Iliad a candidate for Preakness

ARCADIA, Calif. – Iliad, fifth as the 3-1 favorite in the Grade 1 Santa Anita Derby last Saturday, will be considered for the Grade 1 Preakness Stakes at Pimlico on May 20.

Trainer Doug O’Neill said on Wednesday that he does not think Iliad will have sufficient qualifying points to gain one of the 20 berths in the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs on May 6. As of last weekend’s leading prep races, Iliad had 20 qualifying points and ranked 24th among candidates.

O’Neill, who won the 2016 Kentucky Derby with Nyquist, will be watching developments closely in the coming weeks and is hopeful to gain a Kentucky Derby spot for Iliad.

“We don’t have enough points,” O’Neill said. “If it opens up, I would endorse it.”

O’Neill won the 2012 Preakness with I’ll Have Another, who also won the Kentucky Derby.

In the Santa Anita Derby, Iliad was beaten two lengths by Gormley after a wide run on the turn.

Iliad races for Kaleem Shah. By Ghostzapper, Iliad has won 2 of 5 starts and earned $247,345. He won the Grade 2 San Vicente Stakes at seven furlongs on Feb. 12 and was second to Mastery in the Grade 2 San Felipe Stakes at 1 1/16 miles on March 11.

O’Neill plans to start the Grade 1 stakes winner Denman’s Call in the Grade 2 Churchill Downs Stakes at seven furlongs on May 6 and skip Saturday’s Grade 3 Los Angeles Stakes at six furlongs at Santa Anita.

The Churchill Downs Stakes is worth $500,000, while the Los Angeles Stakes is worth $100,000. Denman’s Call won the Grade 1 Triple Bend Stakes at seven furlongs at Santa Anita on March 11.

The Los Angeles is the lone graded stakes this weekend at Santa Anita. Sunday’s main race is the $75,000 San Pedro Stakes for 3-year-olds at 6 1/2 furlongs.

Candidates for the Los Angeles include Eastwood, Grazen Sky, Kentuckian, and Lord Simba in what is expected to be a small field.

Masochistic, second to Denman’s Call in the Triple Bend, is another candidate for the Churchill Downs Stakes.