Two of the top four horses in the Kentucky Derby raced at Oaklawn Park, and both are pointing to the middle jewel of the Triple Crown.
Derby runner-up Lookin At Lee and fourth-place finisher Classic Empire resumed training Wednesday at Churchill Downs, where on Saturday Always Dreaming prevailed in a 20-horse field. Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen is preparing Lookin At Lee and 11th-place Derby finisher Hence to the Preakness while Mark Casse hopes for better luck with Classic Empire in the May 20 race at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore.
"I've been very pleased with how they came out of the race," Asmussen said. "Very impressed with their energy level and how they're traveling."
With Corey Lanerie up, Lookin At Lee finished second in the Derby with what the Equibase Co. trackman called a "dream" trip from the dreaded rail post going a mile and a quarter. Always Dreaming won by 2 3/4 lengths with Lookin At Lee five lengths ahead of show horse Battle of Midway.
"You know the statistics from the one hole, and you've watched the race and how troubling the crowding can be or whatever. But Lookin At Lee was the perfect horse for it," Asmussen said. "He hung out there, waited his turn and was ready to go when they called upon him."
Both Asmussen horses are expected to breeze a half-mile on Monday at Churchill Downs and fly to Baltimore on Tuesday from Louisville.
The Preakness is expected to match the top three finishers from the April 15 Arkansas Derby, which Classic Empire, last year's male juvenile champion, won by three quarters of a length over Conquest Mo Money with Lookin At Lee third.
Conquest Mo Money qualified for the Kentucky Derby through points earned in graded races but was withdrawn from consideration. The colt was not nominated to the Triple Crown, but owner Tom McKenna has paid $150,000 to supplement him to the Preakness.
"It's a dream come true. I never thought I would be here," said the 81-year-old McKenna, who along with wife Sandy is the leading horse owner in New Mexico. "Everybody dreams about it that gets in the horse business, whether you have one horse, two horses or three horses. If you ask anyone what their dream is, they would say, 'I hope to get to the Kentucky Derby.' Everybody tells you that. Did I ever think I would get here. I hoped so. Lo and behold, I'm there."
McKenna said New York-bred colt Conquest Mo Money will be vanned from Prairie Meadows (Altoona, Iowa) to Maryland with an overnight stop at Churchill Downs.
Miguel Hernandez, McKenna's private trainer, conditions the son of champion Uncle Mo. Regular rider Jorge Carreno will spend the week at Pimlico and be aboard for the Preakness.
Assistant trainer Norman Casse said Classic Empire "looked really good" while jogging Wednesday, showing no adverse effects from an eventful Derby that he was bumped early and had traffic problems.
"His energy level was great. Looks like he's keeping his weight," said Norman Casse, son of Mark Casse. "All the good signs are there, so we're excited where he's at right now.
"It's the Derby. You know things aren't going to go your way all the time. He kind of had a bad trip. It started at the very beginning, and that's just how it goes. But we think we can be competitive against Always Dreaming. We think our best race would put us right there with his best race. We're excited about the opportunity to face him again."
* Champion racemare Zenyatta produced her fifth foal Tuesday night at Lane's End Farm near Versailles, Ky. The newborn filly is by Medaglia d'Oro, a 2002 Oaklawn maiden winner for trainer David Vance and the 2003 Oaklawn Handicap winner for Hall of Famer Bobby Frankel.
Two of Zenyatta's foals have made it to the races, Cozmic One (Bernardini colt) failing to place in two starts and Zionic (4-year-old Tapit colt) winless in six tries. Zenyatta had foals by War Front die in 2014 and 2016.
Zenyatta, 13, was named 2010 Horse of the Year and champion older racemare from 2008-2010. Her 19 victories from 20 career starts included the 2009 Breeders' Cup Classic and the 2008 and 2010 renewals of the Apple Blossom Handicap at Oaklawn. Her only defeat came in the 2010 Classic at Churchill Downs.
Sports on 05/11/2017