After an exciting Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve May 6, the focus of the horse racing world shifts to the $1.65 million, Grade 1 Preakness Stakes May 20 at venerable Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Md.
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Peter Pan Stakes and Preakness Preparations: Five Key Weekend Takeaways You Need to Know
Tom Pedulla presents five key takeaways from the Grade 3 Peter Pan Stakes, a prep race for the $1.5 million Belmont Stakes Presented by NYRA Bets, and other major developments this weekend.
Distinctlypossible Surges Late After Stretch Battle In Monmouth’s Serena’s Song
After a couple of years with limited starts, the patience shown by Bradley Thoroughbreds and Gary Finder with Distinctlypossible is finally starting to pay off.
The 4-year-old daughter of Curlin, a $670,000 purchase from De Meric Sales at the OBS spring sale of 2-year-olds in training, notched her first stakes win in her seventh career start, pulling away late in the stretch from Leader of the Band to win Sunday's $100,000 Serena's Song Stakes at Monmouth Park before a Mother's Day crowd of 13,764.
Limited to two starts at both 2 and 3 – but showing promise both years – Distinctlypossible won her second straight start. The Chad Brown-trainee has won three of her seven lifetime outings.
With 8-5 favorite Leader of the Band gunning to the lead under Paco Lopez after being idle since Nov. 24, Distinctlypossible sat off her flanks throughout, shrugging off the determined late challenge by Leader of the Band to win by 1¼ lengths.
The winning time for the one mile and 70 yards was 1:40.43.
“The track is really fast and there was not much speed in the race and we thought Paco Lopez would go with the favorite (Leader of the Band),” said Luis Cabrera, who oversees Brown's division at Monmouth Park. “The plan for us was to stay with him and keep the pressure on and it worked out perfectly. She's a late developer but she looks to be very good right now. She ran great this race.”
Sent off as the 9-5 second choice – Leader of the Band was the 17-10 favorite – Distinctlypossible paid $5.60 to win in the field of seven fillies and mares.
It was another 5½ lengths back to Shotgun Hattie in third.
“I've never ridden this filly but Chad Brown is giving me a great opportunity to ride first call for him at Monmouth Park this summer,” said winning rider Samy Camacho. “When I talked to Chad just before the race he said he thought the only speed in the race was (Leader of the Band) and he said, 'I want you to put her next to him.' That's what I did.”
John Servis, the trainer of Leader of the Band, said he was pleased with the way his mare performed after a lengthy layoff while being press throughout by Distinctlypossible.
“I thought she ran great,” said Servis.
Leader of the Band was gunned to the front through fractions of :23.87, :47.14, and 1:10.87 for six furlongs. She and Distinctlypossible separated from the field then, with Distinctlypossible drawing alongside Leader of the Band entering the final turn.
The two battled to midstretch before Distinctlypossible began to draw clear.
“At the three-eighths pole I started asking and she responded,” said Camacho. “But then I looked over and saw Paco still had his hands still and I was thinking `What's going on here?' But she kept trying. When she put a half-length in front in midstretch I thought I had it but Leader of the Band came right back. My filly was just too strong this time.”
Distinctlypossible was bred in Kentucky by John C. Oxley. Her dam is the Medaglia d'Oro mare Funny Proposition.
In MonmouthBets fixed-odds markets, Distinctlypossible opened up as the favorite at $2.20 to 1 but drifted up to $3.80 to 1 before being backed to be the $2.50 to 1 top pick when the gates opened.
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Cutback In Distance Suits Key Of Life In Miss Preakness
Flurry Racing Stables LLC and Hoffman Family Racing LLC's Key of Life is scheduled to seek her second straight graded stakes victory in Friday's $150,000 Miss Preakness Stakes (G3) at Pimlico Race Course.
The daughter of Mo Town is prominent in a field of seven 3-year-old fillies entered Sunday in the six-furlong sprint, one of five supporting stakes to the $300,000 George E. Mitchell Black-Eyed Susan on Friday's card.
Key of Life has won five of eight career starts, including a gutsy front-running victory in the seven-furlong Beaumont (G2) at Keeneland April 16. The daughter of Mo Town previously finished third in her 2023 debut in Dixie Belle at Oaklawn before capturing the Purple Martin also at Oaklawn.
“She's a Grade 2 winner. Cutting back from the Beard Course (seven-furlongs and 184 feet) to three-quarters definitely seems what she wants to do, as opposed to the extended seven-eighths race where she just barely held. on,” trainer Brad Cox said.
Key of Life graduated in her second career start last August at Churchill Downs before going on to win an optional claiming allowance by 6 ¼ lengths and the Myrtlewood, both at Keeneland going six furlongs. The Kentucky-bred filly concluded a productive juvenile campaign with a troubled third-place finish in the six-furlong Fern Creek at Churchill Downs.
“She's won four stakes. We're backing her up to six furlongs, which is probably what she wants to do,” Cox said. “She's going good. She's had time to recover from the Beaumont.
Flavien Prat has the return call on Key of Life.
Maryland-based trainer Brittany Russell is represented by two fillies in the Miss Preakness field, Black Cloud Racing Stable LLC's Bound by Destiny and Madaket Stables LLC's L Street Lady.
Bound by Destiny is scheduled to make her first start for Russell in her 2023 debut. The daughter of Lord Nelson won her first four races before finishing off the board in her 2022 finale in the Nov. 12 Smart Halo at Laurel Park.
“She's coming off the layoff. She was down training in Middleburg. They were legging her up down there. Actually, Madison Meyers had her for me and she put some works into her. I brought her in and I worked her, and she worked really well. I thought, 'wow, she's a little more ready than I thought she might be,'” Russell said. “Then she and L Street Lady both worked together Friday, and it was a very nice work for both of those fillies. They galloped out well and came out of it well. They both seem to be in a good place considering they're both coming off a little time.”
L Street Lady will return to action off a three-month layoff since an off-the-board finish in the Feb.18 Wide Country at Laurel, which was preceded by a victory in the Xtra Heat.
“We love L Street. She had a very good excuse out of that last run. We were really disappointed,” Russell said. “Unfortunately, you never want to find something wrong, but she did have an excuse and we got her fixed up. We hope she can rebound and run a big one.”
Sheldon Russell has the call aboard Bound by Destiny while Jevian Toledo will ride L Street.
William Heiligbrodt, Corinne Heiligbrodt and Jackpot Farm's Topsy will seek to rebound from a fourth-place finish behind Key of Life in the Purple Mountain Friday. The Steve Asmussen-trained daughter of Bee Jersey previously won her first two career starts at Fairgrounds. Tyler Gaffalione has the mount.
August Dawn Farm's Maple Leaf Mel, who has won all three of her career starts, will make her graded-stakes debut in the Miss Preakness. The New York-bred daughter of Cross Traffic is coming off back-to-back state-bred stakes wins. Trainer Jeremiah Englehart has named Joel Rosario to ride Maple Leaf Mel.
WinStar Farm LLC's Afternoon Tea enters the Miss Preakness off just two career starts. The lightly raced daughter of Speightstown graduated with an off-the-pace victory April 7 at Keeneland that followed a third-place finish in her debut over a sloppy Oaklawn Park race track. Trainer Rodolphe Brisset named Irad Ortiz Jr. to ride Afternoon Tea.
Timothy Freitag's Happy Clouds will seek her first stakes victory in the Miss Preakness. The daughter of Paynter, who finished second in the Beyond the Wire Stakes at Laurel two starts back, has been first or second in her last six starts. Arnaldo Bocachica has the call on the Anthony Farrior trainee.
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