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Derby Disappointment Behind, Drury Looking Forward to Preakness

At this stage exactly four weeks ago, trainer Tom Drury, Jr. was sitting pretty with Art Collector (Bernardini), who figured the solid second choice in the GI Kentucky Derby four days hence. But, as happens all too often in this game, fate intervened, and 24 hours later, Bruce Lunsford’s homebred was a high-profile defection from the Run for the Roses. A month later, the colt will again try to play the role of spoiler, this time as the morning-line 5-2 second favorite to Derby hero Authentic (Into Mischief) in Saturday’s GI Preakness S. at Pimlico.

“I guess doing this as long as I have, you go through this so often,” the conditioner told a group of media assembled for an NTRA teleconference Monday afternoon. “A horse is injured or something goes wrong or you don’t get into a race you want to get into. You almost become a little desensitized to it because you’re used to it happening.”

He continued, “That being said, it was tough, but there are so many other things that it could have been. It was something that could be addressed pretty easily and knowing that the Preakness was right behind the Derby, we just immediately turned the page and started moving on to the next race. There wasn’t really any time to sit around and cry about it. We had four weeks to get ready for this one and we needed to focus on getting him as good as we could get him for this race.”

Art Collector’s injury was so minor that by Sept. 12, he was back on the worktab at the Skylight Training Center. The bay has since recorded two good-looking moves at Churchill, five furlongs in :59.40 (2/38) Sept. 19 and a half-mile in :48 flat this past Saturday. From Drury’s perspective, Art Collector is sitting on go for the raid on Old Hilltop.

“I think his last two works have shown his hand a little bit,” he commented. “I don’t think you could ask for a horse to work any better. He seems like he’s happy enough, he’s kind of throwing his ears up galloping out. At this stage, he seems like a horse that’s doing well and we can go take our best shot with.”

Art Collector has proven to be anything other than pace-dependent during his current four-race winning streak. Though he wired the field in a Churchill allowance in June and again in the Runhappy Ellis Park Derby Aug. 9, he settled a few lengths off the speed in the GII Toyota Blue Grass S. and raced past Swiss Skydiver (Daredevil) to win with a bit in hand. Drury said that post three should give Brian Hernandez, Jr. some options.

“I would expect him to be forwardly placed until they get into the first turn and then Brian can decide where to go from there,” Drury explained. “Ideally you’d like to be forward going by the stands for the first time. One of my favorite things about this horse is that it seems like he’s got a little stop-and-go to him. You can use him, but then get him to shut back off if you need him to. Sometimes in these races like this, that can be very beneficial. You can use him to get where you want him to be, but then get him to come back off the bridle and wait for another cue.”

Tom Drury’s horse of a lifetime has taken the better part of 35 years to find. And he’s very much enjoying the ride.

“We’ve had some really good horses go through the barn, but Art Collector has taken my career to places I never dreamed it would go. He’s just a member of the family,” Drury said.

The post Derby Disappointment Behind, Drury Looking Forward to Preakness appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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‘Maturing’ Bonny South Headlines Field Of 11 In Black-Eyed Susan

An evenly-matched field of 11 fillies, led by graded-stakes winners Bonny South, Hopeful Growth, Perfect Alibi and Project Whiskey, are set to gather for the 96th running of the $250,000 Black-Eyed Susan (G1) Saturday, Oct. 3 at Pimlico Race Course.

The 1 1/8-mile Black-Eyed Susan for 3-year-old fillies will be Race 10 on an all-stakes Preakness Day program, immediately preceding the 145th edition of the Preakness Stakes (G1). Post time for the Black-Eyed Susan is 4:41 p.m., and will be part of NBC's national television coverage from 4:30-6 p.m.

First run in 1919 as the Pimlico Oaks, the 1 1/8-mile Black-Eyed Susan was originally scheduled for May 15 in its traditional spot on Preakness eve, but both races were subsequently rescheduled amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and the Black-Eyed Susan repositioned on the Preakness undercard.

Nine horses to win the Black-Eyed Susan have gone on to be named champion 3-year-old filly including Hall of Famers Twilight Tear, Davona Dale, Serena's Song, Silverbulletday and Royal Delta. Among other prominent winners are Hall of Famer Gallorette; Nellie Morse, the only filly to also win the Preakness, in 1924; High Voltage, Caesar's Wish and Wide Country.

Post time for the first of 12 races Preakness Day is 11 a.m.

Juddmonte Farms homebred Bonny South was rerouted to the Black-Eyed Susan following the announcement in mid-August that it was to join the Preakness lineup. The chestnut daughter of multiple graded-stakes winning sprinter Munnings tuned up for the race with a five-furlong work in 1:01 Saturday morning at Churchill Downs.

Winner of the Fair Grounds Oaks (G2) in March, Bonny South was a closing second behind Swiss Skydiver in the 1 ¼-mile Alabama (G1) last out Aug. 15 at Saratoga and then bypassed the Kentucky Oaks (G1) Sept. 4. Swiss Skydiver is entered to face the boys in the Preakness.

“Since the Alabama she's done really, really well,” trainer Brad Cox said. “She's maturing. She's still somewhat lightly raced, only run six times in her life. I think we have yet to see the best of her. Hopefully, she'll take a step forward.”

Florent Geroux, up for both her recent work and the Fair Grounds Oaks, will ride Bonny South from Post 5 at 124 pounds, sharing topweight with Project Whiskey and Perfect Alibi.

Tracy Farmer's Perfect Alibi won the Schuylerville (G2) and Spinaway (G1) at 2 but has gone winless in five tries since, including a second in the Alcibiades (G1) and a fourth in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1) to cap her rookie season. She didn't get started this year until June and finished off the board in the one-mile Acorn (G1) and seven-furlong Test (G1) before running third by a length in the Sept. 7 Weber City Miss at Laurel, an automatic qualifier for the Black-Eyed Susan.

Trained by Hall of Famer Mark Casse, Perfect Alibi drew outside Post 11 with jockey Paco Lopez.

St. Elias Stable's Hopeful Growth was fifth to Project Whiskey in the 1 1/16-mile Delaware Oaks (G3) July 4, but avenged that loss with a four-length triumph in the Aug. 1 Monmouth Oaks (G3). Most recently she was sixth to Bonny South's stablemate Shedaresthedevil in the Kentucky Oaks.

Hopeful Growth will carry 122 pounds including jockey Trevor McCarthy from Post 8.

Cash is King and LC Racing's Project Whiskey, who captured the Parx Juvenile Fillies last fall, was a determined half-length winner of the Delaware Oaks at odds of 38-1. She ran well to be a decisive second in the Monmouth Oaks and got within four lengths of the lead midway through the Weber City Miss before tiring to be last of nine.

“She hasn't run well at Laurel, so we're not sure if she just doesn't like the surface too much,” trainer Robert E. 'Butch' Reid Jr. said. “She didn't get away clean and got back a little further than she normally is and had to eat some dirt, and it wasn't to her liking.

“She came out of her race like she never even ran,” he added. “We're going to give her a mulligan on that one and look for better things because she's training perfectly. So, we're going to take another shot.”

Victor Carrasco has the call on Project Whiskey from Post 1.

Three horses – Landing Zone, Miss Marissa and Mizzen Beau – enter the Black-Eyed Susan off victories. Alfonso Cammarota's Miss Marissa has won two straight including a front-running optional claiming allowance going 1 1/8 miles Aug. 13 at Saratoga, while Mizzen Beau captured the 1 1/16-mile Bison City over Woodbine's all-weather surface Sept. 12.

BB Horses Landing Zone takes a three-race win streak into the Black-Eyed Susan for Maryland's three-time defending leading trainer Claudio Gonzalez. The Morning Line filly has stretched out from 5 ½ furlongs to a mile to one mile and 70 yards in each of her victories, which have come by 16 ¾ combined lengths.

“The last two races have been really big and we decide with the owner to take shot in the big race,” Gonzalez said. ““I believe the longer races, she's more relaxed and she likes it more. In the morning when she breezes, she looks good. Sometimes she beats the good fillies and in the afternoon she wasn't showing what she was in the morning. That's why I told the owner I want to figure out what is the best I can do to change something and when we did, she likes it.”

Landing Zone went gate to wire to win by 11 lengths at Delaware Park Aug. 31, following up with a 3 ½-length triumph over Black-Eyed Susan rival So Darn Hot Sept. 10. Gonzalez claimed her for $25,000 out of a runner-up finish sprinting six furlongs last November at Laurel.

“I claimed her last year and she was very nervous for everything. Now she's more mature and she looks better and not nervous like before, even in the paddock,” Gonzalez said. “That's why she improved a lot. Now we can train her different and she likes it. She's showing me now in her last few races. Her last few races have been really good.”

Angel Cruz will ride Landing Zone for her stakes debut from Post 10.

“It's very exciting for me. Horses [that cost] a lot of money, I don't have horses like that. But I try to claim horses with back class or something like that and try to improve them,” Gonzalez said. “Now I have horses in the stakes races and I believe that's good not only for me but for everybody. They can see we're doing something good and doing good work.”

Trainer George Weaver captured last year's Black-Eyed Susan with Point of Honor, who would go on to run second in the coaching Club American Oaks (G1) and Alabama at 3 and the Ogden Phipps (G1) in June. Weaver returns to defend his title with Stetson Racing, Lanni Donato and Rita Riccelli's So Darn Hot, owner of a six-length maiden win June 18 at Belmont Park from just four lifetime starts.

Completing the field are Sharp Starr, most recently third in the Fleet Indian against fellow New York-breds Sept. 4 at Saratoga; Truth Hurts, third in the Bison City; and Delaware Oaks runner-up Dream Marie.

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Asmussen’s Preakness Trio: Pneumatic ‘Doing Extremely Well,’ Max Player Showing Good ‘Energy’

Steve Asmussen's trio of Preakness contenders each had the easy half-mile workout Monday that is typical for the Hall of Fame trainer's horses five days before a race.

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.

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Drury: Art Collector’s Versatile Style Will Be A Major Advantage In Preakness Stakes

Tommy Drury didn't get much sleep on Monday night of Kentucky Derby week. The trainer of one of the top Derby contenders, Art Collector, had found a decent-sized cut on the back of the colt's right front hoof, apparently suffered during his Monday morning gallop.

Drury and owner/breeder Bruce Lunsford faced a difficult decision. The colt's hoof was sensitive to the touch, and neither man wanted to subject the horse to the stress of the Run for the Roses unless he was 100 percent. Still, it would have been the first starter in the Kentucky Derby for both Drury and Lunsford, and making the decision to walk away from what could be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity was challenging.

“It was certainly difficult,” Drury said on an NTRA teleconference this Monday. “The Derby is a race of a lifetime for a horse trainer. At end of day, the responsibility we have is to put the horse first. It would not have been fair to lead him over there knowing there was an issue going on. It was a no-brainer. We want our horse to be good for the long haul, not just one race.”

Instead, Art Collector will be the 5-2 second choice in this Saturday's Preakness Stakes at Pimlico. He'll face a field of 11, including Kentucky Derby winner Authentic (9-5 favorite) and Kentucky Oaks runner-up Swiss Skydiver (6-1).

Art Collector, a 3-year-old son of Bernardini, won the G2 Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland in July. He stalked the pace in that race, then won the Ellis Park Derby with a solid frontrunning display. That versatility in tactics gives Drury a bit of confidence heading into the Preakness Stakes.

“He has a little stop and go to him,” Drury explained, adding that jockey Brian Hernandez, Jr. is very familiar with Art Collector's style. “You can use him and get him going again if you need to. In a race like this, that can be beneficial.”

The post position, three, won't be an issue for Art Collector either, Drury said. The colt is quick enough to get out of the gate and near the lead, and tactical enough for Hernandez to be able to take back off the pace if others decide to go.

No matter what happens this Saturday, Drury is looking forward to the future with Art Collector. This year, the Breeders' Cup Classic is the likely next stop on the colt's schedule, and Drury will also look for Art Collector to return as a 4-year-old.

“Art Collector is a very special horse to us,” summarized Drury. “He has taken my career to places I've never dreamed it would go. I've not had anything like him ever before.”

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