Pimlico Race Course | Horse Racing Free Tips

France Go de Ina Arrives at Pimlico

Japan-based GI Preakness S. contender France Go de Ina (Will Take Charge) arrived at Pimlico Race Course Saturday night. The chestnut colt, trained by Hideyuki Mori, is set to become the first horse from Japan to compete in the Preakness since Lani in 2016 and the first Japanese horse to compete in a Triple Crown race since Master Fencer ran in the 2019 GI Belmont S. He arrived in California Wednesday to quarantine, left California Saturday afternoon and made a stop in Newark, N.J. before arriving in Baltimore and Pimlico at approximately 7:45 p.m.

France Go de Ina began his career in Toyko in November. After finishing fourth in his debut, he won two consecutive races at Hanshin Racecourse to end his 2-year-old season. In his only start this year, France Go de Ina was away awkwardly before finishing sixth in the G2 UAE Derby at Meydan.

Joel Rosario will ride France Go de Ina in Saturday's Preakness.

According to Kate Hunter, Triple Crown representative for the Japan Racing Association, France Go de Ina is not expected to go to the track until Monday.

“He looked like he shipped very well. It was a long and bumpy road to get him from Japan, Dubai, Japan, Los Angeles, Newark to Pimlico, but he's in good shape,” Hunter said. “We'll know exactly how well we're going to do Saturday when he breezes on Wednesday.”

Gary and Mary West's GII Rebel S. winner Concert Tour (Street Sense) turned in a five-furlong work in 1:00.40 Sunday at Churchill Downs.

“He worked really well. He's been training really well,” trainer Bob Baffert said. “I'm happy with the way he went, so he'll definitely be going to the Preakness. Medina Spirit, we just gave him a stiff open gallop, sort of. We're happy with how he went. He came out of the race really, really well. So they'll both be going to the Preakness.”

Concert Tour suffered his first career defeat when third in the Apr. 10 GI Arkansas Derby last time out.

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Risk Taking, Unbridled Honor Added to Preakness

Next weekend's GI Preakness S. continues to take shape as GSW Risk Taking (Medaglia d'Oro) and Unbridled Honor (Honor Code) are expected to be added to the fray during Monday's draw at Pimlico.

Winner of the GIII Withers S. in February, Risk Taking had been initially tabbed to contest the nine-furlong GIII Peter Pan S. at Belmont Saturday, but has been rerouted to join his Klaravich Stables stablemate, Crowded Trade (More Than Ready), in the second jewel in the Triple Crown. Chad Brown trains the colt for Baltimore native Seth Klarman, who was the co-owner of Brown's 2017 Preakness winner Cloud Computing.

“After a couple of lengthy discussions with Mr. Klarman, we feel that this horse is better around two turns,” explained Brown. “That, along with the defections, it just seemed like a good opportunity to take a chance with the horse. I know he is the morning-line favorite for the Peter Pan and we are giving that up, but the reward is: if we are able to get lucky in this race and have him run the race of his life and potentially win or be right there, it's a huge purse. Along with that, it's a little better for him around two turns with the extra distance. Of course, it's a tougher race, but it just came down to a risk-and-reward situation and getting the opportunity to try him around two turns.”

The Preakness will be Risk Taking's first start since he finished seventh as the 2-1 favorite in the Apr. 3 GII Wood Memorial at Aqueduct. He broke his maiden at the Big A in December prior to his Withers score.

“Our optimism is really based on being able to confidently draw a line through the Wood,” Brown said. “If we do that, and if he was to move forward off his previous two races, another step forward, finishing strong at a mile and three-sixteenths, it could potentially put him in the trifecta or maybe better.”

Jose Ortiz will ride the Risk Taking in the Preakness.

Newly-minted Hall of Famer Todd Pletcher also confirmed Whisper Hill's Unbridled Honor will take aim at the Preakness, the only Classic which the 53-year-old has yet to win.

A narrow winner in his third career start going just over a mile at Tampa in February, the colt was fourth in the GII Tampa Bay Derby before a runner-up finish in the GIII Lexington S. at Keeneland Apr. 10.

“He's a horse that we've always had high hopes for,” Pletcher said Friday. “He's always trained really well and he's still sort of putting it all together in race situations. We thought he made a move forward in the Tampa Derby when he ran a sneaky-good fourth and was finishing arguably the best of anyone in the field. He came back and was second-best in the Lexington. That was another improving effort.”

The grey will be Pletcher's 10th Preakness runner and his first since Kentucky Derby winner Always Dreaming finished eighth in 2017. His best finish was a third with his first starter, Impeachment, in 2000.

Unbridled Honor will have his final Preakness work Saturday morning and is scheduled to ship from Belmont Park to Pimlico on Tuesday.

Pletcher indicated that the 1 3/16-mile race could provide an ideal scenario for the colt.

“We like the way he's training and if he could get a decent pace up front to run at, we feel that if he can take another step forward and he's in the mix,” Pletcher said.

Jockey Luis Saez will replace Julien Leparoux in the saddle for the Preakness, his first mount on the colt.

“We've had a lot of luck with Luis,” Pletcher said. “He's riding great and we're happy to have him.”

In related Preakness news, Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas told Maryland Jockey Club racing officials Friday that Christina Baker and William Mack's Ram (American Pharoah) has not been ruled out and he expects a decision to be made Saturday.

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Cox-Trained Adventuring, Winner Of Bourbonette Oaks, Pointed To Black-Eyed Susan

Though he won't have a starter in next Saturday's 146th Preakness Stakes (G1), reigning Eclipse Award-winning trainer Brad Cox plans to run a handful of horses in other stakes over Preakness weekend at Pimlico Race Course.

Among them are Bourbonette Oaks winner Adventuring in the $250,000 Black-Eyed Susan (G2) for 3-year-old fillies on Preakness eve, May 14. The daughter of Pioneerof the Nile ran in three straight off-the-turf races to begin her career with a third, a second and a victory before taking the Bourbonette over Turfway's Park's all-weather surface.

“She's training really well,” Cox said at Churchill Downs Thursday morning. “She had enough points to go in the Kentucky Oaks [G1], but we thought the Black-Eyed Susan made more sense. Plus she wasn't nominated to the Kentucky Oaks, so we'd have had an extra-large fee to run. But I really like her. She's out of a mare [Questing] who was a multiple Grade 1 winner at a mile and an eighth and a mile and a quarter, so I think the distance is something she's going to handle. Huge, huge pedigree. She's already a stakes-winner, but we need to hopefully get some graded wins.”

Cox said Dreamalildreamofu, winner of Turfway's Latonia Stakes in her prior start, and Gedridofwhatailesu are both being pointed to the $150,000 Allaire du Pont (G3) for fillies and mares 3 and up going 1 1/8 miles May 14. Getridofwhatailesu won the Pippin at Oaklawn Park before taking third in the Azeri (G2) won by stablemate and 2020 Kentucky Oaks winner Shedaresthedevil, and finishing fourth in the Apple Blossom (G1) to front-running Letruska, with the Cox-trained two-time champion Monomoy Girl second.

“Dreamalildreamofu is coming off a synthetic race,” he said. “She's performed well on three different surfaces – turf, dirt, synthetic – so we have options with her. Getridofwhailesu was fourth in the Apple Blossom last time and is Grade 2-placed. She's a stakes winner and hopefully we can make her a graded-stakes winner. She's going great, and probably is going to get a little class relief. No Letruskas or Monomoy Girls in this group.”

Fair Grounds allowance winner T D Dance is being pointed for the $100,000 James W. Murphy for 3-year-olds on grass and French Empire the $100,000 Runhappy Skipat for older fillies and mares at six furlongs. Both races are part of the blockbuster Preakness undercard. A $20,000 claim last fall at Churchill Downs, French Empire has won four straight for Cox, most recently an Oaklawn allowance race.

French Empire came to Cox's stable a month ago after winning four straight races for Cipriano Contreras in the wake of being claimed for $20,000 last fall. She is entered in the Vagrancy (G3) Saturday at Belmont Park.

“She's training really well,” Cox said. “She actually is entered in the Vagrancy this weekend, but we decided to scratch and point for the Skipat. T D Dance is doing well, and I'm looking forward to giving him an opportunity in a stakes. Two races back he didn't perform quite as well as we were hoping. He was able to rebound and come back and win an allowance race.”

Cox won the top prize of $50,000 in the Maryland Jockey Club's Preakness weekend trainer bonus two years ago, when he also finished third and fourth in the Preakness Stakes with Owendale and Warrior's Charge, respectively. Cox finished in a tie with Steve Asmussen for second last year.

“I like it; it's cool,” Cox said of the program. “We won it two years ago, and it was a very nice bonus. It wasn't something we'd really pointed for. Then last year based off the morning line, I'd have said we had a big shot to win it. Last year we kind of pointed for it. This year, not as much, but it's very nice. If you run a couple and they run well, you definitely start watching the leaderboard, I can tell you that.”

West Point Thoroughbreds, John Ballantyne, William Freeman and Michael Valdes' Grade 3-placed Lady Traveler, most recently fourth in the Beaumont (G3) April 2 at Keeneland, is expected to make her next start in the $250,000 Black-Eyed Susan (G2) for 3-year-old fillies Friday, May 14 at Pimlico Race Course.

A bay daughter of Grade 1 winner Quality Road, Lady Traveler is trained by Dale Romans who won the Black-Eyed Susan in back-to-back years with Keen Pauline (2015) and Go Maggie Go (2016) and most recently was second with Coach Rocks (2018). West Point was third with Tom Albertrani-trained Toasting in 2013.

“We're set to enter Lady Traveler in the Black-Eyed Susan,” West Point CEO Tom Bellhouse. “We've had some fun in the Black-Eyed Susan in the past. We had Toasting that hit the board and then Coach Rocks ran great a couple years ago. I know Dale likes the race.”

Lady Traveler is a half-sister to two-time Grade 1-winning turf multi-millionaire Heart to Heart, out of the Silver Deputy mare Ask the Question. She broke her maiden and was second in the Rags to Riches last fall in Kentucky, and opened 2021 rallying for second in the seven-furlong Forward Gal (G3) Jan. 30 at Gulfstream Park.

Since then she has finished off the board in a 1 1/8-mile optional claiming allowance on turf March 10 at Gulfstream and the seven-furlong Beaumont, beaten less than five lengths at odds of 17-1.

“She's a cool filly,” Bellhouse said. “She hasn't been able to put it all together yet, but she's got an amazing pedigree.”

West Point may have another Preakness weekend starter in Jaxon Traveler, a multiple stakes winner it owns with Marvin Delfiner and is trained by Hall of Famer Steve Asmussen. Nominated to the $200,000 Chick Lang (G3) for 3-year-olds sprinting six furlongs, the Maryland-bred Jaxon Traveler broke his maiden on debut last fall at Pimlico and won the Maryland Juvenile Futurity in December at Laurel Park.

Jaxon Traveler suffered his only loss in five starts when he was beaten a head in the Gazebo March 20, a race where he needed to come from off the pace, before rebounding with a front-running triumph in the April 24 Bachelor. Both races were going six furlongs at Oaklawn Park.

“We're waiting to hear if Steve wants to come back that quick in the Chick Lang. The race is perfect for him, but he hasn't committed to us yet,” Bellhouse said. “I hope we run both of them. It would be a blast to come down next week and just have a great time.”

SF Racing's Bourbonette runner-up Spritz is scheduled to breeze this weekend over the main track at Keeneland with the $250,000 Black-Eyed Susan (G2) in mind, trainer Rodolphe Brisset said.

“If she works OK on Sunday, Spritz will be running in the Black-Eyed Susan,” Brisset said. “She'll have her last work Sunday depending on the weather. As of now, we're looking at working her on Sunday, shipping her on Monday night and we'll be there on Tuesday morning.”

Spritz, by Awesome Again out of the Holy Bull mare Holy Blitz, spent the winter racing over Turfway Park's all-weather surface. It was where she broke her maiden going 1 1/16 miles Feb. 26 and followed up with a game effort in the one-mile Bourbonette, beaten two lengths by Adventuring, who is also being pointed to the 1 1/8-mile Black-Eyed Susan.

“She's extremely well-bred. For her to finish second in a stakes was very good for her value as a broodmare,” Brisset said. “But, obviously, if we can be stakes placed or a stakes winner on the dirt, that would be even better.”

Other horses pointing to the Black-Eyed Susan are Army Wife, Beautiful Gift, Forever Boss, Iced Latte, Lady Traveler, Miss Leslie and Willful Woman.

Entries will be taken and post positions drawn for the Black-Eyed Susan Day program Sunday, May 9.

Brisset said plans call for Team Valor International's Australian-bred Victory Kingdom to breeze Friday at Keeneland for a start in the $100,000 The Very One for fillies and mares 3 and up sprinting five furlongs on the grass Friday, May 14.

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Maryland: Laurel Horsemen Will Vacate Property After Preakness As Track Undergoes Major Overhaul

Track surface woes at Laurel Park continue, and horsemen there will soon be asked to vacate the property temporarily. Track officials identified issues with the dirt surface at Laurel two weeks ago and subsequently cancelled several race cards and ceased timed workouts. Initially, they had hoped that they could simply pull back the cushion and repair the base while horses continued with a modified training schedule. This week, however, ground penetrating radar and heavy machinery to bore holes into the sub-base revealed additional, more serious problems.

Representatives from The Stronach Group and the Maryland Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association said Friday the removal of horses will allow crews to work through more of the day to get the necessary repairs done more quickly. They also had concerns that if a horse got loose during modified training and began bolting around the track, the horse could suffer an injury if they went through an area that was under construction. The sub-base will need to be replaced, as will the base material. Reconstruction of the dirt course should not negate the ability of the track to add a synthetic surface between the dirt and turf courses, which still may be on the horizon for Laurel.

Aidan Butler, chief operating officer of 1/ST RACING, also said that analysis had revealed a small underground stream that ran under the track around the 5/8 pole. A French drain system will be installed to avoid that water flow impacting the track. The drain should also reduce waterlogging issues on the track's backstretch and in the turf course.

Additionally, Laurel has evidently been suffering from a serious rat infestation which the track has been unable to address. Vacating all the barns will make it easier for track employees to eliminate the problem, rather than simply shifting it from one area to another.

Horses stabled at Laurel will have the option to move to Pimlico Race Course, where at least 140 temporary stalls will be erected beginning the day after Preakness, or to Timonium at the Maryland State Fairgrounds, where as many as 580 stalls may be available after the upcoming Fasig-Tipton sale.

Horsemen on a video conference call Friday were assured that if they chose to send their horses out of state while Laurel was closed they would face no penalties or loss of stall space when they returned.

Racing dates that would normally take place at Laurel through the summer will also likely be shifted to Pimlico, but Butler said The Stronach Group is still discussing logistics. Turf racing may be particularly impacted, since the turf course at Pimlico is usually in rough condition after Preakness weekend.

The hope is that horsemen could return to Laurel by July 1, but that will depend on the progress of renovations.

“Our hope is that not only will this be safer for everybody, but it'll get done in a more expedited fashion,” said Tim Keefe, board member of the Maryland Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association. “Doing it like we're doing it now is just going to drag it out and make it take longer.”

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