Not since 1978, when Affirmed and Alydar went hoof-to-hoof from the Derby to the Belmont, has there been a Triple Crown winner. There have been flirtations—five in the last 11 years—but none have been able to close the deal.
Enter Orb (Post 1, 1-1).
Orb romped in the Kentucky Derby as the favorite, as a seasoned, though mildly raced horse. On an off-track (muddy), he proved his class and powered down the center of the track kicking clear of Golden Soul, Revolutionary and Normandy Invasion.
The win gave Orb’s trainer, Claude "Shug" McGaughey, his first Kentucky Derby win. His mantra is "the horse will bring you there," and Orb has thrown McGaughey on his back and carries him to the next leg of the Triple Crown.
Orb arrived at Pimlico on Monday and represents the first time McGaughey will saddle a Preakness starter since the great Easy Goer back in 1989.
"When I came in ’89, we came in here on Tuesday. This year, I made up my mind I wanted to work him a day out from there and get him down here to try to get him used to his surroundings," McGaughey said. "I want to school him in the paddock and not do too much at one time, so I figured we’d get him in here today."
Before Orb shipped from his home base at Belmont Park, he breezed four furlongs in 47.18, the fifth fastest of 96 recorded times at the distance. If there was any sign of fatigue from running in the Kentucky Derby, it is long gone.
"His work this morning was nothing short of magnificent," McGaughey said. "I couldn’t be happier with where we are. He broke off very relaxed and finished up unbelievably, just on his own. I was shocked when I looked down at my watch and saw he worked from the eighth-pole to the wire in 11-and-change. He was covering the ground as good as a horse could cover it. He galloped out fine, dropped his head and walked home."
Nine horses committed to the Preakness, six of which ran in the Derby. The returning horses are Goldencents (Post 2, 8-1), Itsmyluckyday (Post 9, 10-1), Mylute, Oxbow (Post 6, 15-1), Will Take Charge (Post 7, 12-1) and, of course, Orb.
Mylute (Post 5, 5-1) had the best finish among these contenders in the Derby, finishing fifth behind Orb. Oxbow took sixth. Will Take Charge finished eighth. Itsmyluckyday was 15th and Goldencents—after being eased—finished 17th of them all.
Three new shooters enter the Preakness all from different roads. Departing (Post 4, 6-1), winner of the Illinois Derby, may be the best. Governor Charlie (Post 8, 12-1), owned by Mike Pegram and trained by Bob Baffert, won the Sunland Derby back on March 24 in record time (1:47.54) and TitletownFive (Post 3, 30-1), winless in three starts this year.
TitletownFive, along with Oxbow and Will Take Charge, is trained by D. Wayne Lukas. TitletownFive, a son of Tiznow, once finished ahead of Orb. Granted it was in a maiden race for two-year-olds at Saratoga in 2012, but he’s the only horse in the field that can boast.
Goldencents, winner of the Santa Anita Derby, ran disappointingly in Kentucky for his trainer Doug O’Neill and his jockey Kevin Krigger. Whether he’ll bounce back in the Preakness with a winning effort is to be determined, but he just might.
Goldencents and Krigger wanted the lead in the Derby. Palace Malice, with Mike Smith aboard, shot to the front and set blazing fractional times. As a result, Goldencents went right along. By the 3/8ths pole, Goldencents didn’t fire and Krigger stopped asking his horse for more. At the quarter pole, Krigger stood up and eased his horse instead of riding him hard to finish tenth.
Goldencents ran perhaps one mile hard, maybe less, and it stands to reason that he has more in the tank than his 17th-place finish in Kentucky may suggest.
"When we got to the three-eighths pole the race changed for him completely," said Krigger. "He went from just sitting comfortably to just not giving me the effort that he usually puts out. When we got to the five-sixteenths pole he just started regressing more for whatever reason it was, and I just decided, instead of harassing him and causing him to struggle on the sloppy track, to protect him and wrap up on him and brought him home."
If the track is dry and fast Saturday in Pimlico and, as of today, the weather calls for 76 degrees and a 20 percent chance of rain, Goldencents will put in a better effort.
A year ago, O’Neill brought the Derby winner, I’ll Have Another, to Pimlico. He ran a gutsy race and eclipsed Bodemeister at the wire. Now, O’Neill looks to play spoiler.
"It was a great feeling last year being the hunted, but a hunter’s not bad," said O’Neill. "Just being here is a real honor, and I give great thanks to the horse and the owners. This (the Preakness) is just an experience you want to be part of."
Itsmyluckyday turned in a sizzling work over the Monmouth track—four furlongs in 47 1/5 seconds—and appears to be in good order heading into the Preakness, according to his trainer Eddie Plesa.
Lukas, Hall of Fame trainer and winner of five runnings of the Preakness, will saddle three on Saturday—Oxbow, Will Take Charge and TitletownFive.
Oxbow, ridden by Gary Stevens, may be Lukas’ best shot at a sixth Preakness, especially if the pace scenario sets up favorably.
"I do not think the pace will be the same," Stevens said. "You may want to forgive some of the horses for their races in the Derby. I thought Goldencents would be with us on the lead and he was outside of us and getting all the kickback. At the five-eighths pole, I could see that Kevin (Krigger on Goldencents) was not comfortable and he could not go inside, because that is where I was, and he had two horses on his outside."
Mylute, fifth in the Derby, turned in a swift breeze at Churchill Downs, all of which suggest to his trainer, Tom Amoss, that, "This was similar to what he did before the Kentucky Derby but just a bit faster, and I hope that is a product of him being ready to roll."
Post time is set for Saturday at 6:18 p.m.
