ELMONT, N.Y. – Sovereign, the 2019 Irish Derby winner, will make his U.S. debut and first start for trainer Chad Brown in Saturday’s Grade 1, $700,000 Man o’ War Stakes at Belmont Park.
Sovereign, a son of Galileo, went just 2 for 13 for trainer Aidan O’Brien. In 2019, he was a front-running 33-1 upset winner of the Irish Derby, beating Anthony Van Dyck. In 2020, Sovereign finished second to the great mare Enable in the three-horse King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Ascot.
Rock Your World, the winner of the Grade 1 Santa Anita Derby on April 3 but a troubled 17th in the Kentucky Derby last Saturday, is a candidate for the Grade 1 Belmont Stakes on June 5, depending on how he trains in coming weeks.
“The only definite is he’s out of the Preakness,” trainer John Sadler said of the May 15 race at Pimlico. “We’ll look at the Belmont.”
The 3-year-old colt is trained by Bob Baffert, ran the best race of his career on the first Saturday of May at Churchill Downs, and was overlooked in the betting.
The description fits Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit, and stablemate Du Jour, the 5-1 winner of the Grade 2 American Turf Classic at 1 1/16 miles in his stakes debut last weekend.
Du Jour has returned to Baffert’s Santa Anita stable, but could be traveling again soon. Baffert said on Wednesday that the Grade 1 Belmont Derby, a $1 million race at 1 1/4 miles on turf on July 10, is an early summer goal.
Jockey Trevor McCarthy, fourth in the standings at the Belmont Park spring-summer meeting through Sunday, is relocating to Southern California this month.
McCarthy, 26, plans to make the move after the weekend of May 15-16 and begin riding at Santa Anita on Memorial Day weekend, May 29-31. McCarthy will be represented by Derek Lawson, who booked mounts on behalf of top California jockey Flavien Prat until late February.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Medina Spirit returned to the racetrack for the first time since his half-length victory Saturday in the Kentucky Derby when jogging an easy mile Wednesday as dawn was breaking at Churchill Downs.
“He was moving very good,” said Jimmy Barnes, longtime assistant to trainer Bob Baffert. “He’s happy, we’re all happy.”
ELMONT, N.Y. - While trainer Chad Brown is definitely planning to run Crowded Trade in the Preakness Stakes, he hasn’t ruled out also running Risk Taking in the second jewel of the Triple Crown.
Brown said he entered Risk Taking in Saturday’s Grade 2, $200,000 Peter Pan Stakes but he could change his mind before race day and elect to add him to his Preakness lineup. Risk Taking won the Grade 3 Withers in February but was a disappointing seventh as the favorite in the Wood Memorial.
ELMONT, N.Y. - On the day it was announced he was inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame, trainer Todd Pletcher confirmed that he will take a shot in one of the few major races he has yet to win, as Unbridled Honor will run in the Preakness Stakes.
Unbridled Honor, a son of Honor Code owned and bred by Mandy Pope’s Whisper Hill Farm, has one win from five starts. He finished fourth in the Grade 2 Tampa Bay Derby in March and, most recently, was second to King Fury in the Grade 3 Lexington Stakes at Keeneland.
The popular 8-year-old gelding Laki, an 11-time winner with earnings of more than $800,000, is preparing to start in the Grade 3 Maryland Sprint on Preakness Saturday. Last month, Laki rebounded from four consecutive losses to grab the $100,000 Frank Y. Whiteley. In his prior start at Pimlico, Laki won the De Francis Dash last October.
“He’s come out of the race pretty well,” trainer Damon Dilodovico said Wednesday morning. “I’m planning on shipping him to Pimlico this weekend. I might give him a light breeze or I might just take him straight into the race.”
Trainer Hugh McMahon is hopeful that Excellorator, disqualified from first and placed second in last month’s Federico Tesio, will compete in the $100,000 Sir Barton for 3-year-olds at 1 1/16 miles on the Preakness undercard May 15.
Excellorator lost a shoe in the paddock prior to his third-place finish in the Private Terms on March 13 at Laurel.
“He ran that race without front shoes and was really foot-sore for a couple of weeks,” McMahon said.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – William “Buff” Bradley, whose exploits with Brass Hat and Groupie Doll warmed the hearts of untold thousands of racing fans, has announced his retirement from training, effective shortly after the Churchill Downs spring meet ends June 26.
Bradley, 57, said early Wednesday at his Churchill barn that “a multitude of factors” entered into his decision to disband a stable that typically housed 30 or more active runners.
