To read previous editions of The Haiku Handicapper, click here.

#1 – Excession
Hey, remember March?
We were so young then, weren't we?
That was his last start

#2 – Mr. Big News
Do we judge this horse
By his bank-breaking upsets
Or his long-priced duds?

#3 – Art Collector
The most likely threat
To test Authentic up front
With gas to kick on

#4 – Swiss Skydiver
Closer to Rachel
Than Ria Antonia
Not afraid to fight

#5 – Thousand Words
Ought to come in fresh
If he didn't leave his race
In Churchill's paddock

#6 – Jesus' Team
This would be his first
Win not running for a tag
Gonna look elsewhere

#7 – Ny Traffic
Caused Derby trouble
Still lacking killer instinct
No ticket-topper

#8 – Max Player
Always runs his race
Stands to move up with more time
In Asmussen's barn

#9 – Authentic
Minor Derby shock
He might be unbeatable
With an unchecked lead

#10 – Pneumatic
Wisely skipped Derby
His reward? Hooking a field
That might be tougher

#11 – Liveyourbeastlife
Fierce Jim Dandy drive
Is he a Spa specialist
Or finding his form?

Prediction
First, a pace meltdown
Then, Max Player secures the bag
Nine, six, three follow

The post The Haiku Handicapper Presented By BC2A Equine Sports Performance: 2020 Preakness Stakes appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Trevor McCarthy, Jevian Toledo, Sheldon Russell and Horacio Karamanos have all secured mounts in the 145th Preakness Stakes (G1) Saturday, Oct. 3, being presented this year as the final jewel in a refashioned Triple Crown and the first Triple Crown race to serve as a 'Win and You're In' qualifier for the Breeders' Cup Classic (G1).

The $1 million Preakness is among a spectacular weekend Oct. 1-3 featuring 16 stakes, nine graded, worth $3.35 million in purses including the 96th renewal of the $250,000 Black-Eyed Susan (G2) and 50th edition of the $200,000 Frank J. De Francis Memorial Dash (G3), each contested this year on the Preakness undercard.

“We've got a good shot to win, the local riders,” Karamanos said. “There's four of us. We have a good group. There are a lot of good riders in Maryland. It's good competition.”

Karamanos is the winningest rider among the group with 2,266 victories since arriving in the U.S. in 2000 from his native Argentina, where he won more than 1,500 races. He has the assignment on John Fanelli, Cash is King, LC Racing, Paul Braverman and Team Hanley's Ny Traffic.

The veteran Karamanos has won six meet titles in Maryland including three at Pimlico (2003, 2010, 2017) as well as the Laurel Park summer stand that ended Sept. 19. He is the only one of the four local riders to be making his Triple Crown race debut.

“This is my opportunity now. I feel really good, man,” Karamanos said. “This is my home, Maryland.”

Karamanos landed full-time in Maryland in 2002 and tied a Laurel Park record with seven winners on a single card that October. The winner of multiple riding titles at Colonial Downs in neighboring Virginia who has ex-rider Frank Douglas as his agent, he won the $100,000 Twixt Sept. 5 aboard Wicked Awesome. His mounts have earned more than $60 million in career purses.

In Ny Traffic, Karamanos will climb aboard a horse that raced close to the pace in the Kentucky Derby (G1) Sept. 5 before tiring to eighth behind Authentic, exiting the race with a cut on his left front ankle. Beaten a nose by Authentic in the Haskell (G1) July 18, Ny Traffic also finished second in the Louisiana Derby (G2) and Matt Winn (G3) this year.

“This is a nice horse. I watched his last two races. He ran good when he finished second at Monmouth,” Karamanos, 47, said. “In Kentucky the horse broke out a little bit and then sit second and third. He ran evenly to the wire, but the race was so fast. He's a good-trying horse. You never know. I think we have a good shot. He's a nice-looking horse, too.”

McCarthy, 26, will be aboard William H. Lawrence's Liveyourbeastlife, the Jim Dandy (G2) runner-up Sept. 5 at Saratoga for trainer Jorge Abreu. The Delaware native and Laurel resident will become the sixth different rider in nine starts on the sophomore son of Hall of Famer Ghostzapper.

The Preakness will be the first Triple Crown race for Liveyourbeastlife and second for McCarthy, who finished eighth behind 2015 Triple Crown winner with Bodhisattva on his 21st birthday. This year's Preakness comes four weeks after Authentic upset favored Tiz the Law in the Kentucky Derby (G1) Sept. 5.

“We have some really good horses, some fresh horses, my horse being a fresh horse,” McCarthy said. “Authentic really put up a super race last time and he beat a really good horse, so he's going to be pretty tough. I'm just looking forward to getting the opportunity and doing my best, and getting the best trip possible.”

Represented by agent Scotty Silver, McCarthy was Maryland's leading rider in 2013, 2014, 2016 and 2019 and owns 12 individual meet titles including six of the last eight since moving his tack back to Maryland full-time in fall 2018 after a stint in New York. Overall, he owns 1,537 wins and nearly $51 million in purses earned with 18 graded-stakes victories.

“If my horse shows up and has a good trip, I'll be happy. I'll be happy with him, I'm pretty sure,” McCarthy said. “He should give me a great effort and I'm really looking forward to riding him. I think that last eighth [of a mile] is really going to suit him. I can't wait.”

Toledo, 24, will get a leg up on Grupo Seven C Stable's Jesus' Team, who became the first Preakness horse to arrive at Pimlico Sunday following the short van ride from trainer Jose D'Angelo's barn at Monmouth Park.

It will be Toledo's second time riding in a Triple Crown race, having finished ninth with Awesome Speed in the 2016 Preakness. Maryland's champion rider in 2015 and 2017, Toledo owns 1,027 career wins and more than $31 million in purse earnings since his first domestic victory at Pimlico in June 2013.

Toledo and Russell are both represented by agent Marty Leonard.

“I'm really excited. It's the second chance that I got to ride the Preakness and I feel really blessed,” Toledo said. “I have a lot of help lately in my career and my agent does a really, really good job. He hustled to have a mount in the Preakness and we got it done, so that's pretty cool.”

A native of Puerto Rico, where he won more than 30 races before coming to the U.S., Toledo has won five individual meet titles in Maryland and two career graded-stakes, the 2014 Charles Town Oaks (G3) with Miss Behaviour and 2018 Arlington Handicap (G3) with Divisidero.

Jesus' Team, named after the owner's son, will see familiar faces in the Preakness. He ran fourth to Authentic in the Haskell, second to Pneumatic in the Aug. 15 Pegasus Stakes at Monmouth Park and third in the Jim Dandy, less than a length behind runner-up Liveyourbeastlife.

“I never got to meet the trainer,” Toledo said. “He liked the way I ride. I watched all the replays of the horse and he's a nice horse. He tries every time. He always hits the board in these tough races. With luck, anything can happen. Hopefully we can get it done.”

Russell, a seven-time meet champion in Maryland who led the state in wins in 2011, has been named to ride Calumet Farm's Excession, one of three horses pointing to the Preakness trained by two-time winner and Hall of Famer Steve Asmussen.

“At first I was hearing little whispers about it, but as it progressed it started to get a bit louder,” Russell said. “I'm just trying to take it all in. I'm very grateful for the opportunity that Steve's giving me.”

Russell, 33, finished 10th on Concealed Identity in the 2011 Preakness. In his only other Triple Crown mount, he was 14th in the 2012 Derby aboard Done Talking, trained by Laurel Park-based Hamilton Smith.

“We've got a couple days before the race so I'll try to do the best homework I can on the horse. Then it's just trying to get a clean trip and try to get the horse to run for me on such a big day,” Russell said. “I'm excited. I'm over the moon. These are the opportunities you dream about.”

Eight shy of 1,400 career wins with more than $38 million in purses earned, Russell, like McCarthy, Toledo and Karamanos, is still in search of his first Grade 1 triumph. He has won four Grade 3 stakes, the last coming with Doctor J Dub in the 2016 Turf Monster at Parx.

Russell returned to riding on the Sept. 24 opening day program at Pimlico for the first time since breaking his wrist July 16 in a gate mishap at Delaware Park. He was leading Laurel's summer meet standings at the time of his injury.

“Coming off the layoff and everything, it was not something I was thinking about. I'm just very grateful,” he said. “I can understand it being one of the top three riders but from being on the shelf, I couldn't ask for a better thing. It makes me feel very good. It makes me feel very excited. I've got a couple days here up until that big one so we'll be ready next Saturday, put it that way.”

The post Fearsome Foursome: Top Maryland Jockeys Take Their Shots In 145th Preakness Stakes appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Winchell Thoroughbreds' Pneumatic, winner of Monmouth Park's Pegasus Stakes in his last start after finishing fourth in the Belmont Stakes (G1), worked a half-mile in 50.20 seconds over the Oklahoma training track at Saratoga. Max Player and Excession each were timed in 49.80 seconds at Churchill Downs.

“It's what we asked for, and they handled it really well,” Asmussen said of the three colts. “Pneumatic is doing extremely well since his win in the Pegasus. We're excited about getting him the opportunity at this level.”

Pneumatic drew Preakness Post No. 10 Monday.

“He had an outside draw in the Pegasus, a little bit shorter field, but an outside draw nonetheless,” Asmussen said. “Joe (Bravo) worked out a really good trip and hopefully he can do the same.”

Max Player, owned George Hall and SportBLX Thoroughbreds, will make his second start for Asmussen, having finished fifth in the Kentucky Derby. Max Player was third in both the Belmont Stakes and Travers when trained by Linda Rice.

Asmussen termed the work “a little leg-stretch,” adding, “I like his energy.”

Max Player drew Post No. 8 for his Preakness start.

“I think that's an excellent draw. I think he'll be able to stay a little closer from there,” Asmussen said. “Very anxious to see how he runs.”

Calumet Farms Excession will be making his first start since he was a fast-closing second at 82-1 odds behind the well-regarded Nadal in Oaklawn Park's Grade 2 Rebel Stakes on March 14. Excession will break on the rail, which Asmussen called “perfect.”

“He can follow the fence and make his late run,” he said.

Asmussen is shooting for his third victory in the Preakness, following Horses of the Year Curlin in 2007 and the filly Rachel Alexandra in 2009.

The post Asmussen’s Preakness Trio: Pneumatic ‘Doing Extremely Well,’ Max Player Showing Good ‘Energy’ appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Veteran jockey Robby Albarado will replace Tyler Gaffalione on the millionaire filly. Albarado won the Preakness in 2007 aboard future Hall of Famer Curlin.

When she goes to the gate at historic Pimlico Race Course, Swiss Skydiver will be the 55th female to run in the Preakness. The most recent of the five filly winners of Maryland's Triple Crown classic was Rachel Alexandra in 2009. Her success against males in Baltimore helped her capture the 3-year-old filly title and the Horse of the Year Award.

McPeek had talked about the 1 3/16-mile Preakness as a possibility for Swiss Skydiver since the summer and decided to send her in against males for a second time when she worked five furlongs in 1:00.80 at Churchill Downs Saturday morning. In June, the chestnut daughter of Daredevil won the Santa Anita Oaks (G2), her third straight victory. In her first attempt against males, she ended up second to Preakness prospect Art Collector in the July 11 Blue Grass Stakes (G2). On August 15 at Saratoga, she won as she pleased in the 1 1/4-mile Alabama (G1). Three weeks later, she was second in the Kentucky Oaks (G1).

“I know she will make the distance without any problem,” McPeek said. “I think she will like that racetrack. Of course, she has raced everywhere. Whatever racetrack she has raced over she has handled great. It was a tough call between racing against straight 3-year-olds or older fillies and mares or turf, which was briefly thought about. I think she will handle it fine.

“My preference would have been if they wrote a race back like the Alabama back for this week. But that doesn't exist. There are no 3-year-old filly Grade 1s. She gets a little bit of weight off and she's continuing to do good,” he added.

A victory against the boys would greatly enhance Swiss Skydiver's quest for year-end honors.

“I think if she wins a race like this you've got to include her possible Horse of the Year,” McPeek said. “She's danced every dance and she's been hickory and she had entertained the fan base like probably no filly in years. I think it's a chance to make history.”

The other dirt option for McPeek prior to the Breeders' Cup Distaff (G1) at Keeneland on November 7 was the Spinster (G1) on Oct. 4, also at Keeneland.

Preakness entries will be taken Monday. Swiss Skydiver will ship to Maryland from Kentucky on Tuesday.

“It will be interesting to see where she draws,” McPeek said. “I think she runs better from the outside and I think drawing the one-hole cost her the Oaks. I think she got pinned down in there and if my rider had stayed inside he probably would have won. But he went around. Hindsight is 20/20. It is what it is.”

Ny Traffic Likely for Preakness Following Sunday Breeze
Ny Traffic breezed a half-mile in 48 seconds at Churchill Downs Sunday morning to the satisfaction of trainer Saffie Joseph Jr., who stopped just short of committing the Haskell (G1) runner-up to Saturday's Preakness.

“Most likely he's going to go, but tomorrow we'll make the decision,” Joseph said. “We were very happy with the work.”

Ny Traffic's half-mile clocking was the second-fastest of 88 recorded at the distance.

Sunday's workout was his first since finishing eighth in the Sept. 5 Kentucky Derby (G1), in which he was a forward factor early before weakening in the stretch. He exited the Derby with a cut in his left front ankle.

The son of Cross Traffic had previously lost by a nose to eventual Kentucky Derby winner Authentic in the July 18 Haskell at Monmouth Park.

Derby Hero Authentic Slated to Breeze Monday at Churchill
Following more stakes success at Santa Anita on Saturday, Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert flew from California to Kentucky Sunday morning to check on his Preakness candidates Authentic and Thousand Words.

Authentic, Baffert's record-tying sixth Kentucky Derby winner, is scheduled to work Monday morning at Churchill Downs. Thousand Words, a three-time stakes winner, had his final Preakness work Saturday.

“All good. He came out of it really well,” Baffert said about Thousand Words. “He's on course.”

Baffert said he will make the final call on his Preakness horses Monday morning before entries close. The post-position draw is set for noon.

In the Preakness, Hall of Fame jockey John Velazquez will ride Authentic and Florent Geroux will ride Thousand Words.

Saturday afternoon at Santa Anita, Baffert saddled the 1-2 finishers in the Chandelier Stakes (G2), Princess Noor and Varda, before saddling the top two finishers in the Awesome Again (G1), Whitney (G1) winner Improbable and heavy favorite Maximum Security, winner of the Pacific Classic (G1).

Art Collector on Track for Trip to Pimlico
Bruce Lunsford's Art Collector, winner of the $200,000 Ellis Park Derby and Keeneland's Blue Grass (G2) in his last two starts, did a combination of walking and jogging at Churchill Downs under Welter Davilla Sunday morning.

“I just wanted to let him move around a little without actually training,” trainer Tommy Drury said.

Art Collector, a son of 2006 Preakness Stakes winner and 3-year-old champion Bernardini, worked a half-mile in 48 seconds on Saturday.

Lunsford, Drury and jockey Brian Hernandez are shooting for their first Triple Crown win, with Drury making his first start in the series. Lunsford has never had a Preakness starter, but his horse Vision and Verse was second by a head at 54-1 odds in the 1999 Belmont Stakes (G1) won by Lemon Drop Kid.

Allied Racing's Mr. Big News, the Kentucky Derby third-place finisher at 46-1 odds, jogged a mile Sunday morning under regular exercise rider Tony Quinones. Mr. Big News is to fly to Baltimore Tuesday. He's trained by Bret Calhoun and will be ridden by Gabriel Saez. Calhoun, Saez and Allied Racing's Chester Thomas all are seeking their first wins in the Triple Crown series, with the trainer and owner set to participate in the Preakness for the first time.

The Steve Asmussen-trained trio of Pneumatic, Max Player and Excession all galloped Sunday. Winchell Thoroughbreds' Pneumatic, winner of Monmouth Park's Pegasus Stakes, is training at Saratoga, with George Hall and SportBLX Thoroughbreds' Max Player and Calumet Farm's Excession at Churchill Downs.

Max Player was fifth in the Kentucky Derby in his first start under Asmussen's care after finishing third in both Saratoga's Travers Stakes (G1) and Belmont Park's Belmont Stakes (G1). Excession makes his first start since finishing a good second to the highly regarded Nadal (since sidelined) in Oaklawn Park's Rebel Stakes (G2). Pneumatic was fourth in the Belmont Stakes before earning his first stakes triumph in the Pegasus.

Asmussen, who recently became only the second trainer to win 9,000 races, is seeking a third Preakness victory, following Curlin in 2007 and Rachel Alexandra in 2009. Both horses went on to be Horse of the Year, with Curlin also earning that title in 2008.

Godolphin's homebred Jim Dandy (G2) winner Mystic Guide breezed five furlongs Sunday in 1:01.60 over the main track at Fair Hill Training Center in Elkton, Md. Trainer Mike Stidham has all but ruled out the Preakness.

“The work went great. It was on a wet track but he handled it really well. We were comfortable with it being a safe track to work on,” Stidham said. “He just went evenly and finished up nice with a good gallop out, but we're pretty much focused on skipping the Preakness and going into the Jockey Club.”

The post Preakness Notes: Alborado To Ride Swiss Skydiver; Ny Traffic ‘Most Likely’ To Run; Authentic Breezes Monday appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Only 15 of Asmussen's wins have come at Pimlico Race Course, but they've accounted for 11 graded stakes and more than $3.3 million in purses, including Preakness (G1) victories in 2007 with two-time Horse of the Year Curlin and two years later with the filly and 2009 Horse of the Year Rachel Alexandra. Asmussen's Pimlico wins have come out of 57 starters after going 0 for 10 from 1998 through 2006.

Now Asmussen will try to win the Preakness for the third time with a trio of horses: George Hall and SportBLX Thoroughbreds' Max Player, Winchell Thoroughbreds' Pneumatic and Calumet Farm's Excession.

Asmussen also plans to run Winchell Thoroughbreds' Tenfold in the Pimlico Special (G3), a race he won last year after finishing a close third in the 2018 Preakness to eventual Triple Crown winner Justify. Asmussen has nominated horses to other stakes at Pimlico and expects to again be a presence at Old Hilltop.

“We think we will have a lot of live action for the weekend, and I expect a couple of winners to add to the total,” said Asmussen, the 2017 and 2018 winner of Pimlico's $50,000 bonus to the trainer whose horses earn the most points racing in the Preakness festival's stakes. “At this stage, we're just blessed with some extremely talented horses and it is an important event for us. Preakness weekend has always been a big deal to us, and we've been fortunate to have fastest-enough horses to run in the races they offer.”

Max Player officially entered the Preakness picture on Wednesday, two days after a sparkling workout of 1:00 1/5 at Churchill Downs, the fastest of 21 works that day at the distance. While Asmussen is well-known for putting a significant work into his horses 12 days before a race, he is not a trainer who drills his horses or goes in expecting an extremely fast work. So when his horses do that, handicappers have learned to pay extra attention.

“He's an extremely impressive horse and I think he's doing really well,” Asmussen said. “His work Monday was excellent. His gallop-out was huge. He came out of it in very good shape, went back to the track with a whole lot of energy. Very exciting horse at the right time.

Hall sent Max Player to Steve Asmussen a couple of weeks before the Kentucky Derby (G1), in which he closed from well back to be fifth. The colt had previously been trained by New York-based Linda Rice, including winning Aqueduct's Withers (G3) and finishing third in the Belmont (G1) and Travers Stakes (G1), both won by Derby runner-up Tiz the Law.

“We've secured Paco Lopez to ride him,” Asmussen said. “We're hoping he's able to stay a little closer, not give himself a margin that is impossible to overcome with the Preakness being a little shorter than the Derby. But he is doing really well. He's a very clean-legged, good-moving horse with a great attitude.”

Excession hasn't raced since he was second by a fast-closing three-quarters of a length at 82-1 odds in Oaklawn Park's Rebel Stakes (G2). That March 14 race was won by Nadal, who before being injured was one of the top choices for the Kentucky Derby.

A son of Belmont Stakes winner Union Rags, Excession will be ridden by Sheldon Russell, won of Maryland's leading riders.

“He needed some time after the Rebel,” Asmussen said of Excession. “He's been working well recently. His race against Nadal was very impressive. Just a weird year that he's allowed him to take a break and come back” and still make a Triple Crown race.

Pneumatic won Monmouth Park's TVG.com Pegasus Stakes in his last start to run his record to 3 for 5, with a fourth in the Belmont Stakes. Asmussen also is shooting for a third victory in the $250,000 Pimlico Special (G3), including a repeat with Tenfold. That son of Curlin loves Pimlico, having finished a close third in the foggy running of the 2018 Preakness Stakes won by Triple Crown hero Justify.

Like Pneumatic, Tenfold is owned by Asmussen's long-time client Winchell Thoroughbreds.

Joe Bravo, who was aboard for the Pegasus, will be back on Pneumatic for the Preakness, Asmussen said. “We feel great about how he's doing, knowing that this is by far the toughest race he's ever been in.

“I believe it's quite obvious there are some extremely talented 3-year-olds left that are doing very well. It ought to be a great race. Pneumatic, coming off his lifetime best, deserves the opportunity.”

Tenfold has ground out $1.1 million the hard way, winning last year's Pimlico Special and Saratoga's Jim Dandy (G2) in 2018 while earning many more checks by finishing second, third and fourth in 19 career races. When he returns to Pimlico, Tenfold will be attempting to win for the first time since the 2019 Special 10 races ago.

“Solid horse. Right now it's not easy to find lucrative purses for horses that need to run as far as he does,” Asmussen said. “The Pimlico Special was probably equal to his Jim Dandy victory. He's a Grade 2 winner of a million dollars. He's a pretty damn good horse.”

In his last two starts, Tenfold shipped to California for a third in Santa Anita's Hollywood Gold Cup (G1) then second in the Charles Town Classic (G2). “He's huge,” Asmussen said at Churchill Downs. “I don't think the tight turns of the Charles Town Classic suited him. But this year's calendar has made finding a suitable spot for most horses difficult.”

Pneumatic and Tenfold will ship in from Saratoga, where their training is being overseen by Asmussen chief assistant Scott Blasi.

Asmussen currently is the meet-leading trainer at Churchill Downs (where he became the all-time win leader in June), Lone Star Park, Remington Park and Louisiana Downs. The record-breaking and goal-oriented horseman isn't shy about acknowledging he wants to be racing's all-time win leader.

“I read it or I heard it somewhere that if they don't want it to be important, then why do they keep count?” he said with a laugh. “Right now, after reaching a goal as significant as 9,000 wins, you feel a great amount of gratitude for the opportunities that we've been given and the effort that all the help has put into it to get it done.”

At his current strike rate, Asmussen figures to be the sport's all-time win leader within 1 1/2 years. Then what?

“The open-ended, unanswered question of what's next, then every victory you lift your arms and say, 'new world record,'” he said cheerfully. “Every one you win, if you get fortunate enough to get to it, and afterward, you're the only one who ever did it.”

The post Asmussen, Closing In On All-Time Training Record, Will Saddle Three In Preakness appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post