Pony Up finds better Preakness 2018 weekend fit in Sir Barton

A group of 11 sophomores, including stakes winners Prince Lucky and Whirlin Curlin and graded-stakes placed Dream Baby Dream and Pony Up, will go to the gate in a competitive edition of the $100,000 Sir Barton.

Calumet Farm’s Pony Up and Daniel McConnell’s Prince Lucky are trained by Todd Pletcher, who briefly put Pony Up under Preakness consideration before opting for the Sir Barton. He enters the race off a respectable third in the Lexington (G3) April 18 at Keeneland.

“After discussing it with the Calumet folks we decided the Sir Barton was a better fit,” said Pletcher. “With the restrictions on the race he fits the conditions nicely. We are hoping to use it as a springboard to the Belmont Stakes [G1].”

A son of Aikenite out of the A. P. Indy mare A. P. Petal, Pony Up had one victory and two seconds in three 2017 starts and finished second in the Kitten’s Joy on turf in his first race as a 3-year-old. Fifth in the Holy Bull (G2) at Gulfstream Park, Pony Up next traveled to Turfway Park, where he was runner-up in the Jeff Ruby Steaks (G3) over a synthetic surface.

Prince Lucky, a homebred son of Corinthian, won three of his four starts at 2, including a victory in the Pennsylvania Nursery Stakes, in which he drew away to win by 2 ¾ lengths. He was seventh in the Lacomte (G3) at the Fair Grounds as a new gelding, and in his first start for Pletcher improved his position to finish ninth in the Sunland Derby (G3) after being fractious in the gate.

Based at Laurel Park with trainer Gary Capuano, Marathon Farms homebred Whirlin Curlin is looking to snap a three-race losing streak in the Sir Barton. He won the Christopher Elser Memorial Stakes and Maryland Juvenile Futurity and was fifth to Diamond King in the Heft Stakes to cap his 2-year-old season. He was sixth this year in his only starts, the Frank Whiteley and Private Terms.

Dream Baby Dream, trained by Steve Asmussen, came with a strong late run to be a decisive second in the 1 1/8-mile Sunland Derby, his graded stakes debut. He was unable to match that effort in his subsequent and most recent start, the Arkansas Derby (G1) April 14 at Oaklawn.

Shirley Lojeski’s Forest Fire makes his first start in two months in the Sir Barton for trainer John Servis, who has Preakness contender Diamond King. Forest Fire broke his maiden going seven furlongs at Parx Jan. 15 in his 3-year-old debut and followed with a hard-fought allowance triumph Feb. 16 at Laurel. The Friesan Fire gelding took the lead into the stretch of the Private Terms and held it until being caught late by long shot V. I. P. Code.

“He’s a nice colt. He’s doing pretty good, that colt. The race is coming up a little tougher than I was hoping,” Servis said. “He’s doing very good. He’s been training very well. He had trained very good and acted like he had some talent but we just weren’t real sure exactly how good he was. I was tickled to death with the [last] race. I thought it was a good effort from him and I think he’s gotten better off of that.”

Completing the field are Ax Man, California Night, Navy Commander, Takedown, Threes Over Deuces and Title Ready.

The Sir Barton is named for racing’s first Triple Crown winner in 1919 who, within a span of 32 days, won the Kentucky Derby, Preakness, Withers and Belmont Stakes.