Preakness 2025: Stable notes for 7 candidates in Pimlico mix
There is still no decision whether Journalism will race next Saturday in Preakness 2025, but his connections continue to praise his second-place performance last weekend in the Kentucky Derby as they weigh whether to put the name of their colt in the entry box Monday.
Although Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners president and CEO Aron Wellman was disappointed Journalism ended losing by 1 1/2 lengths to Sovereignty as the 3-1 favorite, he was impressed with the way the colt ran under adverse conditions.
Add Sandman to Preakness 2025 field.
“Definitely an admirable performance that certainly validated any and all notions that he's an elite horse,” Wellman said.
Eclipse is a partner in the Curlin colt with Bridlewood Farm, Don Alberto Stable, Robert V. LaPenta, Elayne Stables 5, Susan Magnier, Michael Tabor and Derrick Smith. Journalism came out of the Derby in good condition.
In the end the Derby turned into a match race between Sovereignty and Journalism.
“From there, two really, really exceptional colts, threw it down,” Wellman said. “All credit to (trainer) Bill Mott, Junior Alvarado, Godolphin and Sovereignty (who) got the best of us on the day. But very proud of Journalism's effort under less-than-ideal circumstances, the track surface being included in that. Super proud of the colt. I thought (trainer) Michael McCarthy had him prepared spectacularly and Umberto Rispoli made every right move. No complaints out of our camp.”
River Thames. The son of Maclean's Music breezed a half-mile in company at Belmont Park Saturday morning in preparation for a Preakness start. Trained by Hall of Famer Todd Pletcher for owners WinStar Farm, Starlight Racing, Pantofel Stable and Wachtel Stable, River Thames worked outside stablemate Trust Fund on his way to a clocking of 48.25 seconds. It ranked ninth of 38 recorded at the distance on the Belmont training track.
River Thames finished second by a neck behind Kentucky Derby winner Sovereignty in the March 1 Fountain of Youth (G2) at Gulfstream before checking in three-quarters of a length behind victorious Burnham Square while finishing third in the April 6 Blue Grass (G1) at Keeneland. He was withheld from the Kentucky Derby while being targeted for the Preakness.
Gosger. Trainer Brendan Walsh called Lexington (G3) winner Gosger a go for the Preakness after the 3-year-old colt worked five furlongs in 1:00.6 at Keeneland.
Gosger worked side-by-side and finished on even terms with the 3-year-old filly Paris Lily, who is running in Friday’s Black-Eyed Susan (G2) at Pimlico.
"He worked really well,” Walsh said. “He worked good; so, we're a go. I think he's ready to take a step forward again off the last race.”
Gosger, who is owned by the estate of breeder Harvey Clarke, went from winning on his second attempt to winning the 1 1/16-mile Lexington (G3).
American Promise. By early Sunday morning, about a dozen hours after American Promise finished 16th in the Kentucky Derby, Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas had decided BC Stables’s colt was headed to the Preakness Stakes.
The Derby chart that showed American Promise had finished 38 1/2 lengths behind Sovereignty meant nothing to the 89-year-old Lukas. He had watched American Promise endure a brutal trip in the 19-horse Derby and figured the massive son of Triple Crown winner Justify deserved another chance in Maryland’s marquee race.
While the numbers 16 and 38 1/2 might deter other trainers, Lukas is well-known for sometimes going against the grain and running his horses in the top races in America. And Lukas understands that a disappointing result in the Derby does not preclude a top performance in the Preakness. Three of Lukas’ seven Preakness wins came after less-than satisfying finishes at Churchill Downs.
In the 55 runnings of the Preakness since 1970, there have been 13 winners, 23.6%, that finished fifth or worse in the Derby and found glory at Pimlico. The biggest turnaround during that stretch was turned in by Louis Quatorze, who bounced back from finishing 16th, beaten 231/4 lengths in Louisville in 1996. Hall of Fame trainer Nick Zito switched jockeys, turning to Hall of Famer Pat Day, and Day delivered on the speedy colt, who went off at 13-1 in the Preakness.
In 1986, Snow Chief won the Preakness after finishing 11th, beaten 19 1/2 lengths, as a 2-1 favorite in the Derby. Snow Chief’s win came after Gate Dancer took the 1984 Preakness following a fifth by disqualification from fourth by 5 1/2 lengths, and Lukas’s Tank’s Prospect, who rebounded from a seventh by 11 lengths in the 1985 Derby.
Hansel won the 1991 Preakness after finishing 10th by 10 3/4 lengths in the Derby. Pine Bluff wore the black-eyed Susans at Pimlico in 1992 following his fifth-place finish by 7 1/4 lengths at Churchill. Lukas picked up his third Preakness score in 1994 when Tabasco Cat, sixth by nine lengths in the Derby, prevailed. The Bob Baffert-trained Point Given added to the resume that carried him to the 3-year-old male division title and Horse of the Year award in the Preakness two weeks after he was fifth, beaten 11 1/2 lengths in the Derby. Baffert’s Lookin At Lucky won the 2010 Preakness following his sixth by seven lengths in Louisville.
Lukas saddled Oxbow to win the 2013 Preakness at 15-1 after he was sixth, beaten 9 3/4 lengths in the Derby. Hall of Fame trainer Mark Casse secured his first Preakness win in 2019 with War of Will, who was seventh in the Derby, though only beaten by 4 1/2 lengths.
Clever Again. Winchell Thoroughbreds, Magnier, Tabor and Smith’s Clever Again went out for a routine gallop Saturday at Churchill Downs in preparation for making his first graded-stakes appearance in the Preakness. Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen plans to work Clever Again a half-mile on Monday and ship to Baltimore on Tuesday.
Clever Again was away from the races for 10 months after finishing second in a 4 1/2-furlong race at Keeneland’s 2024 spring meet. He came back to win a 1 1/16-mile allowance race at Oaklawn Park, followed by a four-length victory in the $200,000 Hot Springs Stakes at a two-turn mile.
“He had a few issues and had to take some time off,” co-owner Ron Winchell said before the Kentucky Derby, in which he had Louisiana Derby (G2) winner Tiztastic. “We let horses tell us when they’re ready to come back. Unfortunately, he got a little behind on the calendar. We were hoping to get (to the Derby), just like Tiztastic. Instead, the best path was to the Preakness.
“We’re pretty confident he can carry his speed a long distance,” he added. “He’s very professional. He acts like a horse who just wants to do it. Mentally, he’s doing great. Physically, he’s doing great, and they think he’s coming into his own.”
Pay Billy. RKTN Racing’s Pay Billy returned to the track Saturday at Delaware Park, two days after putting in his final breeze for the Preakness. Raul Mena is named to ride Pay Billy, who is scheduled to ship to Pimlico Tuesday.
“He galloped today and galloped nice,” trainer Mike Gorham said. “Everything looks good. He did everything right, cooled out good. We’re pretty much on target.”
Heart of Honor. Jim and Claire Limited’s Heart of Honor, the UAE Derby (G2) runner-up who arrived in the U.S. Thursday following a trans-Atlantic flight from Great Britain, is scheduled to clear quarantine at Churchill Downs on Sunday. The Jamie Osborne-trained son of Honor A. P. is slated to van to Pimlico on Monday and take to the racetrack Tuesday in preparation for a start in the Preakness.