Stanford confirmed for Preakness

Second by a neck in

the Sam F. Davis (G3) and third in the Tampa Bay Derby (G2) this winter,

Divining Rod rated off the pace before drawing away to a three-length victory in

the 1 1/16-mile Lexington, his first stakes win.

"The race in the Lexington was a very good confidence booster for him," Delacour said. "I think

he put it all together, that he needed to relax and finish, and I think that

really helped him.

Divining Rod has had two works at Fair Hill since the Lexington, both five

furlongs, including a breeze over the dirt track in 1:00 4/5 on Derby day, second-fastest

of 18 horses.

"He started nice and easy, he was relaxed and he really kicked on at the

end," Delacour said. "That's the kind of work that you like to see when you go

to a race that's going longer. I was very pleased with it."

Delacour said Divining Rod will work once more this weekend at Fair

Hill for the 1 3/16-mile Preakness, which could draw as many as six horses from

the Derby including second and third-place finishers Firing Line (Line of David) and Dortmund

(Big Brown).

Corrales entered and scratched Bodhisattva from the $75,000 Parx

Derby on May 2 and instead breezed the horse seven furlongs in 1:29 at Laurel,

his first work since winning the 1 1/16-mile Tesio by 1 1/2 lengths over

Noteworthy Peach (Read the Footnotes).

"I think this horse improved from that race. He just keeps improving

every time. I think now I've got him where I want him," Corrales said. "The

reason why I scratched him at Parx was because it was too early to run him back

and I wanted to work him before I decide what's going to happen.

"He worked

the way I wanted to," he said. "I put another horse at the half-mile pole and he

was coming from behind to catch up with the other horse, a fresh horse, from the

half-mile pole and he beat the other horse easy. I think he's 90 percent of

where I want him. If he had run in the stakes the other day he would have been

80 percent. I think he's still going to get better."

Bred by Andy Stronach, son of The Stronach Group founder and

chairman Frank Stronach, Bodhisattva was among the early nominations to the

Triple Crown. He ran second in the Private Terms in March at Laurel and fifth in

the Remsen (G2) for two-year-olds last fall at Aqueduct.

"You start nominating a horse for the Triple Crown, sometimes just

to see what could happen, like winning the lottery. Pretty soon you hit a number

and then you hit another number and maybe you win the lottery," Corrales said.

"You dream, and people just wish to be in those kinds of races once. They pay a

lot of money to get the chance to be in one of those races one day. I have a

chance. You never know. Even if he loses, you still go on with life."

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