BALTIMORE — The connections round Kentucky Derby runner-up Journalism had been quite coy about whether or not their horse would run within the a hundred and fiftieth Preakness Stakes, the second leg of the Triple Crown. It was a sport of wait and see till a pronouncement on social media Sunday evening that the colt was coming to Pimlico.
Now that the 3-year-old Santa Anita Derby winner is within the stakes barn, shielded from the drizzle and rain that has enveloped the Baltimore space, coach Michael McCarthy made it seem to be it wasn’t a detailed name in any respect.
“I would say there wasn’t a time I didn’t think I was coming,” McCarthy mentioned Wednesday morning as his horse walked the shedrow at Pimlico Race Course. “We just had to make sure the horse was good and then you commit.”
Journalism, for the second Triple Crown race in a row, has been put in as the favourite. The morning line has him at 8-5 odds. Within the Kentucky Derby, Journalism ran a really strong second, overwhelmed down the stretch by Sovereignty, whose connections elected to go on the Preakness and look ahead to the Belmont Stakes on June 7.
“I thought the favoritism was certainly warranted,” McCarthy mentioned. “I don’t think he disgraced himself on Derby day. Obviously, he’s the favorite again here and deserves to be. I guess it would be nice to have a rematch at some point.
“I hope Journalism stays healthy and Sovereignty stays healthy and somewhere down the road we get to hook up. It would be great for the fans, great for the sport. … We’re certainly not going to duck him.”
Whereas everybody would have most well-liked to see the rematch on the Preakness, Sovereignty’s coach Invoice Mott introduced three days after the Derby that the colt was going to skip the 1 3/16-mile race.
“Bill Mott is one of the best of all time, who am I to tell him [what to do],” McCarthy mentioned. “I don’t know much about Sovereignty outside of what I’ve seen from him, so if [Mott] says his horse needed to regroup and get ready for the Belmont, I’d believe him.”
That is solely McCarthy’s second look as a head coach within the Preakness. His first look turned out fairly properly. He wished to run Rombauer within the Kentucky Derby in 2021 however the colt’s house owners overruled him.
“I was bullish on running in the Kentucky Derby,” McCarthy mentioned on the time. “Jack and Diane [Fradkin] thought this was the better route.”
We’ll by no means know the way he would have carried out within the Derby, however he gained the Preakness by 3 ½ lengths. That’s a giant win for a horse that certified by successful the El Camino Actual Derby on the now-shuttered Golden Gate Fields. And that win was on an artificial floor, not grime.
McCarthy doesn’t put a whole lot of inventory in his one-time expertise at Pimlico, saying it’d assist “a little bit.”
“They are two totally different types of horses,” he mentioned. “[Journalism] has been good from day one. Rombauer, in his own right, was a nice horse and just seemed like he was getting better all the time. I’ve been fortunate enough to work for [trainer] Todd [Pletcher] for obviously an extended period of time, so Breeders Cup races, Triple Crown races. You’ve done it so many times, you kind of know what to expect.”
Rombauer coach Michael McCarthy holds the winner’s trophy for the Preakness Stakes in 2021 subsequent to house owners Jack and Diane Fradkin in addition to jockey Flavien Prat.
(Will Newton / Related Press)
McCarthy grew up in Arcadia and was a fixture at Santa Anita. It’s the place he met Aron Wellman, who manages the possession group linked to Journalism.
McCarthy obtained his coach’s license in 2006 and went to work for Pletcher in Kentucky and New York.
“It became evident that Michael was going to strike out on his own,” Wellman mentioned. “It was just a matter of when, and that he would do so moving back home to Southern California to be with his family. And when he did that, I’m proud to say that Eclipse [Thoroughbred Partners] was the first operation to provide Michael with horses to train.”
It was in 2014 when McCarthy made the transfer. His first large nationwide win was in 2019 when he gained the Pegasus World Cup with Metropolis of Gentle.
“We’ve had a lot of success together,” Wellman mentioned. “I’d be lying to you if I didn’t say it took some time. It’s a really hard thing to do to get off the ground and not just get off the ground but to find success and get good horses and get that support.”
Regardless of ending second, Journalism didn’t disappoint within the Kentucky Derby. When Journalism made his transfer on the far flip, expectations couldn’t have been greater. The one downside was that Sovereignty was proper behind him.
Requested if Journalism knew he misplaced, McCarthy considered it for just a few seconds earlier than answering.
“I’m not sure if he knew,” McCarthy mentioned. “The trainer certainly did. I would certainly think there’s a difference in some horses when they win. I think horses get confident. I think they get an air about them.”
McCarthy replayed the race just a few instances in his head after which moved on. What else are you able to do?
“If I could do anything, I’d like to have the first 100 yards over again,” he mentioned of the beginning within the 19-horse discipline. “I just like to lay a little bit closer. That’s what’s great about racing. If your horse stays healthy, you’re always going to have another shot at it. So, I’m taking a shot on Saturday.
“The ‘what ifs’ in this game are just too many. I’m grateful, certainly, that we have a horse like this to be able to showcase here.”
On paper, there actually isn’t a horse nearly as good as Journalism within the Preakness Stakes. There are presently 9 starters within the race, which ought to make the primary 100 yards loads simpler to navigate.
