NEWS
Road to the Triple Crown: Ten-year title streak for Preakness
Posted: Wednesday, May 11, 2011 5:46 PM
PREAKNESS DAY AT PIMLICO
photos by Z/Thoroughbred Times
by Jeff Lowe
The floodgates that opened the Kentucky Derby (G1) to consistent full fields may have washed away some of the classic’s championship form, but the Preakness Stakes (G1) has been a firm steppingstone to the Eclipse Awards.
In the 12 years since 20-horse fields became a rite of spring, half of the Derby winners have been honored with the divisional title at year’s end.
In the same period, the Preakness has been a procession of champions with ten straight winners who have gone on to Eclipse Awards, including the all-conquering filly Rachel Alexandra in 2009. Since 1997, the only non-champion Preakness winner was Red Bullet in 2000.
The title trek apparently was not lost on the late Jess Jackson, the majority owner of Rachel Alexandra and Curlin, who gained his first Grade 1 victory in the Preakness and went on to back-to-back reigns as Horse of the Year and finished his career with the all-time record for North American earnings.
Curlin finished a troubled third in the Derby behind Street Sense and Hard Spun.
“The Derby is a funny thing,” said John Moynihan, bloodstock adviser to Jackson and his wife, Barbara Banke, who is pressing on with Stonestreet Stables. “We went into the Derby with a great horse and we felt like we definitely had the best horse in 2007. As I think it came out, we did have the best horse.
“But that experience taught [Jackson]. We used to have conversations about it all the time. He would say, ‘The Derby is a great race, a tremendous race to win but, because of the infrastructure of the system, with 20 horses in it, the post-position draw, et cetera, a lot of times the best horse doesn’t get the opportunity to run his best race in the Derby. But the best horse almost always gets the chance to run his best race in the Preakness.’ After we won the Preakness with Curlin, I think he always had an affinity for that race.”
Jackson, who died on April 21, surely would have been eager for a third shot at the Preakness with Astrology.
Unlike Curlin and Rachel Alexandra, Astrology has the added stamp of being a Stonestreet homebred, raced in partnership with George Bolton, one of the co-owners of Curlin. Bolton is from Brooklandville, Maryland.
Mike Smith has picked up the mount on Astrology, who has finished second in three consecutive graded stakes races—the Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes (G2), Sunland Derby (G3), and Jerome Stakes—since his victory in the Iroquois Stakes (G3) last fall at Churchill Downs.
Jeff Lowe is a Thoroughbred Times staff writer
Kentucky Derby winners since 1999
Year Horse Champion
2011 Animal Kingdom ?
2010 Super Saver No
2009 Mine That Bird No
2008 Big Brown Yes
2007 Street Sense No
2006 Barbaro No
2005 Giacomo No
2004 Smarty Jones Yes
2003 Funny Cide Yes
2002 War Emblem Yes
2001 Monarchos No
2000 Fusaichi Pegasus No
1999 Charismatic Yes
Preakness winners since 1999
Only one, Red Bullet, did not garner an Eclipse Award at year’s end
2010 Lookin At Lucky
2009 Rachel Alexandra
2008 Big Brown
2007 Curlin
2006 Bernardini
2005 Afleet Alex
2004 Smarty Jones
2003 Funny Cide
2002 War Emblem
2001 Point Given
2000 Red Bullet
1999 Charismatic
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Posted by: Bellwether, Chesapeake, VA on May 12, 2011 at 05:55 AM
ps...HEARS TO U Barbara...ty...
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Posted by: Bellwether, Chesapeake, VA on May 12, 2011 at 05:50 AM
"PRE$$ING ON"...BET JESS IS SMILE N SOME-WHERE!!!...ty...
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