ROAD TO THE TRIPLE CROWN
MAY 24, 2006
by James Scully
Like a punch to the gut, Saturday’s Preakness S. (G1) delivered a cruel blow
when BARBARO (Dynaformer) broke down. Thoroughbred racing lost its budding
superstar, and the gallant colt now faces a difficult recovery. Barbaro embodies
the spirit of a fighter and if any racehorse can recover from three fractures
and a dislocated ankle in a hind leg, he’s the perfect candidate. We’re all
rooting for Barbaro now.
His Kentucky Derby (G1) victory is one for the ages. The imposing dark bay
cruised through the stretch to an effortless 6 1/2-length decision, impressively
eating up ground with massive strides to remain unbeaten in his sixth career
start, and Barbaro had so much more to offer in the future. He excelled on turf,
slop and fast tracks, proving to be a special racehorse that doesn’t come around
often. It hurts so bad to see it end so soon.
There are no answers for what happened. Sire Dynaformer throws hard-knocking
horses, and Barbaro was perfectly suited to handle a two-week layoff. He created
plenty of anxiety when breaking through the gate before the start of the race,
but Edgar Prado quickly pulled him up and Barbaro went back to the starting gate
in good order. I don’t buy any rumors trying to make sense out of the
unexplainable. Barbaro was poised to thrash his rivals again in the middle leg of the
Triple Crown, but it wasn’t meant to be.
BERNARDINI (A.P. Indy) stepped up to capture the Preakness in only his fourth
career start and two-turn debut, drawing off to 5 1/4-length score in front of
the grieving crowd at Pimlico. Trained by Tom Albertrani, the Darley Stables’
homebred finished fourth when making his career bow at Gulfstream Park in early
January and didn’t run again for nearly two months, reappearing with a 7
3/4-length triumph in a one-mile maiden special weight event. Off another 56
days, Bernardini returned to take the one-mile Withers S. (G3) by 3 3/4 lengths
on April 29, defeating a couple of nice foes with more seasoning at Aqueduct
while earning a 110 BRIS Speed rating. Bernardini looked very promising, but his
inexperience made him a much more attractive prospect for the Travers S. (G1) in
late summer, not the Preakness.
Sent off the near 13-1 fourth choice in Saturday’s nine-horse field,
Bernardini broke sharply from post 8 and raced close to the pace as LIKE NOW
(Jules) led into the clubhouse turn. Jockey Javier Castellano wound up in tight
quarters between SWEETNORTHERNSAINT (Sweetsouthernsaint) and BROTHER DEREK
(Benchmark) early on the backstretch and wound up easing the bay colt back out
of the congestion. Bernardini came with a furious rally up the rail midway on
the far turn, blowing past a retreating Brother Derek before swinging out wide
to confront Sweetnorthernsaint, who didn’t offer much of a fight to his oncoming
challenger as Bernadini charged down the stretch with a widening advantage. The
winner sailed unopposed to the wire under a vigorous hand ride, stopping the
clock for 1 3/16 miles in a very respectable 1:54.65, the fastest Preakness
since Louis Quatorze in 1996. He registered a whopping 114 BRIS Speed rating.
Sweetnorthernsaint reportedly grabbed a quarter early in the race and
finished a clear second, six lengths better than third placer HEMINGWAY’S KEY
(Notebook), but he did not go on upon reaching the top of the stretch. After
disposing of Like Now and taking the lead between calls, he essentially folded
his tent and held second because no other horse had a rally. Brother Derek was
very flat, missing the break under Alex Solis and never threatening.
Out of the Grade 1-winning Cara Rafaela (Quiet American), Bernardini appears
well-suited for the 1 1/2-mile distance in the Belmont S. (G1). The Preakness
certainly stamps him as a top-class performer, but the race basically fell into
the lap of the lightly raced colt and Bernardini will be a bounce candidate if
he runs back in three weeks. He’ll be a better horse later this
year. Bernardini provided Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum with his first
American classic winner, and we can expect to see him racing under Godolphin’s
blue silks in the future.
Saturday’s Peter Pan S. (G2) featured a top Belmont contender in SUNRIVER
(Saint Ballado), who gamely wore down LEWIS MICHAEL (Rahy) in deep stretch to
win the 1 1/8-mile contest by a neck. Favored at 6-5, the Todd Pletcher pupil
rated off a slow pace (:24 2/5, :48 and 1:12 3/5) over a Belmont Park
track playing favorably to speed in the Peter Pan. Lewis Michael opened a clear
lead in upper stretch and finished strongly, but Sunriver kicked it in
impressively in midstretch and mowed down his rival late, earning a career-best
103 Speed and a 118 Late Pace rating. A full brother to multiple champion Ashado,
the rapidly improving dark bay should relish the 12-furlong trip on June 10.
The Belmont shapes up to be a competitive event, with Bernardini and Sunriver
possibly headlining a large field. Kentucky Derby runner-up BLUEGRASS CAT (Storm
Cat), third placer STEPPENWOLFER (Aptitude) and fourth placer (via dead-heat)
JAZIL (Seeking the Gold) will all merit serious consideration returning to the
Triple Crown series off a five-week freshening, and Wood Memorial (G1) hero BOB
AND JOHN (Seeking the Gold) is a threat to rebound off his 17th-place effort at
Churchill Downs with a much improved showing for Bob Baffert. It might turn out
to be an exciting race, but the “Test of Champions” will be missing one of the
biggest and brightest three-year-olds to have graced the Triple Crown scene in
the modern era.
The atmosphere surrounding the Belmont will be somber without Barbaro.