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Wheelaway looks primed for Preakness
By Mike Welsch
Daily Racing Form
Trainer John Kimmel appears poised and ready to toss Wheelaway's hat into the Preakness ring as he continues to flourish following his fifth-place finish in the Kentucky Derby.
"Right now I'd say it's about 75-25 that we're going to run in the Preakness," Kimmel said from New York shortly after Wheelaway galloped 1½ miles on Friday morning. "He's doing and acting very well since coming out of the Derby and if he continues in the same frame over the next several days I think we're going to go."
|  | | Wheelaway appears ready to take another run at Fusaichi Pegasus in the Preakness Stakes after finishing fifth in the Derby. |
Making just the sixth start of his career in the Kentucky Derby, Wheelaway rallied five-wide to take a brief lead in early stretch, only to lug in suddenly to impede Captain Steve, before weakening through the final furlong. He finished just over six lengths behind Fusaichi Pegasus.
Jockey Richard Migliore was subsequently handed a five-day suspension by the Churchill Downs stewards for the ride. Migliore is expected to appeal his suspension.
"I always said this horse was probably one race away from where he needed to be going into the Derby," said Kimmel. "And he certainly proved he belongs in these kind of races with his performance. Obviously, Fusaichi Pegasus is extremely talented, but you never cannot go to a race like this because of just one horse. If they stub their toe or don't run their race for whatever reason, you've got to be there to have any chance of taking advantage should that situation arise."
Kimmel said if all goes according to plan, Wheelaway will breeze an easy half-mile "in about 49" at Belmont Park on Monday and then ship to Pimlico on Wednesday.
Also in New York, trainer Todd Pletcher remained a lot less committal about whether his two possible Preakness starters, More Than Ready and Impeachment, would compete in the middle leg of the Triple Crown.
"I probably won't make a decision on either horse until Monday," said Pletcher. "Both seemed to have come out of the Derby in good shape, but I still want to monitor how they're doing over the next few days.
"One thing we do know for certain is that Impeachment will run in the Belmont. It's just a question of whether we want to run him in between as well. We also have a lot of options with More Than Ready that includes running him now (in the Preakness), waiting for the Met Mile, or freshen him a bit for later in the season."
Meanwhile, back in Kentucky it was business as usual for Fusaichi Pegasus on Friday. He went through his now familiar routine of trotting one mile before galloping "about nine furlongs," according to trainer Neil Drysdale -- throwing in a buck or two along the way just for good measure.
"He got to bucking and playing a little bit when another horse came close to him as he passed by the clockers stand," Drysdale explained. "But nothing out of the ordinary. Everything is status quo at the moment."
Drysdale said he would not commit Fusaichi Pegasus 100 percent as a Preakness starter until after his horse works again, but has yet to set a definite day for that key trial. He will make a one-day "reconnaissance trip" to Pimlico on Sunday, but did not rule out the possibility that work could still come early Sunday morning.
"I could work him Sunday and catch a 10 a.m. flight to Baltimore," said Drysdale. "It's been so many years since I've been to Pimlico I don't remember what the place looks like. I just want to familiarize myself with the surroundings so I'm not stumbling around in the dark when we get there."
Hal's Hope, who set a torrid pace in the Derby, had an easy morning at Pimlico where he jogged an easy mile Friday under jockey Roger Velez.
"I think coming off a 1¼-mile race and running over this track, with its tighter turns, you'll see the real Hal in the Preakness," said Velez. "As long as I can help it, he won't be setting those kind of fractions this time. Once he came out of there running, with Trippi on us from the start and a couple of others bunched up right on our back, we were pretty much committed to the lead and it's a little late to start trying to change a horse's tactics on the first turn of the Kentucky Derby."
Velez, who finished seventh aboard Bet Big for trainer Sonny Hine in the 1983 Preakness, said his first Derby will have him better prepared psychologically for Saturday.
"The whole thing was a learning experience on my part," said Velez. "What a rush. I just wish every jockey could have the chance to experience the emotion of riding in a Kentucky Derby."
- additional reporting by Byron King
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