Preakness: Muth, Imagination work in company; ship east on Tuesday

Muth and Imagination, potentially the top two betting favorites for the $2 million Preakness Stakes on May 18, put in their final workouts for the race Friday at Santa Anita going six furlongs in company in 1:11.80, according to the Santa Anita clockers.

Bob Baffert, the trainer of both horses, said the two were basically together from the time the work began at the five-furlong pole. The two horses also worked together last Saturday, covering the same distance in 1:11.40.

“I was going to leave the half, but I left the five with them.They went in tandem together, they did it easily, that’s what we wanted to see,” Baffert said of Friday’s move. “I feel good about putting them on a plane and sending them there. They had to show me they were worthy of traveling to the Preakness and I saw that today.”

Baffert said both horses would ship to Pimlico on Tuesday.

Muth, coming off a two-length victory in the Grade 1 Arkansas Derby, will most likely go off favored in the Preakness, a race Baffert is trying to win for a record-extending ninth time. Muth, has four wins and two seconds from six career starts. He is 2 for 2 this year with a victory in the seven-furlong San Vicente preceding his success in the Arkansas Derby. Mystik Dan, who finished third in the Arkansas Derby, came back to win the Kentucky Derby by a nose. Mystik Dan, trained by Kenny McPeek, has yet to be confirmed for the Preakness.

:: DRF's Preakness Headquarters: Contenders, latest news, and more

“He just needs to give me that same performance. I’ll take that,” Baffert said of Muth’s effort in the Arkansas Derby.

Imagination, a son of Into Mischief, has already run four times this year, with a victory in the San Felipe preceding his neck loss to Stronghold in the Santa Anita Derby.

For Imagination, it was his fourth workout since finishing second in the Santa Anita Derby.

“Imagination, he’s improved with every race. I think we’re figuring him out,” Baffert said. “Today was probably his best work since I’ve had him.”

Juan Hernandez will ride Muth in the Preakness while Frankie Dettori will be on Imagination. Neither rider was aboard for Friday’s workouts.

◗ Copper Tax, a winner of seven of 10 starts, including the Federico Tesio Stakes at Laurel Park, worked a mile in 1:44 at Laurel on Thursday for a possible start in the Preakness.

:: Get ready for the Preakness with DRF past performances, picks, and betting strategies!

Copper Tax, trained by Gary Capuano, won the Private Terms Stakes earlier this year as well as the James F. Lewis Stakes as a 2-year-old.

◗ Irad Ortiz Jr. will ride Uncle Heavy in the Preakness, his agent Steve Rushing confirmed. Ortiz is 0 for 5 in the Preakness with two seconds, including a narrow head defeat last year aboard Blazing Sevens, who was second to National Treasure.

:: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.