Sunday was the first day McCarthy saw his Santa Anita Derby (G1) winner train since the Kentucky Derby. (Churchill Downs Photo)
Goal Oriented Works 4F for Stakes Debut in Middle Jewel of Triple Crown
David Joseph/Preakness Update/Edited
BALTIMORE – In a surprise move by part owners Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners, Kentucky Derby (G1) runner-up Journalism was “greenlighted” for the Preakness.
Earlier in the day trainer Michael McCarthy had stated the decision would come on Monday after watching the colt’s morning work Sunday at Churchill Downs.
While he liked what he saw, McCarthy stopped short of committing to Saturday’s 150th Preakness Stakes (G1) at Pimlico Race Course.
“We’ll see what tomorrow (Monday) brings,” McCarthy said after Journalism jogged and galloped. “I’ll speak to everybody, get the partners all together and decide tomorrow.”
Then Eclipse tweeted this at 5:16 PM:
Journalism has been grand since the @KentuckyDerby and @mwmracing has green-lighted him to head to @PimlicoRC for the 150th @PreaknessStakes! We look forward to showcasing Journalism’s talents in Baltimore in such a coveted American Classic w @umbyrispoli set to ride #BelieveBig pic.twitter.com/46glTeh0gF
— Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners (@EclipseTBP) May 11, 2025
Entries are taken Monday for Saturday’s blockbuster Preakness Day card.
Journalism, a son of 2007 Preakness winner and two-time Horse of the Year Curlin, is owned by Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners, Bridlewood Farm, Don Alberto Stable, Robert LaPenta, Elayne Stables 5 LLC and the Coolmore partnership of Mrs. John Magnier, Michael Tabor and Derrick Smith.
Asked if the owners would take a vote, McCarthy said, “I’ll get with all of them, discuss the pros and the cons, see how everybody is feeling. It’s a group of people who are all well-educated and well-versed in these kinds of things. They’ve been great, very supportive of whatever we decide to do. I’ll make a case, yay or no, and we’ll see if they follow suit.
“He ran three times in seven weeks in California, so he’s a horse that has proven he’s all right off of short rest,” he added. “So, I’m not too worried about the two weeks. (But) it’s just a long year.”
Journalism also ran well in the rain-soaked Kentucky mud. Storms are predicted for the end of the week in Baltimore.
Sunday was the first day McCarthy saw his Santa Anita Derby (G1) winner train since the Kentucky Derby, for which he was favored and battled Sovereignty through most of the stretch before giving way late to settle for second by 1 ½ lengths under Umberto Rispoli.
“I thought he looked very good,” McCarthy said. “I didn’t see a whole lot of difference. He’s a horse that carries a lot of substance, a lot of condition. He looked very, very good this morning.”
Journalism is headed to the @PreaknessStakes! Here he is this morning at @ChurchillDowns https://t.co/UvCJEYMdkJ pic.twitter.com/uZGhKSwFHy
— Sean Collins (@BH_SCollins) May 11, 2025
Journalism probably will ship to Pimlico Race Course on Tuesday, McCarthy said.
“Certainly, I’ve taken a peek at the probables,” he said. “It looks like there’s a little bit of pace in there. You’d expect that. Obviously, the other day, when he got pinched back, he found himself quite a bit farther back than we would have liked. Hope for a clean break; see where he places himself.”
Goal Oriented worked a half-mile in 47 3/5 seconds Sunday morning at Churchill Downs in preparation for his stakes debut in the Preakness. Goal Oriented is 2 for 2, including a front-running victory in a 1 1/16-mile allowance race on the Kentucky Derby undercard.
The Churchill Downs clockers caught the $425,000 Keeneland September yearling going the first quarter of a mile in 23 3/5 seconds and galloping out five-eighths of a mile in 1:01 1/5 with exercise rider Eric Garcia in the saddle.
“He went a half really easily,” said trainer Bob Baffert, seeking to break his own record of eight Preakness victories. “He did it on his own, just cruising around there. That’s all he needed. He was nice and relaxed. Looks like the race didn’t take too much out of him. I just wanted a little maintenance work. I just wanted to see how he handled it. He’s only had two outs, and you want to see how it affects them mentally. Some horses get a little bit uptight or tense and nervous. He handled it like a pro. He’s got a great mind.
“It’s asking a lot. But I’ve always been really high on this horse,” he added. “He’s a big strong horse. He’s handled everything thrown at him. He’s shipped, he won. Justify won the Santa Anita Derby third out. I’m not comparing him to Justify, but he’s a big strong horse like Justify. I think he can handle it.”
Justify swept the 2018 Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont Stakes (G1) to give Baffert his second Triple Crown sweep in four runnings, following American Pharoah in 2015.
As far as the 2025 Preakness, “Journalism is the key horse,” Baffert said, adding jokingly, “He should wait for the Belmont. Have a showdown with Sovereignty and get his revenge, right?”
Preakness-bound Heart of Honor, who lost the UAE Derby by a nose, has cleared quarantine at the Kentucky Import Center at Churchill Downs and will leave for Pimlico Monday morning after training, said Jimmy McCarthy, traveling head lad to British-based trainer Jamie Osborne. Heart of Honor flew from the U.K. to Cincinnati on Friday, then vanned to Louisville.
Heart of Honor will be ridden in the Preakness by Saffie Osborne, the trainer’s daughter. McCarthy said he expects the Osbornes to arrive in Baltimore Tuesday or Wednesday.
The British-bred Heart of Honor has two wins and four seconds in six career starts for owner Jim and Claire Limited, all but his racing debut coming in Dubai. He was runner-up in his previous three races, each time getting closer: beaten 1 ½ lengths in the UAE Two Thousand Guineas, by a head in the Al Bastakiya at the Preakness distance of 1 3/16 miles and by a nose in the UAE Derby, also contested at 1 3/16 miles, won by Japan’s Admire Daytona.
“It was just the stride pattern he was on,” McCarthy said. “A stride before, a stride after, he was up. But that’s the luck of the draw. We’ve had him about a year and always quite liked him. The boss bought a few horses with the idea of campaigning them in the UAE, so they were pretty much all American-bred dirt pedigrees. He was the one out of the five or six that he bought that stood out as the best. Now, how good he was, we didn’t know. We still don’t know how good he is, because hopefully he’s still improving. Where that leaves us, we’ll find out. We’ve got to roll the dice and see where we are.”
Heart of Honor could have run in the May 3 Kentucky Derby, but Osborne chose instead to point to the Preakness, McCarthy said. (Admire Daytona did run in the Kentucky Derby, finishing last of 19 in the slop).
Given Heart of Honor’s dirt pedigree (by Honor A.P. out of a Chilean-bred Scat Daddy mare), Heart of Honor is unlikely to run in the United Kingdom with all its grass racing, McCarthy said.
“It was either give him a break when he came back from Dubai or possibly have a goal here,” he said of the U.S. “He did get a slot in the Derby, but we felt it would be too soon. They decided to miss that and, if he was OK, to consider the Preakness and Belmont. And he seems OK, so we’ll have a go.”
With Gosger having made the jump from maiden victory to Grade 3 victory, trainer Brendan Walsh is anxious to see how the colt makes the jump from winning Keeneland’s Lexington (G3) to Saturday’s Preakness.
“I thought he took a big step up in the Lexington off a maiden win, and he looks like he’s come forward again,” Walsh said. “Which he’ll need to. But, yeah, I think we need to take a go. [Journalism and Sandman] are two very nice horses. Both were very prominent in the betting for the Derby. But it’s the Preakness. Every year you’re always going to get three or four or five nice horses in there. But I think he fits and should have a good chance.”
Gosger worked five-eighths of a mile in 1:00 3/5 in company with Black-Eyed Susan (G2)-bound Paris Lily Saturday at Keeneland.
“He’s got a good mind,” Walsh said of Gosger, who will be making his fourth career start. “He’s very laid back about things. Even his work, he’s not the most spectacular work horse in the world, but he works fine. Very nice temperament. He’s done very well physically. He’s grown up and filled out unbelievably the last couple of months. He’s getting there. He’s not there yet. I hope he has a few more steps forward to make through the year. But I think he’s going to be a really nice horse going forward.”
Gosger would be Walsh’s second Preakness starter. His first was Illinois Derby (G3) winner Multiplier, who finished sixth at Pimlico in 2017..
Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas traveled to Baltimore Sunday with two of his horses that are scheduled to run Preakness weekend.
American Promise, the 16th place finisher in the Kentucky Derby, is set to arrive at Pimlico Monday afternoon between 4 and 5 p.m., according to Lukas. The son of Justify, who galloped two miles at Churchill Downs Sunday morning, is being pointed to Saturday’s Preakness.
Lukas has won the Middle Jewel of the Triple Crown seven times, most recently coming with Seize the Grey last year.
The horses who accompanied Lukas on the van from Kentucky Sunday were Princess Aliyah, set to run in the Black-Eyed Susan and Lemon Muffin, who will go in the Allaire du Pont Distaff Stakes. Both of those races are on Friday. Lukas said the two will train Monday morning, around 6:30 a.m. at Pimlico.
Other Preakness candidates training Sunday at Churchill Downs: Oaklawn Park’s Hot Springs Stakes winner Clever Again galloped Sunday in preparation for a half-mile work Monday for two-time Preakness winner Steve Asmussen. Sandman, who only entered the Preakness picture Saturday, jogged two miles for Hall of Fame trainer Mark Casse.
WinStar Farm LLC, CHC Inc., Pantofel Stable LLC and Wachtel Stable’s River Thames can complete a personal Triple Crown for Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher with a victory in the Preakness..
The eight-time Eclipse Award-winning trainer has saddled two Kentucky Derby winners, Super Saver (2010) and Always Dreaming (2017), and four Belmont Stakes winners, Rags to Riches (2007), Palace Malice (2013), Tapwrit (2017) and Mo Donegal (2022).
Pletcher has had 10 Preakness starters with his first, Impeachment, the third-place finisher in 2000, being his highest finisher.
Preakness Field Update
