Preakness 2018 news: Diamond King 'right on the money' in final work

Cash is King, LC Racing and D.J. Stable’s Diamond King turned in his final work for the 2018 Preakness Stakes with a five-furlong breeze Sunday morning at Parx Racing in Bensalem, Pa.

Frankie Pennington was aboard as the stakes-winning son of Grade 1 winner Quality Road went in 1:01.50 over a sloppy main track in company with 4-year-old gelding Colonel Juan. Diamond King galloped out six furlongs in 1:14.53.

“Everything went super, very good. It was exactly what I was looking for,” trainer John Servis said. “I told him I was looking for around 1:01 and then let him gallop out on his own … so it was right on the money.”

Diamond King has worked twice since his victory in the 1 1/8-mile Federico Tesio Stakes April 21 at Laurel Park that earned him an automatic berth into the Middle Jewel of the Triple Crown. He breezed a half-mile on his own in 50.21 seconds May 6 at Parx.

“He went in company today because he works better in company than he does by himself. He can be a bit lazy,” Servis said. “I’m very happy with him. I’m tickled to death. I think he’s doing great.”

Considering the weather and the forecast, Servis was relieved to get Sunday’s work in as planned,  rather than have to push it back to Monday.

“Very much so,” he said. “It was a sealed racetrack. It wasn’t the best racetrack in the world but the bottom was good. I would have preferred a fast racetrack, but for a wet track it was very good, actually.”

Diamond King will have an easy day Monday and will remain at Parx until later in the week. All Preakness horses must be on the grounds by noon on Thursday, May 17.

“He’ll walk tomorrow and then I’ll just play it by ear after that,” Servis said. “I’ll see how he comes out of this work and how everything is and adjust his schedule accordingly.”

Hall of Famer Javier Castellano, who notched his second Preakness victory last year aboard Cloud Computing, has been named to ride.

Justify figures to be a strong favorite in the Preakness, and Servis was complimentary of the Kentucky Derby winner.

“He’s very impressive. Especially as good as he did it, and as good as he looks, it’s just hard to imagine that was only his fourth start,” he said. “He’s a good horse. He might be a great horse. I think we’re finding that out.”

Bravazo Turns in Maintenance Breeze

Calumet Farm’s Bravazo, the winner of Fair Grounds’ Risen Star (G2) who was sixth in the Kentucky Derby after being well-beaten in the Louisiana Derby, worked a half-mile in 50 3/5 seconds at Churchill Downs early Sunday morning in preparation for the Preakness Stakes.

Trainer D. Wayne Lukas said he hadn’t seen the official time but had wanted something in the range of 50 seconds. He didn’t need the clocker’s splits to know Bravazo finished nicely.

“I don’t know what the splits were, have no idea,” he said. “I don’t pay any attention to that. I just want to see how they go. What were the splits? Had to be slow first.”

The official splits were 13 seconds for the first eighth-mile, 25 2/5 for the quarter-mile, 38 for three-eighths, with Bravazo going the final eighth-mile in 12 3/5 seconds and galloping out five-eighths of a mile in 1:04 4/5.

“He just ran eight days ago,” Lukas said. “He doesn’t need much.”

Calumet Farm and Lukas teamed in 2013 to win the Preakness with Oxbow, extending the historic Lexington farm’s record number of victories in the race to eight. It was the sixth for Lukas, who along with trainer Bob Baffert would tie the all-time record with another win. R.W. Walden won the Preakness seven times from 1875-1888.

Lukas’ other Preakness candidate, last summer’s Grade 1 Hopeful winner Sporting Chance, who was a troubled fourth in the Pat Day Mile (G3) on the Derby undercard, was scheduled to work a slow half-mile but wound up galloping.

Lukas and his duo are scheduled to leave Churchill Downs at 3:30 a.m. Monday for the van drive to Pimlico.

Tenfold Slated for Breeze Monday

Winchell Thoroughbreds’ Tenfold had a routine gallop at Churchill Downs Sunday morning and is scheduled to work the easy half-mile on Monday that trainer Steve Asmussen generally gives his horses five days before a race. Tenfold had his big work for the Preakness the previous Monday, powering five-eighths of a mile in 1:00 1/5, seventh-fastest of 23 works at the distance that day.

Tenfold, who did not race last year, won his first two races before finishing fifth in the Arkansas Derby.

Also...

Trainer Todd Pletcher has opted to bypass the Preakness Stakes with Calumet Farm’s Pony Up in favor of a start in the $100,000 LARC Sir Barton, a 1 1/16-mile stakes for 3-year-olds on the Preakness undercard. Hall of Fame jockey John Velazquez will have the mount.  

Ruis Racing’s Bolt d’Oro, who finished 12th in the Kentucky Derby, was also taken out of Preakness consideration Sunday.