Preakness Stakes | Horse Racing Free Tips

‘She’s A Throwback Horse’: McPeek Reflects On Swiss Skydiver’s Preakness, Horse Of The Year Discussion

After walking Swiss Skydiver a few turns in the Preakness Stakes Barn at Pimlico in Baltimore, Md., on Sunday morning, trainer Ken McPeek was still trying to wrap his mind around the 3-year-old filly's sensational triumph in Saturday's 145th Preakness Stakes (G1) under a heads-up ride from jockey Robby Albarado.

“I should probably retire today,” McPeek said, “because I don't think it can get higher than this. I really don't. She's beat so many odds. I'm beyond proud of her, proud of Robby and everyone who's handled her. It's been a real team effort. I have some unbelievable people who work for me that help handle the details.”

Peter Callahan's Swiss Skydiver not only beat the boys in the Preakness, the daughter of Daredevil registered the second-fastest running time in the storied history of Maryland's signature Triple Crown race. The 1:53.28 clocking for her thrilling 1 3/16-mile tour of the Pimlico oval was second only to 1973 Triple Crown champion Secretariat's 1:53 stakes-record time.

“It was surreal,” McPeek said. “It's still surreal.”

Swiss Skydiver defeated Kentucky Derby (G1) winner Authentic by a resolute neck to become the sixth filly to win the Preakness and first since Rachel Alexandra got the better of Derby winner Mine That Bird in 2009. After saving ground on the first turn and into the backstretch aboard the McPeek trainee, Albarado made a decisive move that propelled the filly into the lead heading into the far turn, easing his mount around tiring pacesetter Thousand Words before darting back to the rail inside Authentic. Swiss Skydiver and Authentic dueled around the turn and through the stretch with the 11-1 filly gamely holding off the 3-2 favorite to the wire.

The Grade 1 victory aboard Swiss Skydiver was Albarado's first since 2017, as well as his first graded-stakes win of 2020. The veteran jockey, who has ridden the winners of more than 5,200 races and $220 million in purses, has experienced slowing business the past few years but showed the racing world that he can still win the big ones.

“The thing about it was that we took a negative and made it into a positive. We didn't have a rider until Saturday night (Sept. 26),” said McPeek, who was left without a rider when Tyler Gaffalione opted out. “I called Robby right away and I said, 'Here's what it is going to take for you to ride her. We're going to offer the mount to Mike Smith and wait for his agent to call me back. If his agent says no then I'm going to present to the owner that you're going to ride her. He said, 'OK, let me know, let me know.'

Trainer Kenny McPeek

“We waited for Mike Smith's agent to return our offer, but once I got confirmation he couldn't ride her, I called Robby and said, 'You're on.' I said, 'But here's what we're going to do. We're flying up together; we're going to get on her all week.' I think it was fortuitous because he got on her every day and got to know her. He spent time with her and, every day, he got more confident in her. You need a rider with confidence because if she takes you there, she'll win. We pulled it off.”

Swiss Skydiver is scheduled to ship to Churchill Downs Monday morning to prepare for a start on the Nov. 7 Breeders' Cup program at Keeneland in either the Distaff (G1) or the Classic (G1).

“I like the mile and a quarter of the Classic, but the Distaff, today, is probably the wiser move. But the farther she goes the better,” McPeek said. “We can sit on it. We won't make a rash decision.”

Swiss Skydiver entered the Preakness with four graded-stakes victories against 3-year-old fillies, including the Alabama (G1) at Saratoga, and second-place finishes in the Blue Grass (G2) at Keeneland against the boys and Kentucky Oaks (G1) at Churchill. Her victory in the final leg of the reshuffled 2020 Triple Crown puts her in the discussion for Horse of the Year, McPeek said.

“I think you have to make a case for her. I mean, she's run every month of the year except April, and she ran at the end of March and early May. You have to make a case for her. She's entertained coast to coast, north, south, east, west,” he said. “She's amazing. She's not even tired today. She's a throwback horse.”

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Baffert On Preakness 145: ‘Robby Albarado Rode Just A Great Race’

Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert praised Preakness (G1) 145 winner Swiss Skydiver and her jockey Robby Albarado during a visit to the Preakness Stakes Barn at Pimlico in Baltimore, Md., on Sunday morning and said he was still stunned with the outcome of the race.

While Baffert's Kentucky Derby (G1) winner Authentic finished a neck behind Swiss Skydiver in the second-fastest Preakness in history, he did not get the pace-setting, catch-me-if-you-can trip under John Velazquez that he had at Churchill Downs four weeks earlier. Instead, Authentic stalked Baffert's other starter, Thousand Words, early on. It was the reverse of what Baffert expected.

“I thought he would be on the lead,” Baffert said. “This horse is a free-running horse. He wants to be out there and going. The other horse was there but they weren't really going that fast.”

The first quarter was run in 24.48 seconds, which turned out to be the slowest of the race that was completed in 1:53.28.

Swiss Skydiver made what proved to be the decisive move going into the far turn when Albarado guided her around the tiring Thousand Words and to the inside of Authentic. She won the dynamic battle through the stretch.

“I have to give credit. Robby Albarado rode just a great race. The mare ran a great race,” Baffert said. “They went 1:53. It's not like he didn't show up.”

A month earlier at the top of the stretch in the Derby, heavily favored Tiz the Law looked poised to overtake Authentic, but he could not complete the task. Baffert was on the other end of that scenario in the Preakness.

“After all of that, I'm still surprised he just could not get by her,” Baffert said. “She just was game. It was one of those things where I said, 'All right, come on, get by her.' They were running, they were leaving the field. It was, 'Wow, did that really just happen?' But he showed up and he ran. The other horse (Thousand Words) he was sort of spinning. He just wasn't running at all.”

Baffert said both of his colts came out the race in good shape and will be shipped back to California on Monday. He said Authentic will be prepared for the Breeders' Cup Classic. Baffert has two other likely Classic runners, the 4-year-olds Improbable and Maximum Security.

Baffert was bidding for a record eighth Preakness victory. He had completed the double with his five previous Derby winners, but the 2020 Triple Crown schedule was changed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, putting four weeks, not two, between the races. Still, Baffert said he was very confident.

“It's the kind of race where I ran second but it was like, 'What happened?'” he said. “I felt really good about him coming into this race, the way he had been working, the way he had been acting. He was fresh. I told Johnny, 'He's really sharp.'”

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Dam of Swiss Skydiver to Keeneland November

Expo Gold (Johannesburg), the dam of Saturday’s GI Preakness S. winner Swiss Skydiver (Daredevil) will be offered in foal to multiple GI winner Catholic Boy Nov. 9 in on the first day of the Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale. The 12-year-old will be consigned by Taylor Made Sales Agency, agent.

“Swiss Skydiver’s Preakness win puts her in rarified air alongside other iconic fillies like Preakness winner Rachel Alexandra and Kentucky Derby winner Winning Colors,” said Mark Taylor, Taylor Made’s Vice President of Marketing and Public Sales Operations. “We are excited to offer her dam, Expo Gold, at Keeneland in November. Her mating to Catholic Boy follows the same cross as Swiss Skydiver and as Expo Gold’s 4-year-old stakes-placed filly, Miss Hot Legs.”

In the Preakness, Swiss Skydiver outdueled Kentucky Derby winner Authentic in a thrilling stretch battle and won the 1 3/16-mile race by a neck in 1:53.28-second only to Secretariat’s 1973 stakes record of 1:53. She became only the sixth filly to win the Preakness. This year, Swiss Skydiver also has won the GI Alabama, GII Santa Anita Oaks, GII Gulfstream Park Oaks and GIII Fantasys. She was second in the GI Kentucky Oaks, and in the GII Toyota Blue Grass against males.

“The 2020 Preakness showcased the heart and tenacity of two great Thoroughbreds, and we’ll never forget their stretch battle,” Keeneland President-Elect and Interim Head of Sales Shannon Arvin. “Keeneland is so proud that our September Yearling Sale produced both Swiss Skydiver and Authentic, and now we are especially honored to be able to offer Swiss Skydiver’s dam, Expo Gold, at the November Sale.”

Like Swiss Skydiver’s sire, Daredevil, Catholic Boy is a son of More Than Ready. Catholic Boy was a Grade I winner on turf and dirt before beginning his stud career at Claiborne Farm in 2020.

In addition to Expo Gold, two other members of Swiss Skydiver’s family are cataloged to Book 1 of the November Sale:

Half-sister Is It Gold, a winning daughter of Indygo Shiner in foal to Nyquist, is consigned by South Point Sales Agency, agent.
Hunter Valley Farm, agent, consigns Miss Hot Legs (Verrazano), and also by a son of More Than Ready, as a broodmare prospect.

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Drury ‘Didn’t See A Whole Lot For Excuses’ For Art Collector

Trainer Tommy Drury Jr. looked Art Collector over Sunday morning and said the colt was in good shape coming out of Saturday's Grade 1 Preakness Stakes 145 dat Pimlico in Baltimore, Md. Bruce Lunsford's homebred son of Bernardini ridden by Brian Hernandez Jr. ended up fourth, a head behind Jesus' Team.

Art Collector, the 2-1 second choice in the wagering, was Drury's first Triple Crown starter and came into the Preakness unbeaten in four starts this year.

“I didn't see a whole lot for excuses. For whatever reason he just didn't quite have that normal turn of foot that we see from him,” Drury said. “Around the first turn it looked like Brian tried to kind of get out and couldn't quite get that done. Down the backside he tried to take the same spot that Swiss Skydiver took and unfortunately didn't have enough horse to get there. No excuses at this point. We're going to take our hat off to the filly. She ran great and I'm thrilled for Kenny. We'll get back home and regroup and figure out where we want to go next.”

Drury said one of the options for the colt is the Breeders' Cup Classic on Nov. 7 at Keeneland.

“It certainly is a possibility, along with a lot of other races,” Drury said. “I think the big thing is to get him back home and make sure he's OK. He seems to be fine this morning.”

A minor foot injury kept Art Collector out of the Kentucky Derby on Sept. 5, but he was ready for the Preakness, which Drury called “the biggest day of my life.”

“It was exciting,” Drury said. “I wish we could have ran a little better, but that being said I'm proud of my horse. He took me to a place I never got to go to before. We're going to be fine. We just need to regroup a little bit and figure out what to do next.”

Grupo Seven C Stable LLC's Jesus' Team, who finished third at 40-1, exited the Preakness in good order, said trainer Jose D'Angelo.

“I'm very happy for my horse and my team. My horse ran good. He ran a fast time in the stretch,” D'Angelo said. “Our next plan….maybe the Breeders' Cup.”

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