Pulling Into Pimlico

Necessary homework for Saturday’s Preakness Stakes includes the recipe for Black Eyed Susans (Lots of ice, 1 part Cointreau, 1 part Mount Gay rum, 1 part Vodka, Pineapple, and Orange Juices), and a working knowledge of the runners. Do you want to be a dreamer? A realist? A wildcat longshotter? You’re pony is right here, going into the gate in the 131st running of the Preakness Stakes.1. LIKE NOWTRAINERKiaran McLaughlinJOCKEYGarrett GomezLAST RACECoolmore Lexington (2nd)ODDS12-1At first glance, you’d think that if Like Now were to run back to the form he had at Aqueduct, where five of his last six were run – four of which he won – he could win this race. He’d need a clean trip out front, and fractions slow enough for him to have something left when they turn for home. Considering the pressure from his company out front here, he’s not going to be able to set the soft pace he’d like. We’ll have something more like his finish in the Coolmore Lexington, where he was overtaken and dueled back to get the place spot while bumping with Bear Character. Laudable if he hadn’t given up the lead at Keeneland, which isn’t how it’s supposed to work. He drifted out tired in the March 18 Gotham over 1 1/16 at Aqueduct. Another 1/8th of a mile here won’t help him.2. PLATINUM COUPLEJoseph LostrittoJose EspinozaWood Memorial (5th)50-1The longest shot on the board, and if you’re a longshot lover, there’s something to think about here. Granted, this horse does not like a wet track, but throw out two races two races and he’s always improved his position, from, for instance, sixth to fourth. There’s no reason to expect he can’t do something like that here.3. HEMINGWAY’S KEYNick ZitoJeremy RoseCoolmore Lexington (8th)30-1Entered with a trademark Zito shrug and a “Why not?” As a 2-year-old, Hemingway’s Key was very promising. Zito claims that he runs really well in the morning, but that the afternoons aren’t his thing. Will the switch flip? Can’t see why it would.4. GREELEY’S LEGACYGeorge WeaverRichard MiglioreLexington (4th)20-1Three back, this horse was a very promising starter in the Gotham Stakes, and finished well in fourth behind Like Now and Sweetnorthernsaint. If you throw out his dismal 24- length loss in the Wood on April 8 due to the slop, as well as his last at Keeneland because it’s Keeneland, you’ve got every reason to believe that he might come in third.5. BROTHER DEREKDan HendricksAlex SolisKentucky Derby (4th)3-1Even if you adjusted for everything that went badly for him in Louisville, and you believe that it’s bad luck and not tactical ability that puts you in a bad spot, he still wouldn’t have beaten Barbaro. That doesn’t mean he won’t. To dig in on the stretch two weeks ago like he did, stride for stride with Jazil and Steppenwolfer, was something. What if he was simply amazed that there were horses in front of him? He’d never seen that, after all. Hendricks wants a clean trip, and Solis is ticked off because everyone says he mistimed his ride in the Derby.They’ll gun it and overcompensate to avoid getting stuck behind horses or hung wide again. They believe that if they’d been up in the race, they’d have won it. Can he make it around the track to hold on? Yes. What happens then? There are two questions: how much did he learn in the Derby? Can he beat Barbaro?6. BARBAROMichael MatzEdgar PradoKentucky Derby (1st)EVENA slam-dunk derby, a trainer with his eyes on the prize, a horse with poise, muscle, brains. What could go wrong? Oh yeah … anything.7. SWEETNORTHERNSAINTMichael TrombettaKent DesormeauxKentucky Derby (7th)4-1He’ll get more of the kind of thing he likes in this race: a cleaner trip, close to the pace. He was very tired on the inside of the stretch two weeks ago, absolutely slogging, and he dropped from fourth to seventh in a few strides. I see him in third, and three wide, all the way around the track, just like he did in the Gotham, when he couldn’t get up past Like Now. Diabolical will fade off the front, but Like Now and Brother Derek are going to stick. Barbaro is going to charge, what does that leave for Sweetnorthernsaint?8. BERNARDINITom AlbertraniJavier CastellanoWithers Stakes (1st)4-1Bernardini handled his first step up into graded stakes company with aplomb, but there were only four horses in the race, and the Withers is one mile at Aqueduct. The Preakness will offer less opportunity for chaos than the Derby, with a reasonable field and 1 /16 shorter to run, so there’s less chance that an inexperienced horse might luck into a win. He’s regally bred, but he’d be a big surprise for the win. A piece of the money, yes.9. DIABOLICALSteve KlesarisRamon DominguezDelaware Alw36860N1X(1st) 20-1Expect to see this one out front. Diabolical has spent his career racing against good horses in the kind of second-level preps that send the horses on the board up to the major leagues. He never did graduate. Instead, his connections seem to have fished for the perfect spot. His first race as a 3-year-old was 1 1/8 over the grass. His second a dirt sprint. He’s been seven times up in the money for eight starts, what don’t they like?Probably, his last out in that Allowance race in Delaware was just the place for him, but the winner’s purse that day wasn’t worth as much as the $50,000 in the purse for the fourth place finisher in the Preakness. They’re taking their shot. It’s hard to imagine him sticking it out with Like Now on the front, and then having it to hold off the big grade-1 runners.mwatman@nysun.com

Pulling Into Pimlico

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