Lukas Proposes A Trio Of Starters In The Preakness
Keep the record book open.
A few hours after sending out Grindstone to win Saturday’s Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs, trainer D. Wayne Lukas celebrated by having room service at the Holiday Inn send up a cheeseburger and some fries, plus three glasses of milk.
And then the veteran trainer was back on the job at his barn at Churchill by 4:30 EDT Sunday morning.
That’s how a guy dominates the most famous and prestigious series in horse racing, the Triple Crown: by eschewing complacency and always looking ahead.
On Saturday, Lukas won the Kentucky Derby for the third time - only two trainers have won more (Ben Jones with six and H.J. Thompson with four) - and he continued his record winning streak that has reached six in Triple Crown races. Then on Sunday, having savored his accomplishment for a moment before washing it down with milk, he was ready to prepare for the Preakness, the next gem in sport’s most celebrated and baroque piece of jewelry.
A field of 12 is possible for the Preakness, to be run May 18 at Pimlico in Baltimore.
Grindstone and two of his stablemates, Prince of Thieves and Editor’s Note, soon will travel to Baltimore. Prince of Thieves finished third in the Derby, despite a troubled trip, and Editor’s Note sixth.
The other two Lukas-trained Derby starters, Victory Speech and Honour And Glory, probably will skip Baltimore. Victory Speech finished 10th Saturday; he might make his next start June 8 in the Belmont Stakes in New York, the Triple Crown finale. Honour And Glory set a lively pace but faded to 18th in the field of 19; he probably will focus on sprinting in the immediate future.
And there could be a new face in the Lukas group. Dr. Caton, a highly regarded son of Triple Crown winner Seattle Slew, is another possibility. He didn’t race in the Derby, in part because he still was recovering from minor throat surgery to correct an entrapped epiglottis. But if he impresses in a workout this week at Churchill Downs, he could be on a plane to Baltimore.
Much competition awaits the Lukas juggernaut. Derby runner-up Cavonnier and Derby favorite Unbridled’s Song also are likely for the Preakness, although the one more than the other.
Bob Baffert, Cavonnier’s trainer, said the Santa Anita Derby winner would be shipped Wednesday to Pimlico. The gelding might have won the Derby, Baffert speculated, although with no hint of bitterness or regret, if he had raced on the far outside during the stretch run. The best part of the surface, he said, was out there. And so was Grindstone.
Baffert predicted Unbridled’s Song would be the horse to beat in Baltimore: “He’s a monster.”
Unbridled’s Song led briefly Saturday but faltered in the final furlong and finished fifth, becoming the 17th consecutive Derby favorite to disappoint. His performance might have been compromised by a minor foot injury and a disrupted training schedule. He wore protective “bar shoes,” and his final serious workout had to be pushed back and shortened because of the problem.
And the Preakness might be more suitable for him. Contested over 1-3/16 miles, a sixteenth of a mile shorter than the Derby, the Preakness is the shortest of the Triple Crown races.
But, of course, nothing ever is clear or simple regarding Unbridled’s Song. Buzz Chase, the blood-stock adviser for owner Ernie Paragallo, said the big gray colt would be taken to Baltimore on Wednesday.
“I don’t see why he would need any time off,” Chase said. “He went into the Derby sound, and he came out of it sound.”
Jim Ryerson, the horse’s trainer, wasn’t as certain.
The Triple Crown series will pick up a few newcomers in Baltimore, including Roar, Romano Gucci, Secreto de Estado, Tour’s Big Red and Thundering Storm. Roar has the best credentials, having won the Jim Beam Stakes at Turfway Park.