Preakness 150: Juarez Looking Forward to Happy Homecoming in Preakness 150

By David Joseph —-

Pimlico Photo
Juarez Looking Forward to Happy Homecoming in Preakness 150

BALTIMORE – When Nik Juarez rides American Promise in the 150th Preakness Stakes (G1) at Pimlico Race Course May 17, it will be the 31-year-old Marylander’s first mount in his home state’s biggest race.

“It’s a dream come true for every rider to ride the Derby,” said Juarez, who comes from a longtime Maryland racing family. “For me, I’m super-excited to ride the Preakness, to be home at Old Hilltop, Pimlico, lots of good memories there. It’s another dream come true.”

Juarez, who grew up in Westminster, north of Baltimore, shifted circuits over the years from Maryland to New Jersey-Florida and then to Arkansas for the past few winters. He began riding for seven-time Preakness winner D. Wayne Lukas at Oaklawn Park, which led to Juarez traveling to Colonial Downs to ride American Promise for the first time in the Virginia Derby. After a 7 ¾-length victory, Juarez was rewarded with his first Kentucky Derby (G1) mount. If that 16th-place outcome was disappointing, Juarez is undaunted going into the 1 3/16-mile Middle Jewel of the Triple Crown.

“American Promise was able to show us he has the speed, that size, and he really won going away at Colonial Downs,” Juarez said Wednesday morning at Churchill Downs, where he is riding this spring at the suggestion of his agent, Hall of Fame jockey Gary Stevens. “The Kentucky Derby was awesome. Just being here in Louisville, being around ‘The Coach,’ seeing him in his element, to be a part of his team was really amazing. And being represented by Gary Stevens, it was a dream come true.”

Of course, the actual running of the Derby can at times be more akin to a nightmare.

“It was a bit of a dogfight,” Juarez acknowledged. “We had Citizen Bull, who broke outward. Two horses to my inside were impeded. I had to make a trip for American Promise the best way I could. Luckily, getting into that first turn, it was where we wanted to be, and he was able to avoid most of that trouble. There were many variables. It’s the Kentucky Derby, you’re dealing with that many horses. I just think he got a lot out of the race, and he’s still American Promise.”

American Promise had another scheduled walk day before he resumes training Thursday.

Journalism, the Kentucky Derby runner-up and beaten favorite, returned to the track Wednesday, jogging once around Churchill Downs’ mile oval under exercise rider Marc Witkowski. Justin Curran, who heads trainer Michael McCarthy’s Louisville operation, said the Santa Anita Derby (G1) winner will gallop Thursday.

“He seemed happy. He came out of his race well,” Curran said. “Just like he’s bounced out of every race. The rider is happy. And if the rider is happy, everybody else is happy.”

Journalism’s Preakness status is still pending.

WinStar Farm LLC, CHC Inc., Pantofel Stable LLC and Wachtel Stable’s River Thames, who was withheld from the Kentucky Derby while his connections zeroed in on the Preakness, has pleased his Hall of Fame trainer, Todd Pletcher, with his preparation for the Middle Jewel of the Triple Crown at Pimlico Race Course.

“He’s doing well. He galloped well this morning and is scheduled to breeze on Saturday at Belmont,” Pletcher said. “I’m happy with his progress.”

River Thames kicked off his career by winning his first two starts by a combined 11 ¼ lengths before the son of Maclean’s Music came up a neck short of holding off Sovereignty while finishing second in the March 1 Fountain of Youth (G2) at Gulfstream following a wide trip. River Thames again lost valuable ground in the Blue Grass (G1), in which he finished third, beaten by less than a length by winner Burnham Square.

“He’s run well in every start. The tough beat in the Fountain of Youth looks even stronger after Sovereignty’s performance in the Derby,” Pletcher said. “He’s held his best form. He’s run well every time. We’re hoping maybe by bringing in a fresh horse, it will give us a little bit of an advantage.”

Irad Ortiz Jr., who was aboard for the Blue Grass, has the return call on River Thames

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Jim and Claire Limited’s Heart of Honor, who finished second in the April 5 Lexington (G3) at Keeneland before shipping back to trainer Jamie Osborne’s Lambourn, England stable, is scheduled to ship back to the U.S., where he will quarantine at Churchill Downs before vanning to Pimlico Race Course Monday. The 3-year-old son of Honor A.P. is scheduled to run in the 150th Preakness Stakes..

Osborne is no stranger to competing in major U.S. stakes, having campaigned Toast of New York stateside in 2014. The Thewayyouare gelding, who captured the UAE Derby (G2) at Meydan Race Course that year, finished second in both the Del Mar Classic (G1) and the Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1) at Santa Anita. Toast of New York returned four years later to finish second in the 2018 Lukas Classic (G2) at Churchill.

Do Heart of Honor and Toast of New York share any similarities?

“If you asked me that three or four months ago, I’d say, ‘No.’ Other than they are both big, scopey, good-looking, good-actioned horses, Heart of Honor didn’t have Toast’s strength,” Osborne said. “But I say he has now. He’s just thriving at the right time. I suppose when Toast won the UAE Derby, he was a little bit of a shell and by the time we got to the Breeders’ Cup Classic, he had changed and just looked like a monster. This horse now has probably done that change a little bit earlier than Toast. The similarities are: they have great frames and they’re strong powerful horses.”

Osborne’s daughter Saffie, who was aboard Heart of Honor for the UAE Derby, has the return call for the Preakness.

RKTN Racing’s Pay Billy, who earned an automatic berth with his victory in the April 19 Federico Tesio at Laurel Park, is scheduled to put in his final work for the Preakness Thursday morning at Delaware Park.

Trainer Mike Gorham indicated Pay Billy’s regular rider, jockey Raul Mena, will be up for the work and will also have the mount in the Preakness.

“I breezed him last Saturday just real easy, but tomorrow is going to be his real final serious work,” Gorham said. “Probably a good half and gallop out strong. He’s been training good, galloping good all week long and acting good. Everything’s going forward.”

The Preakness will be the first Triple Crown race for Gorham, a multiple graded-stakes winning trainer who has won 1,443 races since 1985. A former assistant to leading New England conditioner Bruce Smith, he has been a fixture in the Mid-Atlantic region for decades.

A native of Canton, Mass., the 61-year-old Gorham’s best horse was Grade 1-winning millionaire mare Mandy’s Gold, who won or placed in 21 of 24 career starts and whose four graded triumphs included the 2003 Pimlico Breeders’ Cup Distaff Handicap (G3). Gorham’s last graded win was the 2007 Swale (G2) at Gulfstream Park with Adore the Gold.

“I’ve run in Maryland for a lot of years and the Mid-Atlantic for a long time. To me, going to Pimlico is like a home game for us. We’re there all the time and a few different times I’ve even been stabled there with horses. We know the area,” he said. “It’s great. We all try to get good horses and get into these big races. Now we’re in one, so we’ll try to make the best of it.”

Wood Memorial (G2) winner Rodriguez had a routine gallop at Churchill Downs Wednesday morning. Trainer Bob Baffert plans to work the Authentic colt this weekend. The record eight-time Preakness winner notified the Pimlico racing office that Rodriguez and possibly as-yet-to-be determined horses for other stakes would arrive in Baltimore on Monday.

Clever Again, winner of Oaklawn Park’s Hot Springs Stakes at a two-turn mile in his last start, had a walk day Wednesday at Churchill after working five-eighths of a mile in 1:01.60 Tuesday. Clever Again is trained by two-time Preakness winner Steve Asmussen.

Lexington winner Gosger galloped Wednesday morning at Keeneland and remains on schedule to work Friday or Saturday, after which a Preakness decision will be made, trainer Brendan Walsh said.

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