The first-, second- and fourth-place finishers in the Kentucky Derby are bound for the Preakness, where they might face as many as 10 new challengers.
Trainer Bob Baffert said War Emblem was understandably “a little tired” after winning in the ninth-fastest Derby but would soon resume training at Churchill Downs. The colt will do most of his preparation in Kentucky before shipping to Baltimore next week.
Runner-up Proud Citizen chased War Emblem all the way around, and trainer D. Wayne Lukas says his colt will be more formidable in the Preakness, considering he has had only three races as a 3-year-old.
Fourth-place Medaglia d’Oro will also go to Baltimore, which is a mild surprise because trainer Bobby Frankel likes to space his horses’ races.
Third-place finisher Perfect Drift is “doubtful,” for the Preakness, trainer Murray Johnson said. The status of Harlan’s Holiday is uncertain after he finished seventh as the favorite.
The most formidable of the new challengers in the Preakness will be Sunday Break, who was third in the Wood Memorial at Aqueduct, losing by a half-length.
Nine other non-Derby horses were being pointed toward the Preakness: Booklet, Lukas’ Table Limit, Crimson Hero, Straight Gin, Easyfromthegitgo, Equality, Magic Weisner, Stephentownk and USS Tinosa.
Same strategy: Lukas, whose Proud Citizen and jockey Mike Smith declined to press War Emblem’s lead Saturday, said he’d call for the same strategy in Baltimore “and if they beat us again, they beat us.”
