Blazing Sevens arriving at the Preakness Stakes Barn at Pimlico. (Maryland Jockey Club Photo)
National Treasure Walks on First Morning at Pimlico
Red Route One Breezes; Disarm Gallops at Churchill
Perform Breezes Half Mile at Belmont Park
First Mission Walks Following Saturday’s Breeze
David Joseph/Maryland Jockey Club
BALTIMORE, Md. – Rodeo Creek Stables LLC’s Blazing Sevens was led off a Sallee Horse Van at 9:20 Sunday morning at Pimlico Race Course to prepare for Saturday’s Preakness Stakes (G1). The son of Good Magic left trainer Chad Brown’s Belmont Park base at 5 a.m.
“Good trip, pretty easy ship,” said Jose Hernandez, Brown’s assistant, who met Blazing Sevens at Pimlico. “I flew down and got here almost at the same time as the van. I was parking the car and the van was coming right behind.”
Blazing Sevens last ran in the April 8 Blue Grass (G1) at Keeneland, finishing third. Even though he had enough points to run in the Kentucky Derby (G1), Brown opted to skip that race and point to the Preakness.
Brown used the same tactics to win the Preakness last year with Early Voting and in 2017 with Cloud Computing.
Blazing Sevens has two wins in six career starts. He is one of three offspring of Good Magic being pointed to the Preakness. The other two are Kentucky Derby winner Mage and Perform, who won the Federico Tesio at Laurel on April 15. The Tesio is a win-and-in Preakness prep.
Hernandez said that Blazing Sevens will get his first look at Pimlico on Monday when he heads to the track just after 8:30 a.m. to jog.
Two other Brown horses were on the van with Blazing Sevens. Head of Plains Partners LLC’s Up and Down, who is being pointed to the Hilltop Stakes on Friday and Eminent Victor, owned by Michael Dubb, Elkstone Group LLC and Louis Lazzinnaro LLC and Michael J. Caruso. Eminent Victor is targeting the Gallorette (G3) on Saturday.
Brown is expected to arrive at Pimlico Thursday or Friday.
Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert’s Preakness Stakes (G1) candidate National Treasure arrived at Pimlico Race Course Saturday evening and walked the shedrow in the stakes barn Sunday morning. The son of Quality Road is expected to visit the track Monday morning.
National Treasure and three other Baffert horses headed to stakes on Preakness Weekend were flown from California to Baltimore Saturday. All four worked for Baffert Friday at Santa Anita Park. Accompanying National Treasure were Michael Lund Peterson’s unbeaten filly Faiza, who is the headliner in Friday’s Black-Eyed Susan (G2) on Friday and Havnameltdown for the Chick Lang (G3) and Arabian Lion for the Sir Barton on Saturday’s Preakness program.
Hall of Fame jockey John Velazquez will ride National Treasure in the Preakness. Velazquez, the leading money-earning jockey in North American racing history, has three wins in the Kentucky Derby (G1) and two on the Belmont Stakes (G1) but he is winless in 12 starts in the Middle Jewel of the Triple Crown. He has a record of 0-3-1 in the Preakness. His most recent runner-up finish was on the Baffert-trained Kentucky Derby winner Authentic in 2019.
Baffert is tied with 19th century trainer R. Wyndham Walden with a record seven victories. His most recent victory was in 2018 with Triple Crown winner Justify.
National Treasure is owned by SF Racing LLC, Starlight Racing, Madaket Stables LLC, Robert E. Masterson, Stonestreet Stables LLC, Jay A. Schoenfarber, Waves Edge Capital LLC and Catherine Donovan. He has one win in five career start but has three graded-stakes placings. In his last race, he was fourth in the Santa Anita Derby (G1).
Red Route One had his final major training move for Saturday’s Preakness Stakes (G1) Sunday morning, breezing at Churchill Downs in 49.20 seconds in trainer Steve Asmussen’s well-established pattern of an easy half-mile the week of a race.
Red Route One earned his first stakes victory in his last start, taking Oaklawn Park’s $200,000 Bath House Row to earn a fees-paid berth in the Preakness. Going out when the track opened at 5:30 a.m., Red Route One avoided the rain and thunder that swept through soon afterward.
His stablemate, Kentucky Derby fourth-place finisher Disarm, galloped as rain started to fall. He’ll have his own “easy half” Monday morning. The horses are scheduled to van to Baltimore Tuesday. Both colts are sons of 2017 Horse of the Year Gun Runner and owned by breeder Ron Winchell, the co-owner of Gun Runner with Three Chimneys Farm.
Westford Racing LLC and Lanes End Farm, Phipps Stables, Ken Langone and Edwin Hudson Jr.’s Perform prepared for a planned start in Saturday’s Preakness Stakes (G1) at Pimlico Race Course with a half-mile breeze Sunday morning at Belmont Park.
The Shug McGaughey-trained colt was timed in 48.08 seconds, the second-fastest clocking of 42 workouts at the distance.
The son of Good Magic, who captured the Federico Tesio at Laurel last time out, has been supplemented to the Triple Crown for a $150,000 fee.
Perform is scheduled to ship to Pimlico Tuesday.
First Mission, winner of Keeneland’s Stonestreet Lexington (G3) in his last start, had a walk day Sunday after working a ‘bullet’ five-eighths of a mile in 59.20 seconds Saturday morning in company. Jorje Abrego, trainer Brad Cox’s top assistant at Churchill Downs, reported via text that First Mission came out of the work in good order.
First Mission and Cox’s other horses headed to Preakness Weekend stakes will train Monday morning and then van to Pimlico.
Stallion Good Magic has three progeny in the 148th Preakness: Mage, Blazing Sevens and Perform. They will go up against two Gun Runner sons, Disarm and Red Route One. First Mission is by Street Sense, National Treasure represents Quality Road.
