Preakness Doings: Bourbon War will get his chance
When it became evident that Bourbon War wasn’t going to make it into the body of the Kentucky Derby field, his connections began leaning toward starting him in Saturday’s Peter Pan Stakes at Belmont Park.
After they watched the results of Saturday’s Kentucky Derby, his connections made a change of plans. Now, Bourbon War is headed to the $1.5 million Preakness Stakes on May 18 at Pimlico.
Maximum Security and Code of Honor – horses Bourbon War ran against in South Florida during the winter – crossed the finish line first and third in the Kentucky Derby. Maximum Security was disqualified from first and longshot Country House was declared the winner.
Bourbon War didn’t earn enough points to get into the Derby field. He finished second to Code of Honor in the Grade 2 Fountain of Youth at Gulfstream and then was fourth there in the Grade 1 Florida Derby, 3 1/2 lengths behind the winner, Maximum Security, and just three-quarters of a length behind Code of Honor, who was third.
“You watch the Derby, we wish we would have been in there,” Mark Hennig, the trainer of Bourbon War, said Monday morning at Belmont Park. “If the California horses ran 1-2 or if the Florida horses didn’t run well then maybe you think differently.”
Hennig said that if the pace of the Florida Derby had been different, “we could have been a little closer.
“We were pretty close to Code of Honor in the Fountain of Youth, why wouldn’t we take a shot in the Preakness?” Hennig said. “There’s no guarantee he wants to run a mile and half in the Belmont.”
Hennig hasn’t run a horse in the Preakness since 2004, when Eddington finished third to Smarty Jones.
Bourbon War, a son of Tapit, is owned by Bourbon Lane Stable and Lake Star Stable.
“There are a lot of clients involved, and there’s a reason they’re in the game, to run in these types of races,” Hennig said.
Irad Ortiz Jr. has ridden Bourbon War in his last four starts, including a first-level allowance win Jan. 18 at Gulfstream, and will ride him in the Preakness.
Smith aboard Improbable
Ortiz rode Improbable to a fifth-place finish in the Derby. Improbable was elevated to fourth following the disqualification of Maximum Security from first to 17th.
On Monday, trainer Bob Baffert confirmed that Improbable would run in the Preakness and that Mike Smith would ride.
Baffert and Smith teamed to win last year’s Preakness with Justify, who would go on to complete the Triple Crown three weeks later in the Belmont Stakes.
Improbable was the 4-1 Kentucky Derby favorite, and he will likely be favored again in a field that is expected to include Alwaysmining, Anothertwistafate, Bourbon War, Country House, Laughing Fox, Mr. Money, Owendale, Signalman, and War of Will. Code of Honor and Bodexpress are possible.
Maximum Security to Jersey
Maximum Security was scheduled to arrive at Monmouth Park on Tuesday morning following a van ride from Louisville, Ky., that left Churchill Downs on Monday afternoon.
Owner Gary West confirmed Monday that he would not run Maximum Security in the Preakness and no next race has been picked out for him.
Trainer Jason Servis told the Monmouth Park publicity department that he was coping fairly well with the disqualification.
“Surprisingly, the day after was not too bad for me,” he said. “I don’t know if it was getting some satisfaction from the horse running the way he did, but I felt a little better the day after.
“It’s like I told my wife: I don’t want to dwell on it every day. It’s a hard thing to get over, but I have to move forward. I actually need to get back to work.”
Sueno to get freshening
Sueno, who finished second or third in four consecutive graded stakes to try and make the Kentucky Derby, will be given a freshening and point to a summer campaign, according to trainer Keith Desormeaux.
Sueno finished third in both the Louisiana Derby and Lexington Stakes following second-place finishes in the Southwest and Sham.
Desormeaux said Sueno is at his owner’s Silverton Hill Farm in Lexington and will be there for three weeks to a month.
– additional reporting by Jay Privman
| Potential Preakness Starters | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Horse | Trainer | Jockey | Last Race |
| Alwaysmining | Kelly Rubley | Daniel Centeno | Tesio, 1st |
| Anothertwistafate | Blaine Wright | Jose Ortiz | Lexington, 2nd |
| Bodexpress | Gustavo Delgado | undecided | Ky. Derby, 13th |
| Bourbon War | Mark Hennig | Irad Ortiz, Jr. | Fla. Derby, 4th |
| Country House | Bill Mott | Flavien Prat | Ky. Derby, 1st |
| Improbable | Bob Baffert | Mike Smith | Ky. Derby, 4th |
| Laughing Fox | Steve Asmussen | Ricardo Santana, Jr. | OP Invitational, 1st |
| Mr. Money | Brett Calhoun | Gabriel Saez | Pat Day Mile, 1st |
| Owendale | Brad Cox | Florent Geroux | Lexington, 2nd |
| Signalman | Kenny McPeek | Brian Hernandez, Jr. | Blue Grass, 3rd |
| War of Will | Mark Casse | Tyler Gaffalione | Ky. Derby, 7th |