Preakness 2026: Great White will go if he works well Saturday
Trainer John Ennis said Great White – who reared up and fell before he was loaded into the starting gate for the Kentucky Derby, becoming a late scratch – came out of the mishap without as much as a scratch and is a strong possibility to run in the 151st Preakness Stakes (G1).
“I’ve taken worse falls out of bed,” Ennis quipped by phone Monday.
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Regular rider Alex Achard, who also escaped injury in the incident, has the mount.
Ennis said Great White will work an easy half-mile Saturday at the trainer’s home base, Keeneland-owned The Thoroughbred Center in Lexington, Ky.
He said the massive, good-feeling gray gelding rears when he’s feeling good but always comes back down on his feet.
“When he reared up, the pony rider pulled against him and he just turned him over,” Ennis said. “He’ll do that. He’ll rear up, but he never falls over. So when he runs next time, he won’t go with the pony. He’ll be fine. He doesn’t need a pony. He’s a very good boy.
“Straight after when he fell over, we brought him back to the barn, gave him a bath and took him out for grass. He was fresh, like he wanted to run,” he added. “Yesterday we took him out for a roll. He rolled and got up bucking and squealing and everything. He’s not tired. He’s ready to go. He jogged two miles this morning perfect. We’ll train him all week and breeze him Saturday. And if he breezes good and I’m happy with him, he’ll have an entry in the Preakness.”
Ennis felt Great White’s late-running style, which he plans to utilize in the Preakness, is not unlike that of Kentucky Derby winner Golden Tempo.
“The way we were going to ride my horse Saturday (in the Derby), we were going to take our time, ride him in the back of the pack,” he said. “Nobody knows, but the way he was training at Churchill, this horse would have run good. He’s a nice horse.”
Great White finished fifth in the Blue Grass (G1) on April 4 at Keeneland in his last start, his first race on dirt where he found himself uncharacteristically on the early lead. His first three starts were over Turfway Park’s synthetic surface, including a victory in the 1 1/16-mile John Battaglia Memorial on Feb. 21.