The hosts sold 4,800 tickets to this year’s Preakness at Laurel Park, but there might be more people at trainer Anthony Farrior’s backstretch party – Barn 1; bring a donation – if local horse Taj Mahal gets the job done in the $2 million Grade 1 Saturday.
Undefeated in three starts over the track, the son of Nyquist will have to navigate an inside post, loads of pace competition and 13 rivals in the 1 3/16-mile classic – held at Laurel due to construction at Baltimore’s Pimlico Race Course. Trained by Brittany Russell and ridden by her husband Sheldon, Taj Mahal, cost $525,000 at Keeneland September as a yearling and started his career with trainer Bob Baffert in California before moving to Russell’s Barn 5 at Laurel last year.
“He didn’t show a whole lot; it took time,” Brittany Russell said of her first impression. “Going into his maiden race I thought, ‘He’ll win a maiden special weight here,’ but I couldn’t say I thought we’d be at the Preakness with a shot. We liked him going into his debut, but it also took a lot to get him to that point. Some of them are just slow to progress. There was nothing wrong with him.”
Taj Mahal spent a short time with Russell’s assistant Emma Wolfe at Fair Hill Training Center, which – the trainer figures – helped freshen up the bay colt who races for a far-reaching ownership group led by SF Racing and including Marylander Matt Dorman’s Determined Stable.
“He didn’t act sour, I can’t really peg what it was,” Russell said. “Sometimes they get to the race and win a race, and that’s what it takes. Sometimes, you just don’t know. You just roll with it. When they’re good enjoy the ride.”
Taj Mahal won his debut going 6 furlongs in February, backed it up with a one-turn mile stakes win in the Miracle Wood 15 days later. Russell wanted to go to the Wood Memorial at Aqueduct April 4, but a quarter crack held up some training and she switched to Laurel’s Federico Tesio April 18. Taj Mahal kept the train rolling with a front-running ripper – establishing a 10-length lead early, idling briefly on the turn and then kicking away to score by 8 1/4.
The Tesio comes with a free Preakness entry and Taj Mahal takes full advantage. The hometown pressure hasn’t bothered him yet.
“The Magna Wave person came by three times the other day to treat him and he was flat out – taking a nap,” said Russell. “That makes me happy. You want him resting like that.”
Around the Barns
Preakness Week mornings always offer a chance to see top-class 3-year-olds and their people in various states or preparation. This year brought the largest field since 2011, and also shifted to Laurel. Other than Taj Mahal, the Preakness starters all occupied the same barn – usually the home of trainer Mike Trombetta – and mainly trained at about 7:30. It got crowded, but it was a treat.
• Third in the Kentucky Derby two weeks ago, Ocelli drew plenty of visitors and also took the Taj Mahal route – staying pretty chill about all of it.
“He won’t bite them, but he’ll bite me,” trainer Whit Beckman said as two visitors back up to the webbing for a photo with the son of Connect. “He’s easygoing, pretty cool about it all.”
He’s also winless in seven starts, despite $609,800 in earnings. He has crossed a finish line ahead of a rival however, as he won a 2-furlong race at the Aiken Trials as a 2-year-old. There’s no knocking his competitiveness either as he’s finished within 2 lengths of Reagan’s Honor, Albus, Golden Tempo and Renegade. Beckman was optimistic about Ocelli from the start, and hasn’t changed much.
“We were just trying to develop him into a horse that we could get into the Derby,” said the trainer. “I knew he belonged amongst those horses, the way he trained and the way he handled himself. I’ve been around a lot of Derby horses, and I didn’t see a lot of difference in him and them. It’s one of those things, you’ve kind of got to trust your gut a little bit, which is hard to do. It’s a leap of faith.”
Beckman and Ocelli take another one, running back in two weeks after the Derby while the two horses in front of him there – Golden Tempo and Renegade – wait for the Belmont Stakes. The decision wasn’t made lightly, but also didn’t take long.
“They asked me like 12 hours after the race and he hadn’t been out of the stall yet,” Beckman said of coming to the Preakness. “I didn’t know what the intent was at that point. I wanted to get a look at him and see. As I started to just notice his overall attitude, disposition, energy levels, and just how he was carrying himself . . . in my opinion, the Derby, the Preakness, and the Belmont are one series. If you have the horse, take him.”
• Third in the Blue Grass a month before the Derby, Talkin looks to keep building on a slightly delayed 3-year-old campaign. A debut winner at Saratoga last summer, the son of Good Magic finished second to Preakness rival Napoleon Solo in the Champagne in October and then was a dull ninth in December’s Remsen.
Trainer Danny Gargan said his charge was sick afterward, and that cost him some training. Some Florida sunshine helped that and Talkin has been on the improve since – finishing fifth (beaten just 5 lengths by The Puma) in the Tampa Bay Derby and third behind Further Ado in the Blue Grass.
“He wasn’t dying or nothing, but he lost weight,” Gargan said. “He went to Ocala to just get healthy, get on the grass. We were late bringing him in, then we bring him in and a loose horse cost us a breeze, then we had some company lined up for him and they went out and worked without me. He only had four half-miles going into Tampa Derby.”
From post two that day, Talkin wound up pressing the pace and got tired. In the Bue Grass, he broke from the rail and was again a little close early for Gargan’s liking.
“If he gets a clear trip he’s going to run better than he’s run all year, I just hope it’s good enough to win,” Gargan said. “The last few days he’s been strong, so that’s a good sign. He’s doing everything good, he looks good, so we’ve got one more day right? It’s good to see him in the bridle. Sometimes when you ship, you get there and they’re a little dead. He’s grabbing the bridle, wanting to train.”
• Trainer John Ennis did everything in his power to get Great White to the Kentucky Derby starting gate, then watched him get unsettled and flip as horses were loading. Veterinarians scratched the gray son of Volatile for precautionary reasons, but Great White emerged unscathed and flashed energy and fitness at Laurel this week.
Ennis is fine with that attitude and he called the Derby behavior out of character.
“He’s never flipped over, it was a combination of unfortunate things,” said Ennis. “He went up pretty high and the pony rider didn’t want to let him go and he has a sensitive mouth to ride him. He’d never want to hurt you or hurt anyone. He’s a good-feeling horse and if he’s feeling good that’s a good sign. He has to have that high energy to be ready to run.”
At 17-hands (plus), Great White is taller than every other Preakness starter and turned heads while walking the shedrow or out on the track. He won his debut at Turfway Park in December, then added the John Battaglia Memorial at that track two starts later. Fifth in the Blue Grass, he breaks from post 13. Ennis hopes for some cover early, and a relaxed horse.
“He’s different horse in behind,” said the trainer. “When you’re in behind horses he wants to go. When you’re in front of horses, he’s green and a baby. When he was in front in the Blue Grass he was looking around. We’re going to ride him patiently this time and hopefully you see a different horse.”
• Napoleon Solo turned in one of the best performances by a 2-year-old last year when he won the Grade 1 Champagne, over Talkin, by 6 1/2 lengths. The son of Liam’s Map put up fast fractions – :22.52, :44.24 and 1:07.88 and finished the mile in 1:34.57. Like everybody, trainer Chad Summers was impressed by that, but skipped a start in the Breeders’ Cup to point for a 3-year-old campaign.
Fifth in the Fountain of Youth in February, Napoleon Solo nearly went to the Arkansas Derby in March, but a heel bruise cost him five days of training and required an egg bar shoe. Pivoted to the Wood Memorial April 4, the gray colt led early from the inside psot and wound up fifth behind Albus.
“We didn’t think it was going to be his best effort, but to try and make the Derby, you needed to get points,” said Summers. “I didn’t feel like we were bringing a horse over there that had no chance, and I thought he was brave there. You’ve got to go, you’ve got to defend the rail in that position, and it just kind of got to us late. If he’s 100 percent, does he maybe still hold on that little bit extra?”
Summers wanted answers from the Wood. He left with some, but had a few questions too. They’re still there and most concern the horse’s ability to run longer distances in this company.
“He doesn’t train like a sprinter, even though he’s brilliantly fast,” Summers said. “I’m not going to take that away. The only question is whether or not he can handle two turns. If you’re going to find out, why not find out for the Grade 1? He deserves the opportunity to run in a Triple Crown race. Once we didn’t have the points originally to get into the Derby, this was the most logical kind of path to go down. We’ve given him (two) 6-furlong workouts with the big mile gallop outs . . . We’re not going to duck anyone, we’re not scared of anybody. He deserves this.”
RAPID FIRE: The Hell We Did has been at Laurel long enough to have two 5-furlong breezes, a schedule that gives him (along with Taj Mahal) some familiarity with the Laurel dirt. The son of Preakness winner Authentic finished second in the Lexington after winning twice in the Midwest. The colt is a half-brother to 2024 Saudi Cup winner and hard-hitting two-turn horse Senor Buscador . . . Iron Honor tries to give trainer Chad Brown his third Preakness, adding blinkers after a seventh in the Wood Memorial . . . Trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. won two stakes Friday and runs Bull By The Horns in the Preakness, off a win in the Rushaway at Turfway Park . . . Virginia Derby winner Incredibolt, sixth in the Kentucky Derby, looked sharp while training this week at Laurel. He was 2 lengths behind Ocelli after being far back early and getting bumped by Renegade in the stretch.
