Courtlandt Farm’s Son of Hall of Famer Curlin Heads Field of 10
LAUREL, MD – Wearing blinkers for the first time, Courtlandt Farm’s Corporate Power will make his stakes debut Saturday as the morning-line favorite in the $100,000 Sir Barton sponsored by Brandon and Diannah Perry to benefit the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance at historic Pimlico Race Course.
The Sir Barton is among nine stakes, five graded, worth $3.3 million in purses on a blockbuster 14-race program anchored by the 149th Preakness Stakes (G1), Middle Jewel of the Triple Crown. First race post time is 10:30 a.m. EST.
Corporate Power, a son of top sire and 2014 Hall of Famer Curlin, has one win in three career starts and Hall of Fame trainer Shug McGaughey expects the blinkers will help him handle the nine others in the 26th running of the Sir Barton for 3-year-old non-winners of an open sweepstakes going 1 1/16 miles.
“I thought maybe he needed to focus a little bit in his last race,” McGaughey said. “His last two races he kind of got lost a little bit, sort of letting the horses back into the race. So, we put some blinkers on him and he seemed to be working good. It’s a good spot for him. I like the two turns. There was a mile-and-an-eighth allowance race here [in New York] for him, but I was kind of worried whether it would go or not, so I elected to go here. I see he’s 9-5 on the morning line, so I didn’t make too big a mistake.”
Corporate Power and Hall of Fame jockey Javier Castellano will leave from Post 5.
Don Adam’s Courtlandt Farm purchased Corporate Power for $925,000 as a yearling and put him in McGaughey’s barn last year. He did not make his debut until Jan. 27 at Gulfstream Park.
“I had Corporate Power in before we left for Florida [for the winter]. I really liked him,” McGaughey said. “He had a foot that was bothering him, and we didn’t run him. I always liked him. He’s a true two-turn distance horse, a big good-looking horse, so, yeah, he’s always been one we had our fingers crossed and hoped for.”
Spendthrift Farm’s Tuscan Sky, a son of Vino Rosso, is the 5-2 second choice on the morning line. He won his first two starts for Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher, but ended up seventh in the Wood Memorial (G2) after a troubled trip. Jockey Luis Saez will ride from Post 8.
Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas will saddle BC Stable’s Daily Grind, a Medaglia d’Oro colt who has started to show signs that he is figuring things out on the track.
“He’s still a maiden,” Lukas said, “but he ran a very strong number and a good race the other day and I’m just going to throw him in there and see what happens.”
Daily Grind has made nine starts since last July. Jaime Torres will ride the colt from Post 9.
Trainer Kenny McPeek, jockey Brian Hernandez Jr. and most of the same owners of Kentucky Derby (G1) winner and likely Preakness favorite Mystik Dan have Gould’s Gold in the Sir Barton. He was sired by the same stallion, Goldencents, as Mystik Dan. In his most recent start Gould’s Gold was third in the listed Bathhouse Row Stakes on April 20 at Oaklawn Park. Gould’s Gold, 8-1 on the morning line will start from Post 6. McPeek won the Sir Barton in 2002 with Sarava, who upset the Belmont Stakes (G1) in his next start, and in 2003 with Best Minister.
Prince Sultan Bin Mishal Al Saud’s Imperial Gu, finished second by a head in the Bathhouse Row following a 12th in the Arkansas Derby (G1). Newly elected Hall of Fame jockey Joel Rosario will ride Imperial Gun, 7-2 on the morning line, from the outside post for Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen. Always a presence in the Preakness weekend stakes, Asmussen has three seconds and a third in six starts in the Sir Barton.
DeSales 85 LLC’s Circle P turned in the worst performance of his career in his last outing, the Federico Tesio on April 20 at Laurel Park. The Maryland-bred Speightster gelding was bumped at the break and spent the first part of the race fighting his rider. He ended up eighth of 10, beaten 28 ¾ lengths.
“We’re going to try to throw that one out,” trainer Flint Stites said. “He just didn’t act himself. We had different rider, who had never been on him before, and I don’t think they got along very well. He just got himself into a lot of trouble.”
Circle P made a solid start to his career last year with two wins, a second and third in four starts. He finished 2023 with a victory in the Maryland Juvenile. Circle P was stepped on in the Maryland Juvenile, Stites said, and did not begin his 2024 schedule until late February.
Stites put on cheater blinkers on Circle P for the Tesio and will leave that equipment on in the Sir Barton. He hopes that might keep Circle P a bit more focused and lessen his bad habit of leaning on other horses.
“He’s trained really well up to the race,” Stites said. “He worked easy the other day and galloped out really strong. I expect him be right back there. Also, he’s got his old rider back, Ricardo Chiappe. He was injured. That’s why he wasn’t on him for the last couple of races. He’s back and riding as well now, so we’re going to give it another shot.”
Circle P and Chiappe, 20-1 on the morning line, will leave from post 3.
Also competing in the Sir Barton are trainer Uriah St. Lewis’ Deposition, who fell, unseating his jockey, in the Wood Memorial; Real Macho, trained by Rohan Crichton, making his first start since finishing eighth in the Florida Derby (G1) on March 30; D Day Sky, owned by Ten Strike Racing and partners, who broke his maiden on April 5 at Aqueduct; Highlander Training Center’s Mighty Message who has two wins and a second in three starts this year.