Preakness: The filly Swiss Skydiver might join the party

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Swiss Skydiver is under serious consideration for a run against male rivals in the Oct. 3 Preakness at Pimlico, although trainer Ken McPeek said there are other options for the star 3-year-old filly.

“I’d say we’re maybe 50-50 at this point,” McPeek said early Wednesday. “We’ve talked to the people at Pimlico and we’ll be keeping a pretty close eye on who else is planning to run.”

McPeek said his decision hinges partly on what Barclay Tagg decides for Tiz the Law, second as the odds-on favorite in the Sept. 5 Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs. Tagg, based at Belmont Park, has indicated Tiz the Law may pass the Preakness to wait instead for the Nov. 7 Breeders’ Cup Classic at Keeneland. Among the colts already confirmed for the Preakness are the Derby winner Authentic and Art Collector, to whom Swiss Skydiver finished second in her only attempt versus males, the July 11 Blue Grass at Keeneland.

Five fillies have won the Preakness in 144 runnings, the latest being Rachel Alexandra in 2009.

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Swiss Skydiver most recently was second to Shedaresthedevil in the Sept. 4 Kentucky Oaks at Churchill after winning the Grade 1 Alabama at Saratoga in her prior start. McPeek said Swiss Skydiver will breeze Saturday at Churchill for the first time since the Oaks.

“She’s no worse for wear out of this last race,” McPeek said. “She sure seems like she wants to keep at it. She hasn’t missed a grain and she’s feeling good. She’s hickory.”

McPeek said alternate paths to the Nov. 7 Breeders’ Cup Distaff at Keeneland are a couple of Grade 1 preps at the Lexington, Ky., track, the Oct. 4 Spinster or the Oct. 10 Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup on turf.

“We’d have to run against Midnight Bisou in the Spinster, and trying turf for the first time obviously would be outside the box,” McPeek said. “I mean, I’m still not sure I want to run against the very best 3-year-old colts right now, especially Tiz the Law. We’ve got a very interesting decision to make.”

Swiss Skydiver, owned by Peter Callahan, clearly is the most accomplished horse in the 3-year-old filly division after having also won three other graded stakes this year, all at different tracks.

Meanwhile, trainer Bret Calhoun said Mr. Big News also is scheduled to breeze Friday at Churchill after emerging in good order from his third-place finish as a 46-1 shot in the Derby.

“I just want to make sure he’s still heading in the right direction,” Calhoun said. “If he keeps doing as well as he is – just like he was going into the Derby – I’m sure we’ll run in the Preakness. I don’t see why we’d doing anything otherwise. It’s a good thing the race is four weeks later instead of the usual two. That affords us the chance to run.”

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Because of a reshuffled schedule due to the global pandemic, the Preakness is the third and final leg of the 2020 Triple Crown. The Belmont Stakes, won by Tiz the Law, was run June 20. In a normal year, the Preakness is run two weeks after the Derby on the third Saturday in May.

For Calhoun, the big effort by Mr. Big News capped an unforgettable Derby weekend. The 56-year-old trainer won the Grade 2 Alysheba on the Kentucky Oaks undercard with By My Standards, who makes his next start in the BC Classic .

“I was getting calls from people about one horse or the other,” Calhoun said. “When they’d ask about By My Standards, I’m not sure they were aware of what Mr. Big News had done, or vice versa.”

He added with a laugh: “But I was.”

A dozen or so starters are expected at this early juncture for the 1 3/16-mile Preakness, with the field limited to 14. Authentic and his Bob Baffert-trained stablemate Thousand Words are expected to breeze this weekend at Churchill.