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Baffert: Authentic, Thousand Words Both On Target For Preakness

Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert said Sunday that Kentucky Derby (G1) winner Authentic and Thousand Words are on course for the 145th Preakness Stakes (G1) Saturday, Oct. 3 at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Md.

Authentic became Baffert's record-tying sixth Derby winner on Sept. 5 with a 1 1/4-length victory over Belmont Stakes (G1) winner Tiz the Law, the 7-10 favorite. Thousand Words was scratched from the Derby when he acted up and flipped while being saddled in the paddock. Both colts are at Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas' barn at Churchill Downs and are galloping daily. Baffert has not scheduled a date for when the colts will have their next timed works, but said he expected those breezes would happen at the end of this week.

Baffert said that Azul Coast, who earned a berth in the Preakness with a victory in El Camino Real Derby on Feb. 15, is not being considered for the race.

Even though he had won four of five career starts, Authentic, co-owned by Spendthrift Farm, MyRaceHorse Stable, Madaket Stables and Starlight Racing was the 8-1 third choice in the Derby wagering. He recovered from an awkward start from the outside post of the 15-horse field to make the front after a quarter mile and never gave up the lead. Tiz the Law was within a head of Authentic after a mile, but could not get past the son of Into Mischief. Authentic's time of 2:00.61 was the seventh-fastest in Derby history.

“He came out very well, very well,” Baffert said from the Keeneland September yearling sale in Lexington, Ky. “He's ready to go. We would have been ready to go in two weeks.”

For decades the Preakness has been run two weeks after the Derby. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Triple Crown schedule was dramatically changed this year and the Preakness is the third stop in the series, a month after the Derby.

Baffert's longtime assistant Jimmy Barnes was reaching under Thousand Words to tighten the saddle when the Pioneerof the Nile colt co-owned by the Albaugh Family Stables and Spendthrift Farm reared and fell to the ground.

“Thousand Words, he's fine,” Baffert said. “When he went up he sort of lost his footing and was on his side. He was OK and was checked out. He's doing well.”

Barnes was injured in the incident, though, and Baffert said nine screws and a plate were required to repair his damaged right wrist. Following the Derby, Baffert landed on the ground as he moved to avoid Authentic's reaction to the blanket of roses being placed on his back. Baffert, 67, was not injured.

“The human connections, we were the worst for wear,” Baffert said.

Baffert is the leading trainer in Triple Crown history with 16 victories. He is tied for the most wins in the Preakness, seven, with the 19th century trainer R. Wyndham Walden.

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Derby Winner Authentic on Track for Preakness

The 2020 GI Kentucky Derby winner Authentic (Into Mischief) and his stablemate Thousand Words (Pioneerof the Nile) are both on track for Pimlico’s GI Preakness S., scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 3, according to trainer Bob Baffert. The Hall of Famer reported Sunday from Keeneland’s September yearling sale that both colts remain at the Churchill barn of D. Wayne Lukas. Both are galloping daily and Baffert indicated they would both likely breeze toward the end of the week.

“[Authentic] came out [of the Derby] very well, very well,” said Baffert Sunday. “He’s ready to go. We would have been ready to go in two weeks.”

The Preakness, of course, is usually scheduled for two weeks after the Derby as the second leg of the Triple Crown, but has been delayed to four weeks behind the Derby as the third leg of the series with this year’s altered scheduling due to COVID-19.

Authentic, who is co-owned by Spendthrift Farm, MyRaceHorse Stable, Madaket Stables, and Starlight Racing, is Baffert’s sixth Derby winner. He will seek his eighth win in the Preakness.

Thousand Words, a multiple graded stakes winner who won the Aug. 1 Shared Belief S. in his last Derby prep, was scratched just prior to the Derby when he flipped during saddling. The horse was uninjured, but Baffert’s long-time assistant, Jimmy Barnes, broke his wrist in the incident and needed nine screws and a plate during surgery, according to Baffert.

“Thousand Words, he’s fine,” said Baffert. “When he went up he sort of lost his footing and was on his side. He was okay and was checked out. He’s doing well.”

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A Tapit Topper at KEESEP

A Tapit filly out of the 2015 GI Alabama S. heroine Embellish the Lace (Super Saver) caught the attention of a number of high-end buyers, and was ultimately landed Sunday by Claiborne Farm’s Bernie Sams, who was bidding on behalf of an undisclosed client of the storied nursery. The bay was consigned to the sale by Bluewater Sales as hip 149 and offered on behalf of her breeder, China Horse Club.

“He’s bought a couple mares and he bought a nice yearling filly last year,” Sams said of the buyer. “He’s trying to buy a couple more fillies and build a broodmare band over the next few years and we will see where we go. He wanted a Tapit filly, so there we go.”

He continued, “She’s a pretty filly and very athletic. A nice family out of a young mare that could run. It’s a good cross. We had hoped she would be cheaper.”

Bluewater’s Meg Levy said hip 149 had been plenty popular back at the barn and in the repository.

“It’s a strange year, 2020, and this was the first horse we were bringing to the ring in Book 1. So, while we expected that she could be in that range, you just never know,” Levy offered. “It seemed like all the right people were on her. She’s been nothing but a queen, and she put all the pieces together. The market is increasingly physically demanding and there were just no holes. She had the page and the physical. She was vetted about 14 times, and it seemed like everyone showed up, so fair value.”

Embellish the Lace was a $320,000 buy here in 2013 by Alex and JoAnn Lieblong. The half-sister to 2010 GI Travers S. Winner Afleet Express (Afleet Alex) RNA’d for $1.9 million at the 2015 Fasig-Tipton November sale and brought $2.4 million from China Horse Club a year later while in foal to Uncle Mo. Her now 2-year-old filly Classique (Pioneerof the Nile) was a $700,000 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga grad of last year, and Embellish the Lace produced a filly by red-hot Into Mischief this term.

While China Horse Club founder and chairman Teo Ah Khing was unable to travel to Kentucky due to the coronavirus pandemic, he stayed up until 4:00 a.m. local time to watch hip 149 sell from his home in Singapore.

“We couldn’t be more pleased with this result,” he said. “The mare is class. She’s putting down beautiful stock, just what we hoped for when purchasing her. She was well raised by both WinStar and Bluewater and it’s a privilege to offer fillies like her, although always sad to see them go.”

As for the market dynamics in these uncertain times, the international businessman said, “It’s about keeping confidence in the market. You can’t look at the micro. It’s a long-term view and it’s about keeping conviction in the industry. These times will pass—it’s a matter of just getting on with it under the environment we face. We aren’t immune, but we are doing a great job under the conditions.”

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Several Kentucky Derby Runners Nominated To Oklahoma Derby

A couple of horses that competed in the Sept. 5 Kentucky Derby are strong possibilities for the Grade 3, $200,000 Oklahoma Derby that will be run on Sunday, Sept. 27, at Remington Park in Oklahoma City, Okla.

Stakes coordinator Don Thompson said Major Fed and Necker Island are two of the contenders from the Kentucky Derby that are possible to be in the gate for the 32nd running of the Oklahoma Derby. Two other Kentucky Derby competitors were nominated for the race as well – NY Traffic and Mr. Big News, who ran third to Authentic and Tiz the Law.

“NY Traffic is either going to the Preakness or coming here,” said Thompson.

A news story broke this week that NY Traffic threw a horseshoe during the Kentucky Derby and could improve off that finish of eighth. He went off at 12-1 odds in the Kentucky Derby.

Among other horses that Thompson said were possibilities for the Oklahoma Derby were Avant Garde, Dean Martini and Shared Sense.

Here's a look at those most possible for the Oklahoma Derby, contested at 1 1/8 miles, the headline event on a stakes-laden program on the final Sunday afternoon of this month:

Major Fed
Owned by Lloyd Madison Farms IV, trained by Gregory Foley… Went off 43-1 in the Kentucky Derby and had a troubled trip. During the race, he was jostled and then stuck in traffic most the way in the 15-horse field. Prior to the “run for the roses,” this 3-year-old colt by Ghostzapper, out of the Smart Strike mare, Bobby's Babe, was a maiden winner, but had been extremely competitive in several graded stakes races. He ran second to Shared Sense in the Grade 3, $300,000 Indiana Derby on July 8, a strong closing fourth to Wells Bayou in the Grade 2, $1 million Louisiana Derby on March 21 at Fair Grounds (NY Traffic ran second in that race), and second in the Grade 2, $400,000 Risen Star Stakes on Feb. 15 at Fair Grounds to Modernist. James Graham had the mount in the Kentucky Derby. He rode Lone Sailor to an Oklahoma Derby win in 2018.

Necker Island
Owned by Raymond Daniels, Wayne Scherr and Will Harbut Racing, trained by Chris Hartman… Went off at 49-1 in the Kentucky Derby and finished ninth after an eight-wide trip down the lane. Jockey Miguel Mena rode the 3-year-old colt in Louisville, Ky. Prior to the Kentucky Derby, he had finished third in the Grade 3, $300,000 Indiana Derby to Shared Sense and third in the $200,000 Ellis Park Derby to Art Collector, who figured to be one of the favorites in the Kentucky Derby, but was scratched. This son of Hard Spun, out of the Mr. Greeley mare Jenny's Rocket, garnered a lot of the spotlight in Kentucky with his African American owners, Daniels and Greg Harbut, who got their message to the public about the importance of equality in America, and in the sport of horse racing.

Shared Sense
Owned by Godolphin Racing and trained by Brad Cox, this colt by Street Sense, out of the Bernardini mare, Collective, won the Grade 3, $300,000 Indiana Derby and has been first or second in five-of-nine starts lifetime. He has not been out since running fifth to Art Collector in the $200,000 Ellis Park Derby. Florent Geroux has been his regular rider. When Godolphin took this horse off the Kentucky Derby trail, Brad Cox said he would train the horse up to a fall campaign with the Oklahoma Derby as a consideration, according to the Paulick Report.

Avant Garde
Owned by Gelfenstein Farm of Ocala, Fla., trained by Jesus Lander. This gelded son of Tonalist, out of the Afleet Alex mare Dancing Afleet, is riding a four-race win streak at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale, Fla. He has been winning easily, but all four victories have come in lesser company than he would face in a stakes race. Jockey Luis Reyes has been his rider in all four wins.

Dean Martini
Owned by Raise the BAR Racing and David Bernsen, who also owns a computer wagering business in Point Loma, Calif. Trained by Tom Amoss. This 3-year-old gelding by Cairo Prince, out of the Friends Lake mare Soundwave, won the Grade 3, $500,000 Ohio Derby at Thistledown on June 27 with jockey James Graham aboard. He followed that with a sixth place run in the Ellis Park Derby.

Horses nominated to the Oklahoma Derby who already reside and train at Remington Park include: Liam, a maiden who was second, beaten two lengths, in a maiden special event here Aug. 29; Rowdy Yates, a two-time stakes winner here as a 2-year-old in 2019, he was fourth in both the Ohio Derby and the Ellis Park Derby this summer; and Tonaltalitarian, broke his maiden here on Sept. 10 by 3-1/4 lengths and is trained by Donnie Von Hemel, a three-time winner of the Oklahoma Derby.

Remington Park racing continues Wednesday thru Saturday, Sept. 16-19, with the first event nightly at 7:07pm.

Past performances of Oklahoma Derby nominations

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