Hall of
Fame Trainer Bob Baffert has won the Preakness Stakes (G1) five times and he
has good chance to pick up another win today when he sends the talented Empire Maker colt Bodemeister
to the starting gate as the 8-5 morning line favorite in the 137th
running of the prestigious $1,000,000 graded stakes race.
Bodemeister
was my favorite to win the Kentucky Derby (G1) and I like him in today’s race
too. I also like the other horses that I profiled for the Derby – I’ll
Have Another (5-2), Creative
Cause (6-1), Went The Day Well (6-1) – and I expect them to finish
in the top four.
Except for
Creative Cause, I think that any of those horses could win the Preakness and I
don’t see any newcomers to the trail being a factor. Creative Cause is a tough
competitor and he always puts forth his best effort but I think he would have
to run a career-best race in order to win.
Since his
maiden debut in January, I thought that Bodemiester had the potential to be a
classic champion and the Preakness may be the best shot for him to win a
classic race.
Bodemeister,
I’ll Have Another and Went The Day Well are sire-line descendants of Mr.
Prospector and since 1990 that line has dominated the Triple Crown and produced
11 Preakness Stakes winners: Lookin At Lucky (2010),
Curlin (2007), Afleet Alex (2005), Smarty Jones (2004), Funny Cide (2003), War Emblem (2002), Point Given (2001), Red Bullet (2000), Real Quiet (1998), Timber Country (1995)
and Hansel (1991).
If I’ll
Have Another wins, I’ll be happy, too, as that will bring us closer to the
potential for a Triple Crown winner – after a 34-year drought. I’ll also be
especially happy for the young jockey Mario Gutierrez who won the Kentucky
Derby on his first try and could, perhaps, win the Triple Crown.
Now that’s
quite a story.
A horse
that really intrigues me from this talented group is Went The Day Well and if I
had structured my Derby superfecta ticket a little differently I’d be $96,000
richer today.
While
Bodemeister and I’ll Have Another are near top form, I think that Went The Day
Well still has room for improvement and I’m looking forward to see how
well he progresses as a 3-year-old.
And you can’t
find a better ambassador for the “sport of Kings” than his trainer Graham
Motion.
Good luck
today and have fun.
Very exciting day ahead, Calvin, and I hope all race safely. My personal pick is I'll Have Another because I would LOVE a Triple Crown winner, IHA seems to have his head on straight--saves himself for the race instead of all the silliness before and after, and I think the jockey is just beginning to realize how talented he is. I enjoy your blog and your assessment of the runners. ;o)
ReplyDeleteTBDancer,
ReplyDeleteOf all the horses in the Derby and Preakness, I'll Have Another has the best behavioral dynamic and he looks like a good one to win the Triple Crown - I'll be rooting for him.
Thanks for the compliment and for following the blog. Of all the horses