With the Preakness Stakes (G1) just four days away, it was a quiet May 17 morning at Pimlico Race Course with only three of the nine 3-year-olds on the grounds for the 147th running of the middle jewel of the Triple Crown.
Simplification , who arrived May 10, was joined by two Monday shippers—Longines Kentucky Oaks (G1) winner Secret Oath, the 9-2 third choice in the morning line, and longshot Skippylongstocking—in the Preakness stakes barn.
Favored Epicenter and Early Voting arrived early Tuesday afternoon. Armagnac and Creative Minister were scheduled to arrive later Tuesday with Happy Jack and Fenwick due for a May 18 check-in.
#Preakness favorite Epicenter arrives @PimlicoRC @Tapizaring @DJFiske pic.twitter.com/xw4EjnFCBy
— Claire (Novak) Crosby (@ClaireECrosby) May 17, 2022
While Tami Bobo and Tristan de Meric's Simplification (Not This Time ), fourth in the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (G1), continued his light work at the Baltimore racetrack Tuesday, the filly Secret Oath simply walked the shedrow and grazed after arriving at Pimlico May 16 following a 12-hour van ride from Kentucky.
"She's taking it easy today after the ride here," trainer D. Wayne Lukas said about the daughter of the late Arrogate. "She'll head out to the track early tomorrow morning."
Daniel Alonso's Skippylongstocking, priced at 20-1 off a third-place finish in the Wood Memorial Stakes Presented by Resorts World Casino (G2), also arrived Monday and jogged a mile around Pimlico's main track Tuesday.
"He's doing fine," trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. said about the son of 2016 Preakness winner Exaggerator. "He'll gallop Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday."
A winner of two of nine races, Skippylongstocking rallied from fifth to finish 3 1/2 lengths behind second-place finisher Early Voting in the 1 1/8-mile Wood Memorial. The 20 qualifying points Skippylongstocking picked up in the Wood left him one shy of the 21 the victorious Rich Strike needed to secure the final spot in the Kentucky Derby. Skippylongstocking was not entered in the Derby.
Joseph instead ran White Abarrio, the Curlin Florida Derby Presented by Hill 'n' Dale Farms at Xalapa (G1) winner, in the Run for the Roses. That gray son of Race Day finished 16th in the opening leg of the Triple Crown and is now likely to target the June 25 Ohio Derby (G3), leaving Skippylongstocking.as Joseph's hopeful for the $1.5 million Preakness.
"He has good spacing for this," Joseph said about his grade 2-placed runner. "He didn't have enough points to get into the Kentucky Derby, so we were thinking about the Preakness or the (one-turn) Peter Pan Stakes (G3 at Belmont Park). He's done better at two turns so we wanted to stay at two turns and decided to give the Preakness a shot."
Though 80-1 Kentucky Derby winner Rich Strike is skipping the Preakness, he is still very much on the mind of some of the horsemen at Pimlico, particularly if they running longshots.
"After the Derby it makes you believe anything is possible and it gives you hope in the Preakness," Joseph said.
