Owendale shakes heavyweights in Pimlico Special

BALTIMORE – Owendale probably won’t recognize any of his eight opponents on Preakness eve at Pimlico – which should be just fine with him.

Within the last year, Owendale has faced the likes of Vino Rosso, Tom’s d’Etat, and By My Standards – all the while faring respectably more often than not – and he should appreciate what amounts to a substantial measure of class relief Friday stretching out as a solid favorite in the 50th running of the Grade 3, $250,000 Pimlico Special.

“He’s met some good ones, that’s for sure,” said trainer Brad Cox, who has sent Owendale along with a few other horses here from his Kentucky base for Preakness weekend. “He’s had a couple good breezes since the Alysheba, so we should be all set.”

In his last start, Owendale was second to By My Standards at 11-1 in the Sept. 4 Alysheba at Churchill Downs while finishing ahead of the highly accomplished McKinzie and others. That’s one of the company lines helping to make the 4-year-old colt the 8-5 morning-line choice in the Pimlico Special, which is back at the classic Preakness distance of 1 3/16 miles after being run last year as a one-off at 1 1/4 miles.

:: Want to get your Past Performances for free? Click to learn more.

The Special, the only graded event on the card, is the last of 11 races on a program that starts at 12:40 p.m. Eastern. The Special (6:20) leads off the traditional two-day double wager that ends with the 145th Preakness on Saturday.

Owendale, owned by Rupp Racing, will have John Velazquez aboard breaking from post 8. Cox is hoping the Into Mischief colt brings his “A” game, which is what happened last year in signature victories in the Lexington, Ohio Derby, and Oklahoma Derby, all of them Grade 3 races.

“He’s awfully tough when he shows up,” said Cox, who has dispatched his son Blake to Pimlico while staying home in Kentucky for the big FallStars Weekend at Keeneland.

Among the chief upset threats is Tenfold (post 5, Joe Bravo), a Winchell Farms homebred looking to snap a nine-race losing skein after last having triumphed with a far-back rally in the Special in May 2019. Trained by Steve Asmussen, the 5-year-old son of Curlin seems to be something of a horse for the Pimlico course: At 3, he finished less than a length behind victorious Justify when third in the 2018 Preakness in a dense fog.

“For one reason or another, he seems to put up some of his best efforts at Pimlico,” Winchell racing manager David Fiske said.

Tenfold stands to become just the second two-time winner of the Pimlico Special, following Challedon, the 1977 Hall of Fame inductee who won in 1939-40.

Other considerations include Plus Que Parfait, second at 25-1 behind Sleepy Eyes Todd in the Grade 2 Charles Town Classic in late August; Harpers First Ride and Cordmaker, the respective one-two finishers nearly four weeks ago in the Deputed Testamony at Laurel Park; and familiar rivals Monongahela and Someday Jones, both of whom have shown themselves capable of posting triple-digit Beyer Speed Figures.

Someday Jones, a Pennsylvania-bred 7-year-old by 2004 Preakness winner Smarty Jones, has earned nearly $650,000 with 11 wins and seven seconds from 29 starts.

“He’s a war horse, a special horse,” trainer John Servis said.

Clubman and Forewarned round out the lineup.

The Pimlico Special was first run in 1937 and quickly became one of the great races of the era, with War Admiral and Seabiscuit accounting for the first two runnings. After going on lengthy hiatus, the race was restored in 1988, with five eventual Horse of the Year honorees winning it – Criminal Type (1990), Cigar (1995), Skip Away (1998), Mineshaft (2003), and Invasor (2006).

Eight of the 10 preceding Friday races on this penultimate card of the six-day Preakness meet serve as qualifiers for the popular Claiming Crown, with winners being awarded automatic berths to the 22nd annual series set for Dec. 5 at sister track Gulfstream Park. Those Claiming Crown preps offer purses ranging from $35,000 to $50,000.

Mostly sunny skies and a high of 66 are in the Friday forecast.