NEWS
Big Brown to jog Wednesday, Preakness field loses El Gato Malo
Posted: Tuesday, May 06, 2008 5:01 PM
BIG BROWN
Bob Coglianese photo
Undefeated Big Brown will return to the track on Wednesday for the first time since a 4 3/4-length romp in the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (G1) on Saturday.
Trainer Rick Dutrow Jr. said the Boundary colt will jog on Wednesday at Churchill Downs and gallop on Thursday as he begins preparations for the $1-million Preakness Stakes (G1) on May 17 at Pimlico Race Course.
Dutrow said Big Brown appears to be in good order following the emphatic classic victory, and he is scheduled to be shipped to Pimlico, along with Arkansas Derby (G2) third-place finisher Tres Borrachos, on May 14.
“Looks like he came out of the race real good,” said Dutrow, who has been fighting a cough since the Derby. “I’m doing all right; it’s just all that dirt that Big Brown kicked up in my lungs.”
The Preakness lost one challenger on Tuesday with the decision of West Point Thoroughbreds to send Grade 3 winner El Gato Malo to Lone Star Park for the Lone Star Derby (G3) on Saturday.
“The decision certainly had to do with Big Brown’s performance,” said West Point President Terry Finley. “We are probably going to be 8-to-5 in Texas and 15-to-1 at Pimlico. He is a gelding and we are really focused on earning with this horse, so that worked into the decision. If he were a colt and eventually a stallion, we probably would be headed to the Preakness.”
Trained by Craig Dollase, El Gato Malo won the San Rafael Stakes (G3) but had insufficient graded stakes earnings to make the Kentucky Derby field after a fifth-place finish in the Santa Anita Derby (G1) on April 5.
West Point could have another Preakness contender, however, as Finley said Derby Trial Stakes winner Macho Again is under consideration for the 1 3/16-mile middle jewel of the Triple Crown.
“We’ll see how he trains, but he seems to have come out of the Derby Trial in fine fashion,” Finley said. “It is not out of the question. We’ll keep track of the Preakness field.”
Toyota Blue Grass Stakes (G1) third-place finisher Kentucky Bear is expected to be the first Preakness challenger to arrive at the historic Baltimore track. Trainer Reade Baker said the Mr. Greeley colt will be shipped to Pimlico on Wednesday. He completed a bullet five-furlong workout in :59 on Saturday at Keeneland Race Course.
Coolmore Lexington Stakes (G2) winner Behindatthebar also breezed five-eighths in :59 on Saturday at Keeneland. The Forest Wildcat colt secured a place in the Kentucky Derby field with the Lexington win, but Pletcher chose the Preakness to give Behindatthebar more time to recover.
“He came out of the work in good shape,” Pletcher said. “We decided to wait for the Preakness because he had run in California 16 days before the Lexington. We just felt like three races in a 30-day period were squeezing his races a little too closely together.”
Pletcher also is considering Harlem Rocker, the 2 1/2-length winner of the Withers Stakes (G3) on April 26, for the Preakness.
“I am very pleased with what he has done up to this point,” Pletcher said. “We’ll just have to see if we feel like he is ready to take as big a step as it would be to go from the Withers to the Preakness.”
Preakness officials still were awaiting a decision from co-owners Louie Roussel III and Ronnie Lamarque on Derby fifth-place finisher Recapturetheglory. The Cherokee Run colt is the only Derby runner other than Big Brown under consideration for the race.
Other potential Preakness contenders include three-time stakes winner Giant Moon, Blue Grass Stakes fourth-place finisher Stevil, California Derby winner Yankee Bravo, and Lexington Stakes third-place finisher Riley Tucker. A Bill Mott trainee, Riley Tucker has placed four times in graded stakes and will have the services of Edgar Prado for the Preakness. Prado originally was committed to ride El Gato Malo in the race.
