Espinoza to Ride A P Valentine in Preakness
Trainer Nick Zito announced Tuesday afternoon that jockey Victor
Espinoza will ride Ol Memorial Stable and Michael Tabor's A P
Valentine in Saturday's Preakness Stakes. "We discussed a number
of riders," said Zito. "There are several reasons we chose
Victor. I want to hitch up to his wagon. He's won the last three
riding titles (meets) in California. He's hungry. He rode
Congaree perfectly in the Derby. If you want to get an idea of
how good he is, just watch his ride on Spain in the Breeders'
Cup. "He wants to ride this horse. I think he (A P Valentine)
still has a future even if a few jockey agents don't think so.
I've talked to Coolmore and they are fine with it.
Unfortunately, I haven't been able to get in touch with Coach
(Rick Pitino). He must be busy recruiting or something. "I'm the
assistant coach. He's always backed me up in situations like
this, but he will have the final word. Victor has the
credentials. The horse is doing great. I wanted a jockey who
wants me. He cancelled nine mounts at Hollywood Park Saturday to
ride my horse."
Zito continues to keep faith in the potential of A P Valentine and the colt's
five-furlong (1:00 3/5) workout Monday simply reinforced his
confidence. "All you have to do is look at the Pimlico news feed
tape of the work and you'll see what I mean," said Zito Tuesday
morning after A P Valentine walked on the shedrow. "He was just
galloping. Jamie (Sanders) never moved a hand on him."
Marciano's Serious Training Over: Will Gallop up to Preakness
Trainer Tim Ritchey said that Federico Tesio Stakes winner
Marciano will gallop up to the Preakness at Delaware Park.
Reached there Tuesday afternoon where he was saddling several
horses for races, Ritchey said that since the distance between
Delaware Park and Pimlico is only 40 miles, he will ship the
colt in on race day.
Monarchos Walks; Schools in Preakness Saddling Area
John Oxley's Kentucky Derby winner Monarchos walked the shedrow
with Terri Upton on the shank Tuesday morning after a
particularly impressive gallop on Monday morning. At about
10:30, Upton and assistant trainer Yvonne Azeff led the son of
Maria's Mon out to the turf course to school and took a few
turns in the area near the wire where the horses will be
saddled. Monarchos appeared calm throughout and got a bath from
groom Tammy Holz before returning to his stall. He is expected
to have a light gallop Wednesday morning. Trainer John Ward had
returned to Kentucky for a day and was expected back Wednesday,
but he has said that "the three girls take very good care of
him" when he is away from the colt. Azeff rode races for four or
five years and campaigned at Monmouth as an apprentice when she
shared the women's jockey room with Rosemary Homeister, Jr.,
when she was an apprentice, and Julie Krone and Brenda Zoppo.
Mr. John Breezes Half-Mile in 48 2/5 at Churchill
Thomas Van Meter II's Mr. John breezed a half-mile in 48 2/5
Tuesday morning at Churchill Downs and will be flown to
Baltimore early Wednesday morning on the same Tex Sutton charter
with Preakness contenders Point Given, Congaree and Dollar Bill.
"He worked great," said trainer Elliott Walden from Churchill.
"He went the last eighth in 11 and change. He's a fresh horse
and has the tactical speed to place himself anywhere in a race.
He's a real fast breaker, but will settle and rate. "I might
have been tempted to run him in the Derby if he had won the
Lexington but now I should have a nice horse for the rest of the
year. I know from experience what the Derby can take out of a
horse from Victory Gallop and Menifee. It's so tough to bring
them back in the Preakness just two weeks after the Derby. "Both
Victory Gallop and Menifee ran well in the Preakness but I don't
think either of them ran as well as they did in the Derby.
Victory Gallop was just drained after the Preakness. Good horses
will come back to themselves but it takes a while." "This horse
has gotten better with each start. The next question will be the
distance. He's going a furlong farther than he's ever been, but
he's earned the chance to find out."
Shaun Bridgmohan to Ride Griffinite
Trainer Jennifer Leigh-Pedersen said Tuesday that Griffinite
will be ridden by Shaun Bridgmohan in the Preakness. It will be
the first Triple Crown mount for Bridgmohan, who won an Eclipse
Award in 1998 as the nation's outstanding apprentice jockey. The
trainer said she had conferred with Paraneck Stable owner Ernie
Paragallo in picking Bridgmohan. "Ernie gave me a couple of
names and I went from there," Leigh-Pedersen said. "Ernie's very
happy with Shaun. He's liked him for quite a while. I'm pleased
we got Shaun. He's very able and he's willing to be patient with
a horse. That's what we need." Griffinite, who rallied from
fifth to win the seven-furlong Lafayette Stakes at Keeneland,
galloped Tuesday under exercise rider Debby Landry. With only
five of the Preakness starters on the grounds at Pimlico,
Leigh-Pedersen was the subject of several interviews. She said
she is getting into the excitement of her first Preakness and is
pleased with the prospect of being just the ninth woman to train
a starter in the race.
Percy Hope Walks and Schools on Turf Saddling Area
Waterfall Stable's Lone Star Derby winner Percy Hope walked the
shedrow for the second day in a row as planned by trainer Tony
Reinstedler after the homebred son of Ide worked a sharp
half-mile in 47 flat here on Sunday morning. Assistant trainer
Leslie Davis said, "He's a happy horseust fine. I'm going to
take him out to school on the turf where he'll be saddled
Saturday. We've never needed to school him. He's pretty cool,
but he's never been saddled out in the open like he will be
Saturday. "I'm going to follow Monarchos over, which is a good
thing because I haven't even been up to the track since I got
here and would need directions to get there. Now I can just
follow Monarchos." Reinstedler returns from Kentucky later
today.
Richly Blended Gallops; Works Wednesday for Preakness
Raymond Dweck's Richly Blended galloped a mile and a half over
the Pimlico strip Tuesday morning, and is scheduled to breeze
Wednesday morning in his final preparation for the Preakness.
"He'll go out around 8:30 a.m.," said Baden "Buzz" Chace, the
bloodstock agent who bought the Rizzi colt out of a Florida sale
last year. Chace has been serving as an assistant for trainer
Ben Perkins Jr., who remains at his Monmouth Park base in New
Jersey. "Ben will be here for the work," Chace said. "We'll try
to get Rick Wilson (Richly Blended's Preakness jockey) for the
breeze, if he's available. If not, the regular exercise rider,
Tony Gargan, will be up." Trainer Perkins said Richly Blended,
who has won four of five career starts, including the Withers
Stakes in his last start, would probably breeze a half-mile. The
colt has had only one race around two turns (when he was third
behind Congaree and Monarchos in the Wood Memorial) and is
expected to be the main speed in Saturday's race.
Point Given, Congaree Ready to Ship to Pimlico
The Thoroughbred Corporation's Point Given and Stonerside
Stable's Congaree, who had their final Preakness drills Monday
at Churchill Downs, are ready for their trip to Pimlico, trainer
Bob Baffert reported Tuesday morning. "They're doing great,"
Baffert said. "If they're on that plane to Baltimore, you know
they're feeling good." Point Given worked five furlongs in 59
4/5 and Congaree was clocked the same distance in 1:00 2/5 over
the Churchill Downs course Monday. It was their first serious
exercise since the Kentucky Derby, where Point Given finished
fifth as the favorite and Congaree was beaten a nose for second.
The horses are leaving Kentucky on a chartered flight Wednesday
morning that will also carry Preakness starters Dollar Bill and
Mr. John. The plane is slated to leave Louisville at 7 a.m., and
the horses are scheduled to arrive at Pimlico by van between 10
and 11 a.m. Baffert also arrives Wednesday, in time for the
Preakness Draw, that will be held at the ESPN Zone in downtown
Baltimore at 5 p.m.
Dollar Bill Due in Wednesday for Preakness
Gary and Mary West's Dollar Bill, who put in a sharp work at
Churchill Downs Monday morning, will be shipped to Pimlico
Wednesday, trainer Dallas Stewart said Tuesday morning. "He came
out of the work in excellent shape," Stewart said. "I was happy
with the work and happy with the way he acted today." Dollar
Bill is scheduled to ship from Louisville on a Tex Sutton
charter flight that will also carry Preakness starters Point
Given, Congaree and Mr. John. The plane leaves Kentucky at 7
a.m. and the van carrying the horses will arrive at Pimlico in
late morning. Stewart is traveling Tuesday and will be at
Pimlico this evening. A son of Peaks and Valleys, Dollar Bill
has had more lows than highs in big races this year. He has
encountered serious traffic problems in the Louisiana Derby,
where he finished fourth; the Blue Grass Stakes, where he was
third, and the Kentucky Derby, where he finished 15th.
Bay Eagle Walks and Grazes at Delaware Park
Lazy Lane Farms' Bay Eagle walked and grazed for the second
successive day at Delaware Park where the colt is stabled with a
division of trainer Graham Motion's stable. "It's something I
had planned all along with him," Motion said. "He's not a big,
strong horse so I wanted to walk him two straight days after he
worked. I'm very pleased with the way he's doing." Bay Eagle
will ship into Pimlico from Delaware Park on Preakness morning.
Post Position Draw to Be Held Wednesday at ESPN Zone
The Maryland Jockey Club is hosting the 2001 Preakness Post
Position Draw for the third straight year Wednesday at
Baltimore's ESPN Zone in the Inner Harbor. This will be the
fourth year of the "draft" style format where the entrants are
allowed to choose their positions, rather than be automatically
slotted with the position number they draw. It is also the
fourth year that the draw will be broadcast nationally live on
ESPN.
The show is hosted by Chris Fowler and Randy Moss and
features Triple Crown race caller Dave Johnson with Jeannine
Edwards handling interviews of trainers and owners as they make
their choices during the progress of the draw.
The 2001 Preakness Post Position Draw Show will begin at 5 p.m. and run
through 6 p.m. followed by horsemen's interviews.
The country's first ESPN Zone is a 35,000 square foot sports-themed dining and
entertainment complex. Since its opening in 1998, the Zone has
been the venue for a variety of national broadcast events,
including the ESPY Awards Nomination Show, and national ABC
Monday Night Football pre-game and halftime shows. The giant
screen TV and bank of televisions behind the set will feature
racing video clips mixed with live shots of the actual draw and
its participants as the show progresses.
Maryland Jockey Club President and CEO Joseph De Francis will lead off the program
with a welcome to this event. Baltimore Ravens return specialist
Jermaine Lewis will be the celebrity on hand to participate in
the order of selection phase. The Ravens have granted permission
for the Vince Lombardi Trophy to be on site for the event. It
will be on stage with the Woodlawn Vase, the $1 million trophy
presented to the winner of the Preakness.