Bourbon War enters Preakness emboldened by Derby result

BALTIMORE – Like many, Mark Hennig tuned into the Kentucky Derby two weeks ago with keen interest. The result of that race will be debated and, it appears, litigated for a long time, but for Hennig, his takeaway was confirmation that he trained a horse who ranked right with the best of this crop of 3-year-olds.

His colt Bourbon War had been on the Derby trail, but a fourth-place finish in the paceless Florida Derby left him outside the top 20 on the points list. Rather than enter and hope to get in via the also-eligible list, Hennig resigned himself to having to wait for another spot.

Then he watched Maximum Security cross the wire first. And he saw Code of Honor cross the wire third. And he saw Bodexpress right with the leaders on the far turn before getting caught in a chain-reaction bumping incident. They had been the first three across the wire in the Florida Derby.

“Nobody knows for sure going into the Derby which regional is the strongest,” Hennig said. “The people in California think they have the best; so do the ones in Florida. The ones in the Midwest or New York think they might be. But until they run, nobody knows.

“We were pretty close to Code of Honor in the Florida Derby,” Hennig said of finishing just three-quarters of a length behind a horse whose late-running style mimics that of Bourbon War. “Maximum Security had won the Florida Derby in a race where no one could make up ground from behind. The Derby made you think you belong.”

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That is why Bourbon War is here at Pimlico for the Preakness, the second leg of the Triple Crown, on Saturday. He’s not alone. Just four runners exiting the Derby are in the race, joined by nine newcomers to the Triple Crown trail. If all 13 run, it will be the largest Preakness field since 14 ran in 2011.

The absences from Preakness 144 are notable. Maximum Security, disqualified from first in the Derby when ruled to have caused the incident that impacted several runners, is skipping the race. So too Country House, who was promoted to first via the disqualification and then days later needed to go to a clinic for treatment and observation when he had a cough and his bloodwork came back a bit off. In fact, the first four who crossed the wire in the Derby are absent from the Preakness, the first time that has happened since 1951.

As a result, Improbable – who crossed the wire fifth in the Derby but was moved to fourth on the disqualification – inherited the role of favorite on the lines of both Mike Watchmaker, Daily Racing Form’s national handicapper, and Keith Fuestle of Pimlico. Watchmaker has him at 2-1, Fuestle at 5-2.

Both have tabbed War of Will as the race’s second choice. He, like Improbable, exits the Derby, but his trip was far more adventurous, as he and Maximum Security bumped sharply 550 yards from the wire in an incident that could have been much, much worse had War of Will clipped heels.

“Hey, I was just happy I had my horse,” said Mark Casse, who trains War of Will. “It would have been the biggest black eye in the history of the sport if he falls.”

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The only other Derby graduates are Bodexpress, who crossed the wire 14th and then got moved to 13th on the DQ, and Win Win Win, who was 10th and then moved to ninth.

After that, it was everybody into the pool. In addition to Bourbon War, the other horses who did not run in the Derby but are in the Preakness include Alwaysmining, Laughing Fox, and Owendale – each of whom is coming off a stake win – as well as Anothertwistafate and Signalman, both of whom were graded stakes-placed in their last start. Warrior’s Charge is making his stakes debut off a pair of recent front-running wins at Oaklawn that emboldened his ownership group to pay a $150,000 supplemental fee to make him eligible for this and the Belmont. The field is completed by the longshots Everfast and Market King.

There is a good mix of front-runners, stalkers, and closers. It’s a smaller field than the 19 who charged forth at Churchill Downs, and they are going 110 yards shorter, 1 3/16 miles, over a track that should be fast if the weather forecast holds. The Weather Channel predicts a high temperature of 79 degrees, with just a 20 percent chance of rain.

So, while this Preakness may lack the drama of seeing if a horse can keep his Triple Crown hopes alive, it appears to be a competitive, compelling betting race.

Improbable has come close in all three of his starts this year, but enters the Preakness winless in 2019. He ended up just 3 1/4 lengths behind Maximum Security, that following runner-up efforts in two stakes at Oaklawn, including the Arkansas Derby. Mike Smith takes over on Saturday, becoming the fourth jockey to try his hand with Improbable in four starts this year. Improbable’s trainer, Bob Baffert, is seeking his record eighth Preakness victory.

War of Will, who appeared uncomfortable racing behind horses in the Derby after breaking from the rail, landed the rail again for this race, so jockey Tyler Gaffalione will have to try to find a way out of there.

Win Win Win is being wheeled back because trainer Mike Trombetta said he bounced back well after competing over a Churchill surface he did not prefer.

“That’s what my rider said,” Trombetta said, referencing Julian Pimentel. “He said he was running apprehensively. It wasn’t like he was in a drive for five-eighths of a mile. And he only got beat 8 1/2 lengths. Everything we’ve seen from him since has been positive.”

Bourbon War’s best race this year was a second-place finish to Code of Honor in the Fountain of Youth, which had a strong pace, a scenario that could develop here.

Both Bourbon War and Win Win Win are adding blinkers for this race.

Alwaysmining figures to be part of a lively pace, and he’s a dangerous horse to take it all, having won six straight races.

“He’s a very competitive horse,” said trainer Kelly Rubley, who said she never even works Alwaysmining in company. “He’ll do too much,” she said.

Owendale and Anothertwistafate were one-two in the Lexington Stakes at Keeneland five weeks ago.

Laughing Fox rallied to win the Oaklawn Invitational two weeks ago. He, like Bourbon War, would benefit from a strong pace.

Signalman was third in the Blue Grass, just a nose behind Win Win Win.

Market King, 11th in the Blue Grass, was scratched by the veterinarian during the post parade for the Pat Day Mile on the Derby undercard two weeks ago. On Thursday – after passing all requirements in terms of a workout, soundness check, and bloodwork – he was cleared off the veterinarian's list in Kentucky, according to Dr. Mary Scollay, the equine medical director of the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission. Market King, like all Preakness runners, will undergo a pre-race exam, as well as observation during the post parade.

Everfast was fifth in the Pat Day Mile after finishing ninth in the Florida Derby.

The Preakness is race 13 on a 14-race card that begins at 10:30 a.m. Eastern. It is preceded by eight stakes, four graded, including the Grade 2 Dixie for grass horses, which will mark the 2019 debut of Travers and Belmont Derby winner Catholic Boy.

Post time for the Preakness is approximately 6:45 p.m. The race will be televised live on NBC and broadcast live on radio by HRRN.

2019 Preakness Field
Post	Horse	Trainer	Jockey	Last Race	M/L Odds
1	War of Will	Mark Casse	Tyler Gaffalione	Ky. Derby, 7th	4-1
2	Bourbon War	Mark Hennig	Irad Ortiz, Jr.	Fla. Derby, 4th	12-1
3	Warrior's Charge	Brad Cox	Javier Castellano	OP allowance, 1st	12-1
4	Improbable	Bob Baffert	Mike Smith	Ky. Derby, 4th	5-2
5	Owendale	Brad Cox	Florent Geroux	Lexington, 1st	10-1
6	Market King	D. Wayne Lukas	Jon Court	Blue Grass, 11th	30-1
7	Alwaysmining	Kelly Rubley	Daniel Centeno	Tesio, 1st	8-1
8	Signalman	Kenny McPeek	Brian Hernandez, Jr.	Blue Grass, 3rd	30-1
9	Bodexpress	Gustavo Delgado	John Velazquez	Ky. Derby, 13th	20-1
10	Everfast	Dale Romans	Joel Rosario	Pat Day Mile, 5th	50-1
11	Laughing Fox	Steve Asmussen	Ricardo Santana, Jr.	OP Invitational, 1st	20-1
12	Anothertwistafate	Blaine Wright	Jose Ortiz	Lexington, 2nd	6-1
13	Win Win Win	Mike Trombetta	Julian Pimentel	Ky. Derby, 9th	15-1