Triple Crown tracker: Grade 1 winner Mindframe leads 7 alumni
The Triple Crown Tracker checks in with the horses who raced in the 2024 Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont, keeping up with what they have done since the classics.
2024 Kentucky Derby
Epic Ride is finding his best in one-turn races, and he turned in another good effort Saturday in the Grade 3 Maryland Sprint at Pimlico. Tracking in second behind favored Booth, the John Ennis trainee chased on stubbornly throughout the six-furlong race. Epic Ride could not reel Booth in, but he kept the odds-on favorite on the run and crossed the wire just a length behind and 6 3/4 lengths clear of his closest pursuer.
Two entrants from the 2024 Kentucky Derby field contested the Pimlico Special (G3) on Friday, though both ran off the board. Encino set the early pace but could not hold off the cavalry in upper stretch and weakened to finish seventh, 14 lengths behind winning Awesome Aaron. Just Steel broke poorly, settled near the rear of the pack and could not find a run in the lane. He finished eighth, beaten by 19 1/4 lengths.
Grand Mo the First returns Saturday for his first start since finishing second in the Virginia Derby in September. The Victor Barboza trainee drew post 2 in a field of eight for a second-level allowance-optional claimer at 7 1/2 furlongs on the Gulfstream grass. He is in under the allowance condition and has Lasix for the first time.
| Derby | Horse | Last race | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mystik Dan | 2nd Lake Ouachita | Worked 4f Sat. at CD |
| 2 | Sierra Leone | 3rd New Orleans Classic (G2) | Worked 5f Sun. at BEL |
| 3 | Forever Young | 3rd Dubai World Cup (G1) | No works since last race |
| 4 | Catching Freedom | 7th Mineshaft (G3) | Worked 4f March 8 at FG |
| 5 | T O Password | 1st Alw (Jan. 25 at Chukyo) | No works since last race |
| 6 | Resilience | 7th Alw OC (May 2 at CD) | Worked 4f Sat. at SAR |
| 7 | Stronghold | 10th Pegasus World Cup (G1) | Worked 3f Mon. at SA |
| 8 | Honor Marie | 1st Isaac Murphy Marathon | Worked 4f Sun. at CD |
| 9 | Endlessly | 3rd American (G3) | Worked 5f Sat. at SA |
| 10 | Dornoch | 4th Travers (G1) | Stands for $40,000 at Spendthrift |
| 11 | Track Phantom | 3rd Alw OC (Thu. at CD) | No works since last race |
| 12 | West Saratoga | 9th Alw (Nov. 6 at CD) | Sold to race in Dubai |
| 13 | Domestic Product | 3rd Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile | Stands for $30,000 at Ashford |
| 14 | Epic Ride | 2nd Maryland Sprint (G3) | No works since last race |
| 15 | Fierceness | 1st Alysheba (G2) | Worked 4f Thu. at SAR |
| 16 | Society Man | 6th Alw OC (Jan. 18 at GP) | Worked 4f Thu. at SAR |
| 17 | Just Steel | 8th Pimlico Special (G3) | No works since last race |
| 18 | Grand Mo the First | 2nd Virginia Derby (G3) | Entered Sat. in Alw OC at GP |
| 19 | Catalytic | 2nd Alw OC (April 12 at GP) | Worked 5f Sun. at GP |
| 20 | Just a Touch | 1st Alw OC (April 19 at KEE) | Worked 5f Fri. at CD |
| SCR | Encino | 7th Pimlico Special (G3) | No works since last race |
| SCR | Mugatu | 5th Alw (May 10 at CD) | No works since last race |
2024 Preakness Stakes
Making his first start for his new owner-trainer Fergus Bogle, Mugatu faced first-level allowance company May 10 at Churchill Downs, going 1 3/16 miles on the dirt. Set off the longest shot in a field of six, Mugatu settled at the rear of the field early, made a mild bid on the far turn, but flattened in the lane to finish fifth, 12 lengths behind winner Orizzonte.
Tuscan Gold, off the work tab since January, has returned to serious training. The Chad Brown trainee returned to work April 28 and has worked four straight weeks at Belmont Park. He has not raced since the 2024 Preakness, making him the only horse in the field who has yet to run back.
| Preakness | Horse | Last race | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Seize the Grey | 8th Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile | Stands for $30,000 at Gainesway |
| 2 | Mystik Dan | 2nd Lake Ouachita | Worked 4f Sat. at CD |
| 3 | Catching Freedom | 7th Mineshaft (G3) | Worked 4f March 8 at FG |
| 4 | Tuscan Gold | 4th 2024 Preakness | Worked 4f Sun. at BEL |
| 5 | Just Steel | 8th Pimlico Special (G3) | No works since last race |
| 6 | Uncle Heavy | 4th Pennsylvania Derby (G1) | No works since last race |
| 7 | Imagination | 4th San Pasqual (G2) | No works since last race |
| 8 | Mugatu | 5th Alw (May 10 at CD) | No works since last race |
2024 Belmont Stakes
As good as Mindframe was in two-turn races as a 3-year-old, the Todd Pletcher trainee is emerging as an even better older horse in extended one-turn races. He started his 4-year-old campaign with a victory in the Gulfstream Park Mile (G2) in March, his first graded-stakes victory. He returned May 3 on the Kentucky Derby undercard and broke through with his first top-level win in the Churchill Downs (G1). Toward the rear of a compact main group early in the seven-furlong race, he made a furious wide bid down the lane to get up by a neck over Banishing in a four-way blanket finish that also included Nysos and Book'em Danno.
| Belmont | Horse | Last race | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dornoch | 4th Travers (G1) | Stands for $40,000 at Spendthrift |
| 2 | Mindframe | 1st Churchill Downs (G1) | No works since last race |
| 3 | Sierra Leone | 3rd New Orleans Classic (G2) | Worked 5f Sun. at BEL |
| 4 | Honor Marie | 1st Isaac Murphy Marathon | Worked 4f Sun. at CD |
| 5 | Antiquarian | 1st Alw OC (Sat. at GP) | Worked 4f Thu. at SAR |
| 6 | Protective | 7th Alw OC (Jan. 5 at GP) | No works since last race |
| 7 | Seize the Grey | 8th Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile | Stands for $30,000 at Gainesway |
| 8 | Mystik Dan | 2nd Lake Ouachita | Worked 4f Sat. at CD |
| 9 | The Wine Steward | 3rd Oaklawn Mile (G3) | Worked 5f Wed. at CD |
| 10 | Resilience | 7th Alw OC (May 2 at CD) | Worked 4f Sat. at SAR |