Uncle Heavy Tunes Up for Preakness with Sharp 4F Breeze
Mugatu Breezes 5F in Preparation for a Run in Middle Jewel
Cox Calls Catching Freedom “50-50” for Preakness
Fresh Off 1st Graded Win, Torres to Ride Seize the Grey in Preakness Debut
LAUREL, MD – Kentucky Derby (G1) winner Mystik Dan will run in the 149th Preakness Stakes (G1) May 18 at Pimlico Race Course, trainer Kenny McPeek announced Saturday morning.
Mystik Dan had a routine 1 ½-mile gallop at Churchill Downs Saturday morning under retired jockey Robby Albarado, who will be part of the Derby winner’s travel team to Baltimore, much as he was in 2020 when he rode the filly Swiss Skydiver to a Preakness victory for McPeek. The difference this time is that Brian Hernandez Jr. rides Mystik Dan in his races.
McPeek told the media afterward that he would have Mystik Dan undergo an endoscopic exam just to ensure everything was normal, after which he planned to call owners Lance Gasaway and Sharilyn Gasaway for the final discussion. McPeek texted the Preakness media team afterward to confirm everything was a go for the Middle Jewel of the Triple Crown.
“The horse is doing fantastic,” he said after Mystik Dan trained. “I’ve already kind of arranged the logistics of it all. We just need to hammer out a couple of small details.”
The Derby winner is expected to arrive at Pimlico mid-afternoon Sunday.
Mystik Dan will get a rematch in the 1 3/16-mile Preakness with Arkansas Derby (G1) winner Muth. Mystik Dan finished third that day, his first race in seven weeks after he was a romping winner of Oaklawn Park’s Southwest Stakes (G3) in the slop.
“He was ready for the Arkansas Derby,” McPeek said. “I’m not going to use that as an excuse. But he did get turned sideways in that turn, and Brian felt that cost him three or four lengths. But the horse fought back, fortunately…. I’m optimistic we can give (Muth) another run.”
Albarado said Mystik Dan “felt great” during Saturday morning’s training session, his fourth day back at the track after the Derby and the third day with the two-time Preakness-winning jockey up.
“I thought every day would be a progression for him, and it is,” Albarado said. “He’s starting to get back in that race mode now. Today, I let him stretch his legs a little bit down the lane. He was comfortable doing it, wanted to do it.
“He’s so aware of where the stretch is. You don’t have to move on him. He does it on his own. That’s the sign of good horses,” he added. “They know their surroundings, where they’re at. That’s the advantage of going to Pimlico early. Like with Swiss Skydiver. All week she got better and better. By the time Saturday came around, she was comfortable. She knew right where she was.”
Hernandez was working another horse for McPeek when the Derby winner was on the track but saw the tail end of the gallop.
“He looked good coming down the backside there, pretty strong and looked happy with himself,” Hernandez said, adding that Albarado and he talk “10-15 minutes” every morning after Mystik Dan trains. “Robby knows what he’s doing out there. He knows what a good horse feels like, how to get a good one around there. So, it’s a lot of insights…. He’s been a huge asset.”
Uncle Heavy Tunes Up for Preakness with Sharp 4F Breeze
Michael Milam and LC Racing LLC’s Uncle Heavy received a very positive review from trainer Butch Reid Jr. Saturday morning after turning in his final breeze for the 149th Preakness Stakes (G1) at Pimlico May 18. Under his regular exercise rider Jose Castro, Uncle Heavy covered four furlongs in 47.34 seconds at Parx in suburban Philadelphia. It was the third-fastest time of 34 breezes at the distance at the track.
“He just worked great,” Reid said. “The track was a little bit faster up here today than it’s been because of all the moisture that we had all week. With that said, he did it very well under control. We just let him run a little bit the last eighth of a mile. He finished up there in 47 and change and came back and couldn’t blow out of match and barely took a couple of sips of water. It was just what we were looking for and he galloped out good and strong.”
Pennsylvania-bred Uncle Heavy, making his first start since finishing fifth after a troubled trip in the Wood Memorial (G2) on April 6 at Aqueduct Racetrack, has worked three times since the Wood.
Five-time Eclipse Award-winning jockey Irad Ortiz, Jr. will ride Uncle Heavy in the Preakness, replacing Mychel J. Sanchez. He will be Ortiz’ sixth Preakness mount. Ortiz has a pair of second-place finishes in the Middle Jewel of the Triple Crown: 2021 on Midnight Bourbon and last year with Blazing Sevens.
“You couldn’t ask for better than Irad,” Reid said. “Irad and I have had some success over the years. So, we have a good relationship. I feel very good going into the race.”
Uncle Heavy is scheduled to ship to Pimlico Race Course on Tuesday.
Mugatu Breezes 5F in Preparation for a Run in the Preakness
Average Joe Racing Stables Ltd. and Dan Wells’ Mugatu breezed five furlongs at Belterra Park Saturday morning for a start in $2 million Preakness Stakes (G1) at Pimlico May 18.
The 3-year-old son of Blofeld was timed in 59.60 seconds before galloping out six furlongs in 1:13, said trainer Jeff Engler.
“He’s ready to go,” Engler said “I’m waiting to hear back from Brookledge. I think they said Tuesday or Wednesday. If it’s Wednesday, it will obviously be early.”
Engler said Joe Bravo, who has ridden 5659 winners while amassing total purse winnings of more than $200 million, has the mount aboard Mugatu. Bravo, who has ridden five Preakness starters, was aboard Mugatu for a 3 ½-length maiden special weight score on Tapeta last November at Gulfstream, the only time he’s ridden the Engler trainee.
Cox Calls Catching Freedom “50-50” for Preakness
Albaugh Family Stables’ Catching Freedom, the Kentucky Derby (G1) fourth-place finisher, has been upgraded to “50-50” to run in the Preakness Stakes (G1) May 18 at Pimlico Race Course, according to trainer Brad Cox.
The winner of the Louisiana Derby (G2), which is at the Preakness’ 1 3/16-mile distance, had another strong gallop Saturday morning at Churchill Downs under exercise rider Edvin Vargas. Cox said Catching Freedom would need to continue to “train well” to advance to the Middle Jewel of the Triple Crown.
“If he goes, I think he’ll go Monday after training,” Cox said of shipping plans.
Fresh Off 1st Graded Win, Torres to Ride Seize the Grey in Preakness debut
Jockey Jaime Torres did not grow up in a horse racing family in Puerto Rico. He fell in love with the sport when he watched on television as Authentic, co-owned by Spendthrift Farm and the MyRacehorse fractional-ownership entity, captured the COVID-delayed Kentucky Derby (G1) of 2020.
Fast forward 3 ½ years and Torres will make his Triple Crown riding debut in the 149th Preakness Stakes (G1) at Pimlico Race Course aboard MyRacehorse’s Seize the Grey. That colt gave the 25-year-old Torres his first victory in a graded stakes in the $600,000 Pat Day Mile (G2) on the May 4 Kentucky Derby undercard.
“I have no words for it,” Torres said. “I’m very thankful for the opportunity from MyRacehorse and (trainer) Wayne Lukas.”
Seize the Grey pushed the pace in the Pat Day Mile, split horses in mid-stretch and edged away late from favored Nash for a 1 ¼-length victory over Nash before the Derby Day crowd.
“He rode a very good race on that horse,” Lukas said. “I see no reason to change. I give young riders an opportunity if they have ability. Those who look like they have a future, I don’t mind pitching in and helping. (But) you can’t lead with your heart. You have to make a business decision. I feel real comfortable with him on that gray horse. He’s real level-headed. I don’t think he’ll get caught up in the hype at all.
Torres has said that horse racing got on his radar when his mom was flipping through the television channels and races from Puerto Rico’s Hipódromo Camarero were on. He said he went to the track the next day.
But it was watching the Derby the next year that sealed his future.
“That’s when MyRacehorse won the Derby with Authentic,” he said. “When I rode Seize the Grey for the first time and saw their silks in my locker, I was like, ‘Wow! I’m going to ride for MyRacehorse and D. Wayne Lukas.’”
Torres admits he didn’t know anything about racing horses when he showed up at Puerto Rico’s famed jockey school at the track, starting in the year-long program for exercise riders. He said he stayed for six months before flying to Florida to start working for trainer Saffie Joseph Jr., but his goal all along was to ride races.
“I knew it was going to be pretty hard for me riding in Puerto Rico, because the weight is less, like 109 (pounds),” Torres said. “So, I just flew to the U.S.A. and tried to start here. To be in the (jockey) school, you have to be 105 for two years. That was kind of tough for me; I mean, I’m tall.”
His first victory came on Sept. 17, 2022 at Gulfstream Park on Takestwotowiggle, who paid $28.20 to win in the $6,250 claiming race. Torres subsequently was the leading apprentice in New York in 2023 with 37 victories.
Among those wins was a Saratoga maiden race on Seize the Grey at 13-1 odds. Later that fall, Torres had a good fourth in Churchill Downs’ Iroquois (G3) and a third in a Keeneland allowance race before being reunited with Seize the Grey for the Pat Day Mile, which they won at 9-1.
Torres rode at New Orleans’ Fair Grounds over the winter before joining the Kentucky circuit. Through Friday, he had 145 career victories and almost $7.3 million in purse earnings after riding only 20 months.
Asked about going from knowing nothing about racing to riding in a Triple Crown race just a few years later, Torres said, “It’s crazy. If someone told me that before I started, I would be like, ‘naw.’ I’m very happy, very blessed.”
Torres has never ridden at Pimlico but expects to have a couple of mounts before the Preakness. He said he has no concerns about Seize the Grey going from the Pat Day’s one-turn mile to the Preakness’ 1 3/16 miles.
“I think he’ll be fine. I mean, he’s by Arrogate,” he said, referencing the late stallion who won the 1 ¼-mile Travers (G1) and Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1) as a 3-year-old in 2016 and started his 4-year-old season with victories in the Gulfstream Park’s Pegasus World Cup Invitational (G1) and the Dubai World Cup (G1).
Lukas has named new Hall of Fame inductee Joel Rosario to ride Just Steel for the first time in the Preakness. After finishing second in the Arkansas Derby, Just Steel was part of a resolute pace in the Derby, tiring to 17th.
Rosario has won the Derby (Orb in 2013) and the Belmont (Tonalist in 2014, Sir Winston in 2019) but never the Preakness, in which he’s had four seconds.
“He’s overdue,” Lukas quipped. “I think that’s a good fit. We don’t want to change the horse’s style. I don’t blame (jockey) Keith (Asmussen) for the last time, because he got in trouble (after being bumped hard early in the race) when the horse grabbed the bit and pulled him up there. So, there he was on the lead or near it. We’ll try to correct that next time.”
Lukas said Flavien Prat will ride Oaklawn Park’s Honeybee (G3) winner Lemon Muffin, eighth in the Kentucky Oaks (G1), in Friday’s Black-Eyed Susan (G2) on Preakness E