BALTIMORE, Md. – Flying Zee Racing Stables, LLC’s Agave Kiss broke alertly and was on cruise control the rest of the way to remain undefeated in six starts with an impressive score in the $100,000 Ms. Preakness Pink Warrior Stakes.

The winner of four straight stakes, the daughter of Lion Heart carried Ramon Dominguez to a 5½-length victory in 1:10.40 for the six-furlong distance.  Millionreasonswhy, ridden by John Velazquez, worked her way up to take second, while Ageless finished third.

Agave Kiss is trained by Rudy Rodriguez. Her previous stakes wins came in the Ruthless and Cicada Stakes (G3) at Aqueduct and the Trevose at Parx Racing.  The New York-bred filly paid $3.20 to win.

Miss Preakness Stakes Quotes:

Rudy Rodriguez (winning trainer, Agave Kiss) – “We felt very confident coming in. She’s very, very special. I was not worried about any of these horses. But I know in the future there are bigger races and deeper fields coming. We are just trying to get her ready for those bigger races. She just keeps improving.”

Ramon Dominguez (winning jockey, Agave Kiss) – “She broke sharp and put herself in front. She just kept opening up. I had a strong hold on her and then I just tapped her on the shoulder a couple of times and there was no stopping her.”

Ignacio Correas (trainer, Millionreasonswhy, 2nd) – “It’s kind of tough when there’s only one speed horse in the race and you’ve got a closer. The race fell apart with the two scratches. That’s how it goes.”

John Velazquez (jockey, Millionreasonswhy, 2nd) – “There was only one speed horse in the race. When I started to move, I had to go around two horses. She ran really well.”

PHOTO CREDIT-Jim McCue, Maryland Jockey Club
Agave Kiss trounces foes in Ms. Preakness Pink Warrior.

BALTIMORE, Md. – Jockey Ramon Dominguez will ride Tiger Walk in the 137th Preakness Stakes Saturday, replacing Kent Desormeaux, trainer Ignacio Correas IV said Friday.

Correas trains the colt for Sagamore Farm.       

Desormeaux failed a Breathalyzer test at Belmont Park Friday and was removed from his three mounts on the program. He has not been suspended, but the New York State Racing and Wagering Board is conducting an investigation.

“It was a team decision,” Correas said. “Ramon is a great rider. We’re happy to have him.”

New York’s new rule that went into effect on April 27 requires every jockey named to ride to undergo a test for alcohol consumption. Mark Stuart, an attorney for the New York board, notified Maryland’s stewards that Desormeaux, 42, had failed the test.

Dominguez, 35, has won the Eclipse Award as the outstanding jockey the last two years. He led the nation in earnings in 2011 for a second straight year with a career-best $20,264,822. He was the leading rider in Maryland in three of the five years he rode in the state.

Tiger Walk will be Dominguez’ 10th Preakness mount. His best finishes were seconds aboard Scrappy T in 2005 and First Dude in 2010.

“I’m excited to ride the horse, not necessarily the way it happened. I’m happy that they chose me to ride this horse,” Dominguez said. “I know very little (about him). I rode against him a couple of times in New York, and I will have to go look at a couple of replays to take a look at his running style.”

BALTIMORE, Md. – Team Valor International and Mark Ford’s Went the Day Well galloped 1¼ miles under exercise rider Zeke Castro at Pimlico Race Course Friday morning.

Castro has noticed a sharp increase in focus from the son of Proud Citizen since his victory in the Spiral Stakes (G3) at Turfway Park, which was followed by an unlucky, fast-closing fourth-place finish in the Kentucky Derby.

“After the Turfway race, he’s figured out he can do more and more,” the native of Argentina said. “The improved focus can be attributed to the addition of blinkers following an impressive, but green performance in the Spiral. It became clear that Went the Day Will would benefit from the new equipment.  I breezed him one day at Keeneland, and, oh, my God, I thought I was going to get fired.  I knew I had a lot of horse, but he didn’t want to go when I asked him. He just wanted to play with his company. He didn’t mind if he was going slower or faster, he just didn’t want to go by his company,” Castro said.

After jockey John Velazquez subsequently breezed Went the Day Well at Keeneland, trainer Graham Motion made the decision to add blinkers for the Derby.

Castro has been working for Motion for more than a year, but their association goes back five years.

“He’s the one who signed my visa to come from Argentina,” said Castro, whose brother, Gabriel, was working for Motion at the time.

Castro only worked for Motion as a groom and hotwalker for a short time.

“I wanted to ride. I knew that the horses (at Motion’s Fair Hill Training Center stable), I wouldn’t be allowed to start riding, because in Argentina we ride with no saddle. I had to start over,” Castro said. “So, I started breaking babies (in Brooksfield, Fla.). One of the babies I broke is running in (Saturday’s President of UAE Cup Series race at Pimlico), Grilla.”

Castro went on to work for trainer Steve Margolis in Delaware, Kentucky and Louisiana for three years before returning to Fair Hill Training Center to work for Motion.

 Maryland Jockey Club photo
Went the Day Well

BALTIMORE, Md. – Cathal A. Lynch’s Universal Language caught breakaway leader Franstein in deep stretch to win the $25,000 Kattegat’s Pride Starter Handicap, the opening race on Friday’s Black-Eyed Susan Day program at Pimlico Race Course.

A field of seven met the starter in the 1 1/16-mile test for Maryland-bred fillies and mares who had started for a claiming price of $7,500 or less in 2011-2012. Kendrick Carmouche rode the daughter of Dance with Ravens, who is trained by her owner. Franstein held on to finish second, a 1 ½ lengths behind the winner. Congaree Princess rallied to take third.

Universal Language, who was winning for the fifth time in seven starts this year, covered the distance in 1:47.31 and paid $3.40.

Kattegat’s Pride Starter Handicap Quotes:

Tom Foley (assistant to winning trainer Cathal Lynch, Universal Language) – “This is a very tough mare. She’s always a very tough mare. She won her last race here easily. I thought we were in a good spot today. This is a very nice win for us, because the trainer’s two sons, Charlie and Anthony, own this horse. The horse was very calm coming down and very quiet in the stall. But as soon as she hit the track, she woke up.”

Kendrick Carmouche (winning jockey, Universal Language) – “We wanted to sit a little bit closer with the short field. She broke a step slow, so I just sat on her. You just sit on her, and she always makes her same run and switches over. I knew once I got to the eighth-pole, we had it won. She always gives me a good kick.”

PHOTO CREDIT-Jim McCue, Maryland Jockey Club
Universal Language wins Kattegat’s Pride Starter Handicap.

BALTIMORE, Md. – Kentucky Derby (G1) runner-up Bodemeister made his first visit to the main track at Pimlico Thursday morning, galloping 1½ miles under exercise rider George Alvarez after the renovation break.

“He was not looking around. He was all business out there,” Alvarez said of the colt who was shipped to Pimlico on Wednesday from Churchill Downs.

Owned by Zayat Stables LLC and Michel and Tiffany Moreno, Bodemeister drew post position No. 7 and was installed as the 8-5 morning line favorite in the field of 11 for the Preakness.

“He drew well,” five-time Preakness winning trainer Bob Baffert said of Bodemeister. “I didn’t want to be inside.”

Baffert left Louisville the day after Bodemeister’s Derby run and returned to Churchill Downs on Monday to confirm the colt’s status for the Preakness. He liked what he saw Monday and he liked what he saw this morning at Pimlico.
“His first day here went well. It looks like he took to the track nicely,” Baffert said. “He was pretty cool out there. I am not seeing anything to make me think anything different about him. He bounced right out of the Derby. His weight has held. He can handle it.”

Mike Smith has the return call on Bodemeister, who led the 20-horse Kentucky Derby field through sizzling fractions before yielding to I’ll Have Another just before the sixteenth pole and finishing 1½ lengths back.

“I was proud of him,” Baffert said. “He ran his race. When he cut the corner and opened up at the head of the stretch, I thought ‘maybe,’ but I could see at the eighth pole he was getting tired. He got beat a length and a half and held on for second. That was not disappointing. It was nothing like with Cavonnier (when Grindstone beat him by a nose at the wire in the 1996 Derby). Nothing was worse than the Cavonnier loss.”

Bodemeister figures to be on the lead again Saturday, most likely with the Derby winner close by.

“It will probably be the two of us unless somebody else wants to join the fray,” said Baffert, when asked to assess the field. “I figure the horses coming out of the Derby are the biggest threats. I don’t know much about the new shooters.”

Never worse than second in five starts in a career that did not begin until mid-January, Bodemeister already is a millionaire.

“I enjoy watching him run,” Baffert said. “He’s a pretty tough horse.”

PHOTO CREDIT-Jim McCue, Maryland Jockey Club
Bodemeister gets a feel for the Pimlico track.

Kentucky Derby runner-up Bodemeister was made the 8-5 morning-line favorite in the 137^th running of the Preakness at Pimlico Race Course on Saturday, May 19. The son of Empire Maker will leave from post 7 under jockey Mike Smith in the 11-horse field.

I’ll Have Another, the winner of the 138^th Kentucky Derby, was made the second choice at 5-2 and drew post 9 under Mario Gutierrez.

Four other Derby veterans are in the Preakness and they are Went the Day Well, fourth in the Run for the Roses, post 5; Creative Cause, fifth in the Derby, post 6; Daddy Nose Best, tenth in the Derby, post 8; and Optimizer eleventh in the Derby, post 10 for the Preakness.

Draw Quotes

BODEMEISTER (PP #7, 8-5)

Trainer Bob Baffert: “I think it’s a good post. With him, anything in the middle would have been fine. In the Preakness you just don’t want to be stuck down on the inside, where you have to use your horse a little bit.

“The Derby winner drew well also. Everybody is in a good post.”

I’LL HAVE ANOTHER (PP #9, 5-2) 

Trainer Doug O’Neill: “I thought the draw was really good. I’m very happy with that. Being outside of the legitimate speed, most jockeys would be real happy with that. We’re OK with that.

“It’s in (Bodemeister’s jockey) Mike Smith’s hands to set the pace. For whatever reason if he breaks slow or decides not to go, we’ll take the lead and take it from there.

“I’m confident. You never know, but as long as we continue to train like our horse has trained, we won’t be that far off Bodemeister. If anything, Bodemeister might be behind us early. I could see him chasing us, I really could.”

(On Bodemeister being the morning-line favorite) “Bob Baffert has won five of these; I’ve never run a horse here. I totally respect that. I’m just hoping that anyone who bets Bodemeister is regretting it Saturday night.”

WENT THE DAY WELL (PP #5, 6-1)

Managing partner Barry Irwin: “I think it’s good. I didn’t want to be on the rail. It’s too claustrophobic for him. This is a green horse. He hasn’t run too many times, and we didn’t want to have an outside post if we could avoid it, because he’d have veered off to the right. Being in the middle, hopefully it’ll be better.

“This horse, I think he could have won the Derby if he had broken right, but he didn’t. Once he broke bad, he caused himself a whole bunch of trouble. We have to make sure the horse gets out of the gate this time. If he does, I think we’ve got a good shot.

“This horse has an enormous amount of ability. He can really run. I think everybody saw it there, and hopefully we’ll see it again.”

CREATIVE CAUSE (PP # 6, 6-1)

Trainer Mike Harrington: “It’s fine, right in the middle. It doesn’t make a whole lot of difference to me. It’s a good post; that’s all I know.” 

DADDY NOSE BEST (PP #8, 12-1)

Scott Blasi, assistant to trainer Steve Asmussen: “I like our draw. This is more like a horse race, not an event, so I like where we’re at.

“He came out of the Derby great, or we wouldn’t be here. We thought he trained super into the Derby, and he deserves another chance off of what he’s done.

“No excuses last time; it just wasn’t our day. We’re very proud of the position he’s put himself in, and we’re looking forward to giving him another chance.”

TEETH OF THE DOG (PP #2, 15-1)

Owner Jose Singer: “It’s a long stretch at Pimlico, so I’m OK with post position 2. I want to win. We went into the race thinking that perhaps the two top finishers in the Derby might be off the edge a little bit and bounce a little bit. I’ve got a lightly raced horse that is fresh and I’m hoping he comes in to collect the spoils.”

ZETTERHOLM (PP #4, 20-1)

Breeder/principal owner Anthony Grey: “I’m OK with the post position draw. I’m glad I wasn’t on the rail.

“I want to win a big one. He’s a late April foal, so he’s a late-maturing horse. He’s a stretch-running horse. Hopefully, it’s our turn to shine.”

TIGER WALK (PP #1, 30-1)

Trainer Ignacio Correas: “Somebody had to start from the rail, and it looks like it’s going to be us. I just read that 15 percent won from there. Most likely, Bodemeister is going to set the pace, and somebody is going to be out there, but it’s not going to be us. That’s not our style.”

PRETENSION (PP #3, 30-1

Trainer Chris Grove: “I don’t think the post position will matter to him. It only matters if there’s a problem and they’re not standing well and don’t break well. With 11 instead of 20 in this race, I think it will shape up differently. I won’t be too far back as the race shapes up.”

OPTIMIZER (PP #10, 30-1)

Trainer D. Wayne Lukas: “It’s great. I really like it. For the first time in about four years, I really like it. I’m very comfortable with that spot. Bodemeister, Daddy Nose Best and I’ll Have Another are all going to tighten up. I’m sitting out there and absolutely love it.”

COZZETTI (PP #11, 30-1)

Trainer Dale Romans: “I think it’s a good spot for him. We can let things materialize inside of him and figure out where we want him to be placed.”

The Preakness field in post postion, with odds, owner, trainer and jockey is:

Tiger Walk (30-1), Sagamore Farm, Ignacio Cortreas, Kent Desormeaux
Teeth of the Dog (15-1), J. W. Singer Inc., Michael Matz, Joe Bravo
Pretension (30-1) Kidwells Petite Stable,Chris Grove,Javier Santiago
Zetterholm (20-1) Winter Park Partners, Rick Dutrow, Junior Alvarado
Went the Day Well (6-1) Team Valor International and Mark Ford, Graham Motion, John Velazquez
Creative Cause (6-1) Heinz Steinmann, Mike Harrington, Joel Rosario
Bodemeister (8-5) Zayat Stables, Mike Moreno and Tiffany Moreno, Bob Baffert, Mike Smith
Daddy Nose Best( 12-1) Bob and Cathy Zollars, Steve Asmussen, Julien Leparoux
I’ll Have Another (5-2), Reddam Racing LLC, Doug O’Neill, Mario Gutierrez
Optimizer (30-1)Bluegrass Hall LLC, D. Wayne Lukas, Corey Nakatani
Cozzetti (30-1) Albaugh Family Stables, Dale Romans, Jose Lezcano

Reed Palmer Photography/Churchill Downs
I’ll Have Another beats in the Kentucky Derby.

BALTIMORE, Md. – Trainer Doug O’Neill said Wednesday that a horse will win the elusive Triple Crown again and that Reddam Racing’s I’ll Have Another might be the right horse in the right situation to complete the sweep.

I’ll Have Another won the Kentucky Derby, finishing 1½ lengths in front of Bodemeister, and is being prepared for the 137th Preakness Stakes on Saturday at Pimlico Race Course. The 11th and last horse to win the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness and the Belmont Stakes was Affirmed in 1978.

Meeting with a large media contingent on Wednesday morning, O’Neill said he liked the way the scenario has played out with the Flower Alley colt. I’ll Have Another ran three times as a 2-year-old in 2011, suffered a shin injury in the Hopeful on Sept. 5 and didn’t race again until Feb. 4 in the Robert B. Lewis (G2) at Santa Anita. O’Neill waited another two months before starting him in the Santa Anita Derby (G1), which he won with a gutty performance that sent him to the Kentucky Derby.

The Triple Crown is a demanding test with three races run over three different tracks at different distances in a span of five weeks.

“If we hadn’t won the Bob Lewis, our horse wouldn’t be as fresh as he is right now,” O’Neill said. “He ran so huge in the Bob Lewis that we were able to give him nine weeks between that second start.

“I think we’re really seeing the fruits of that right now. He’s only had three starts. He’s still fresh-legged. If anything, he’s thriving right now. Like every other sport, you’ve got to stay injury-free. If he stays injury-free and healthy, I think he’s the type of horse that could do it.”

After an off-day Tuesday because of heavy morning rain, I’ll Have Another returned to the track at Pimlico Wednesday morning for his usual half-mile jog and brisk six to eight-furlong gallop under exercise rider Jonny Garcia.

“He looks fantastic; great energy,” O’Neill said.  “He’s maintained his beautiful, long stride. We’re just very happy with each day that goes by.”

I’ll Have Another had spent a quiet week at Pimlico after his Kentucky Derby victory, and O’Neill said he has adjusted easily to the increased level of activity on the track’s grounds this week.

“He’s good,” O’Neill said. “As more trucks come and Clydesdales are walking around, you can definitely tell that he’s like, ‘Whoa, I didn’t see that yesterday.’ He’s such a cool horse and once he sees something once he’s fine. He’s settled right in.”

In the Kentucky Derby, I’ll Have Another was able to sit off the fast early pace set by Bodemeister and make his winning move in the stretch. With Derby runners Trinniberg and Hansen passing the Preakness, Bodemeister looks to be the lone speed in the 11-horse field and O’Neill said he and jockey Mario Gutierrez will have to change tactics. O’Neill talked about the strategy for the Preakness with retired Hall of Fame jockey Ron Turcotte, who visited Pimlico over the weekend. Turcotte rode two Preakness winners, Tom Rolfe in 1965 and Triple Crown winner Secretariat in 1973.

“He just said you want to make sure that you don’t get too far back, especially around the far turn here — the track takes a little bit of an uphill turn,” O’Neill said. “And he said that a lot of times you’ll get separation and by the eighth pole the track kind of pitches a little downhill and it’s hard to make up a lot of ground in the last eighth. It’s almost like you’ve got to treat the eighth pole as the wire.”

O’Neill said his colt can deal with a different approach in the Preakness.

“The great thing about I’ll Have Another is that his first step out of the gate is very quick,” O’Neill said. “If Bodemeister is going to get an easy lead, we’ll just push him. Somewhere in midrace, hopefully we can take a little breather. Somewhere around that three-eighths (pole), we’ll have to go after him and hopefully have a good stretch duel and end up on the winning end again.”

O’Neill nodded at a question about whether Bodemeister, trained by Hall of Famer Bob Baffert, was likely to go off as the favorite in the Preakness.

“The little bit I know of this track, with his style he’ll be there at the eighth pole,”

O’Neill said. “With his brilliant speed and his talent, I could see why people would (make him the betting favorite). And Bob has won five Preaknesses.

“I think we’ll be OK and I think we have a horse that is versatile enough to give ‘Bode’ some heat early, ideally settle a little bit and then go after him again late.”

O’Neill said that he likes what he sees on the “sheets,” which analyze how horses performed in each race and indicate how they may run in their next start.

“I think we’ve got a good pattern going,” O’Neill said. “We ran big off the layoff in the Bob Lewis. “We regressed a little winning the Santa Anita Derby and then we matched our number of the Bob Lewis in the Kentucky Derby. Usually, those horses move forward. Hopefully, the numbers are right here.”

PHOTO CREDIT-Jim McCue, Maryland Jockey Club
I’ll Have Another stretches his legs Wednesday, at Pimlico Race Course.

BALTIMORE, Md. – Rather than take Reddam Racing’s I’ll Have Another out to exercise on a wet track Tuesday morning, trainer Doug O’Neill opted to keep the Kentucky Derby winner under cover and out of the heavy rain falling at Pimlico Race Course, where he is set to run in Saturday’s Preakness Stakes. 

“He’s so fit, he’s doing so well, I just decided to walk all the horses this morning. I’m glad I did,” O’Neill said. “We all enjoy a day off from time to time. They all got a day off and the weather forecast is nice starting tomorrow through the weekend, so we can get right back to normal training tomorrow.”

A few days after winning the Kentucky Derby, I’ll Have Another jogged and galloped on the wet, sealed Pimlico track last week. O’Neill elected to keep it simple Tuesday and cancel training. Walking gives the horse a chance to be out of his stall, stretch his legs and look around, but doesn’t have much of a cardiovascular benefit.

“With walking it’s a rest day, where with jogging at least you’re doing some form of exercise,” O’Neill said. “I have no problem galloping on a wet track. It just seemed right. Looking at the weather, we’re going to be fine tomorrow. Why chance a slip or something silly happening? I have three other horses here, too, and we walked the shedrow with all of them.”

O’Neill’s brother, Dennis, purchased I’ll Have Another at the Ocala Breeders’ Sale in April 2011. The colt was shipped to O’Neill’s barn at Betfair Hollywood Park and entered training for racing. He developed quickly, winning his debut on July 3. Only one of the other 11 candidates for the Preakness, Daddy Nose Best, was more precocious and had an earlier start to his career last year: June 9 at Churchill Downs.

“He’s always had a great disposition and a great attitude,” O’Neill said. “Dennis bought three more babies last night at the Pomona sale. Hopefully, there is a I’ll Have Another in one of those three. When you first get them in you’re thinking great thoughts about all of them.

“As you start moving on with them, you can see them start separating themselves. He’s always handled himself with a ton of class. He’s always been a real quiet horse, which from my experience is the sign of a really good horse. You never know until the paddock, the post parade and the gate how they handle that. Some come unglued and some thrive on it. Ever since he’s started, he’s thrived on all that action.”

I’ll Have Another moved into stakes company in his next start and finished second to Creative Cause in the Best Pal (G2) at Del Mar. That performance led to a cross-country trip to run in the Hopeful (G1) at Saratoga. He finished sixth on the sloppy track and came out of the race with an injured shin.

Last year and again this season, I’ll Have Another has been able to move forward and handle each new challenge.

“A lot of that is just an individual thing,” O’Neill said. “Like any other sport, you’re prone to injuries. So we’ve just been very blessed, other than the shin hiccup we got at Saratoga, he’s been injury-free. I think what enables you to start a horse maybe earlier than others, is their physical development and their mental development.”

O’Neill said that jockey Mario Gutierrez would be in Baltimore in the next day or two and is scheduled to ride a Reddam Racing filly on Thursday’s program.

O’Neill will meet with the media Wednesday morning at 9:30 a.m.at the podium adjacent to the Preakness stakes barn.

PHOTO CREDIT-Jim McCue, Maryland Jockey Club
I’ll Have Another

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Trainer Bob Baffert got his first look at Kentucky Derby (Grade I) runner-up Bodemeister since the morning after the “Run for the Roses” Monday at Churchill Downs and liked what he saw from the colt’s 1½-mile gallop around a muddy oval.

“He looks good, his coat is good and he is eating well,” Baffert said after the colt completed his activity under exercise rider George Alvarez. “I see no reason not to take him (to Baltimore for Saturday’s Preakness).”

Owned by Zayat Stables, LLC and Michel and Tiffany Moreno, Bodemeister ran some of the fastest fractions in the 138-year history of the Kentucky Derby and did not surrender the lead to I’ll Have Another until just before the sixteenth pole.

“He ran an amazing race,” Baffert said. “At the eighth pole when (jockey) Mike (Smith) went to the left-handed stick, the yellow caution light came on. He tried to fight back and he hung on for second. He was glorious in defeat.”

Baffert liked how Bodemeister bounced out of the race.

“He cooled out quickly and started to eat right after the race,” Baffert said. “I was worried that he might be wiped out and just stay in the back of his stall for three days and sulk, but he never did.”

Baffert said that Bodemeister would not have a work before the Preakness.

“I didn’t work (2010 Preakness winner) Lookin At Lucky after the Derby,” Baffert said. “If a horse didn’t really run or didn’t show up in the Derby, I might breeze them to see if I was missing something.”

Bodemeister entered the Kentucky Derby off a 9 ½-length victory in the Arkansas Derby (GI) when he was ridden for the first time by Smith.

“He deserves it (a shot at the Preakness),” Baffert said of Bodemeister. “He won the Arkansas Derby and then came back in three weeks and ran a great race. He looks good and I don’t see why he can’t run another one.”

Also observing the morning activity was co-owner Ahmed Zayat, who has now had horses finish second in three of the past four runnings of the Kentucky Derby.

“I keep waking up at 3 or 4 in the morning dreaming about the race,” said Zayat, whose Nehro finished second in 2011 and Pioneerof the Nile was second in 2009.

Does Bodemeister win the Derby in the dream?

“No, he does not,” Zayat said.

On the track earlier in the morning was Baffert’s sixth-place Kentucky Derby finisher Liaison, who galloped 1½ miles under Alvarez.

Baffert said he would talk with owner Arnold Zetcher today about the Preakness for Liaison.

“Liaison ran a big race in the Derby and is doing well,” Baffert said. “We will discuss our options with him and if we feel he will be competitive in there (the Preakness), we will take him up there.”

Baffert said if Liaison did not run in the Preakness, a couple of options would be the Belmont Stakes (G1) on June 9 or a return to California for the $150,000 Californian (G2) at 1 1/8 miles at Betfair Hollywood Park.

ECLIPSE AWARD WINNER HANSEN TO BYPASS PREAKNESS

Trainer Mike Maker said Monday that 2011 Eclipse Award winner Hansen would not be running in Saturday’s Preakness at Pimlico.

“He is not going,” Maker said of the ninth-place finisher in the Kentucky Derby. “That would be coming back a little quick.”

Hansen, winner of the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (GI) at Churchill Downs last fall to cement his championship status, is owned by his breeder, Dr. Kendall Hansen, and Skychai Racing.

Maker indicated that Hansen likely would be pointed to the $400,000 Woody Stephens (GII) to be run at seven furlongs on the Belmont Stakes (GI) Day card June 9.

Oaklawn Park file photo
Bodemeister wins the Arkansas Derby.

BALTIMORE, Md. – On the one hand, trainer Todd Pletcher is looking for redemption. On the other, it’s all about progression. Pletcher will saddle both Disposablepleasure and In Lingerie in the 88th renewal of the $300,000 Black-Eyed Susan (G2) on Friday at Pimlico Race Course.

Seven other stakes help comprise the 13-race card including the return of the historic Pimlico Special (G3) and also features the $30,000 Pimlico Female Jockey Challenge, back for its second year, and the Lady Legends for the Cure Race III, a pari-mutuel event featuring eight retired female riders.

Disposablepleasure had two wins and a second from four starts at 2, closing her juvenile campaign by overcoming a stumble at the break for a nose victory in the Grade 2 Demoiselle at Aqueduct, run at the Black-Eyed Susan’s 1 1/8-mile distance.

This year, the gray daughter of 2005 Kentucky Derby winner Giacomo was no factor running fourth in the Davona Dale (G2) at Gulfstream Park in February, and third in the Fair Grounds Oaks (G2) on March 31, her most recent start.

Owned by Glencrest Farm, Disposablepleasure was beaten nine lengths in Louisiana by Believe You Can, who came back to upset the Kentucky Oaks (G1) at Churchill Downs on May 4 at odds of nearly 14-to-1.

“To be honest with you, we’ve been a little bit disappointed in both of her races this year,” Pletcher said. “She’s a filly that showed in the Demoiselle that she can compete at this level. She trained all winter like a filly that’s able to win these types of races, yet her fourth and her third were not up to the standards of her training.

“We felt a little bit better after the Kentucky Oaks that the Fair Grounds race was maybe a little bit stronger than it seemed at the time, but she continues to train like a filly that’s better than that. Hopefully, she’s rounding into form, and it’s just taking her a couple starts to get there.”

Making her seventh start on her seventh different track, Disposablepleasure is one of three graded stakes winners in the field and the only one with a win at nine furlongs.

“I think the mile-and-an-eighth will suit her well,” Pletcher said, “so, we’re optimistic that she’ll show up and run her ‘A’ race.”

A daughter of Empire Maker, In Lingerie came to Pletcher after she was purchased by Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners and Gary Barber following her maiden victory at Turfway Park in her career debut Jan. 12.

She ran second to ZoImpressive in an optional claiming allowance at Gulfstream Park on Feb. 25 in her only try on conventional dirt, then led gate to wire in winning the Bourbonette Oaks (G3) at Turfway March 24.

“She ran a very credible race the first time we ran her,” Pletcher said. “She missed the break and got some dirt in her face for the first time, and finished up well to a really nice filly, so we were pleased with that.

“We went back to Turfway, and she won pretty convincingly there. We flirted with the idea of the Kentucky Oaks, but we felt like, with a filly that had only had three starts, that perhaps this was a better progression for her. She has trained very well.”

Trainer Chad Brown is eager to see a similar kind of development from Welcome Guest, a gray Unbridled’s Song filly who will make her fourth lifetime start in the Black-Eyed Susan.

Welcome Guest, like In Lingerie, did not race as a 2-year-old, kicking off her career finishing second in a six-furlong sprint at Gulfstream in February. She rated just off the lead before sprinting clear to a 5½-length maiden victory four weeks later, then rallied three wide for second in the Comely (G3) at Aqueduct on April 7.

“She was just a little immature and needed a little bit more time,” Brown said. “We gave it to her, and she’s rewarded us. She’s come back really nice as a 3-year-old.

“I thought her race in the Comely was good. She’s still lightly raced, but she’s developing nicely. The timing of this race was right, and it’s the Black-Eyed Susan. It’s a very nice, prestigious race, so we’re excited about bringing her over there and running in it.”

Brown feels Welcome Guest has the potential to be any kind of horse, though she didn’t give any outward indication until she ran.

“She was just average in the morning before we debuted her; not bad, but she wasn’t turning any heads, either,” Brown said. “After we debuted her for the first time, she came out of the race super and really got focused on being a racehorse. From there on, she’s developed nicely in her works and her races.

“I’m going to take it a race at a time for her. I could foresee her developing into a really nice filly through the summer and the rest of the year, from what I’ve seen. So far, she’s been a good one.”

The 7-to-5 program favorite for the Black-Eyed Susan is unbeaten Discreet Cat filly Mamma Kimbo, trained by Hall of Famer Bob Baffert for Peachtree Stable.

Mamma Kimbo rolled to a 5¼-length victory in her debut on Feb. 18 at Santa Anita, then went all the way on the lead to take the Fantasy (G2) at Oaklawn Park in April. The Fantasy was her first race with Hall of Fame rider Mike Smith, who gets the return call.

Plum owns a pair of wins in Maryland, including a victory over older horses at Pimlico in her most recent start on April 26. She also captured the $75,000 Maryland Juvenile Filly Championship at Laurel Park in December to cap her 2-year-old season.

Also entered are Wildcat’s Smile, who beat boys in the $260,000 New York Breeders’ Futurity last fall and ran second to Disposablepleasure in the Demoiselle; and stakes winners Glinda the Good and Zucchini Flower and Oaks Lily, who has been training at Pimlico for nearly a week.

The Black-Eyed Susan field, from the rail out: Glinda the Good (trainer Steve Asmussen, jockey Corey Nakatani, 122 pounds), 12-1; Disposablepleasure (Todd Pletcher, Javier Castellano, 122), 5-1; Welcome Guest (Chad Brown, Ramon Dominguez, 116), 4-1; Mamma Kimbo (Bob Baffert, Mike Smith, 122), 7-5; Oaks Lily (Timothy Hills, Julien Leparoux, 116), 30-1; Plum (Rodney Jenkins, Abel Castellano, 116), 30-1; In Lingerie (Pletcher, John Velazquez, 122), 9-2; Wildcat’s Smile (Dominic Galluscio, Rosie Napravnik, 116), 10-1; and Zucchini Flower (Graham Motion, Sheldon Russell, 122), 10-1.

Oaklawn Park file photo
Mamma Kimbo winning the Fantasy.