretch. After

disposing of Like Now and taking the lead between calls, he essentially folded

his tent and held second because no other horse had a rally. Brother Derek was

very flat, missing the break under Alex Solis and never threatening.

Out of the Grade 1-winning Cara Rafaela (Quiet American), Bernardini appears

well-suited for the 1 1/2-mile distance in the Belmont S. (G1). The Preakness

certainly stamps him as a top-class performer, but the race basically fell into

the lap of the lightly raced colt and Bernardini will be a bounce candidate if

he runs back in three weeks. He'll be a better horse later this

year. Bernardini provided Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum with his first

American classic winner, and we can expect to see him racing under Godolphin's

blue silks in the future.

Saturday's Peter Pan S. (G2) featured a top Belmont contender in SUNRIVER

(Saint Ballado), who gamely wore down LEWIS MICHAEL (Rahy) in deep stretch to

win the 1 1/8-mile contest by a neck. Favored at 6-5, the Todd Pletcher pupil

rated off a slow pace (:24 2/5, :48 and 1:12 3/5) over a Belmont Park

track playing favorably to speed in the Peter Pan. Lewis Michael opened a clear

lead in upper stretch and finished strongly, but Sunriver kicked it in

impressively in midstretch and mowed down his rival late, earning a career-best

103 Speed and a 118 Late Pace rating. A full brother to multiple champion Ashado,

the rapidly improving dark bay should relish the 12-furlong trip on June 10.

The Belmont shapes up to be a competitive event, with Bernardini and Sunriver

possibly headlining a large field. Kentucky Derby runner-up BLUEGRASS CAT (Storm

Cat), third placer STEPPENWOLFER (Aptitude) and fourth placer (via dead-heat)

JAZIL (Seeking the Gold) will all merit serious consideration returning to the

Triple Crown series off a five-week freshening, and Wood Memorial (G1) hero BOB

AND JOHN (Seeking the Gold) is a threat to rebound off his 17th-place effort at

Churchill Downs with a much improved showing for Bob Baffert. It might turn out

to be an exciting race, but the "Test of Champions" will be missing one of the

biggest and brightest three-year-olds to have graced the Triple Crown scene in

the modern era.

The atmosphere surrounding the Belmont will be somber without Barbaro.