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 The Kentucky Derby champion appears to be a safe bet to win the
10-horse race that his closest challengers, odds-wise, are Social
Inclusion at 5-1 and Ride On Curlin and Bayern at 10-1.
Not so fast, says 51-year-old Hall of Fame jockey Gary Stevens, who
pulled off an upset in last year's Preakness, winning aboard Oxbow
in a jaw-dropping wire-to-wire effort.
While he acknowledges that California Chrome is the deserving
favorite, he said the seven horses in Saturday's race that skipped
the Kentucky Derby are fresh. And, he said, it's not always the best
horse that wins.
"The Derby winner has a target on his back," Stevens told Reuters
via telephone from his home in Sierra Madre, California.
"Everybody's going to be looking for him if he gets away from the
gate slow.
"They're all going to try to block him in. It's not illegal. If I
get position on somebody going into the turn I hold that position.
I'm not giving you a shot. That's what we get paid to do."
Blocking California Chrome might be easier said than done. Trained
by Art Sherman, the 3-year-old chestnut won the Derby by 1 3/4
lengths but, as Stevens said, "could have won by seven" if jockey
Victor Espinoza didn't cruise across the wire.
Before the Derby, the modestly bred colt won the Grade I Santa Anita
Derby last month by 5 1/4 lengths and the Grade II San Felipe Stakes
in March by 7 1/4 lengths.
Social Inclusion, his closest challenger on the tote board, has
raced only three times in his career and faded to third in the Wood
Memorial last month.
Ride On Curlin finished seventh in the Derby and Bayern, ridden by
Rosie Napravnik, finished second last time out in the Derby Trial
after winning but being dropped down after the colt made contact
with Embellishing Bob in the final furlong.
NAPRAVNIK EXCITED
Bayern, who will break from the enviable five post but has never
gone the 1 3/16-mile (1900 meters) Preakness distance, has two wins,
a second and a third in four career starts.
"I'm really excited to ride this horse around two turns," Napravnik,
looking to become the first woman to win the Preakness, said in a
telephone interview from Churchill Downs. "Hopefully, we'll get a
good trip.
"The Preakness is definitely more wide open than having a 3-5
favorite. I really, really like this horse. I don't think anybody's
seen his best yet."
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Also in the field is Illinois Derby winner Dynamic Impact (12-1
odds) and General a Rod (15-1), who endured a rough trip and
finished 11th in the Kentucky Derby under Joel Rosario. On Saturday,
Rosario will be aboard Ride On Curlin, while Javier Castellano takes
the reins on General a Rod.
On current form, California Chrome looks like an easy winner but
widely praised Kentucky Derby champion Orb finished out of the
Preakness money in fourth a year ago.
Chrome's trainer, the 77-year-old Sherman, said his California-bred
colt is versatile and can "go with the best."
"He's proven it," he said. "He's kind of like push-button. You don't
have to be on the lead, but when you ask him to run he's going to
give you a burst coming down the lane."
If California Chrome wins the $1.5 million Preakness, he could
become the first Triple Crown winner since 1978 with a victory in
the Belmont Stakes in New York on June 7.
Stevens, while acknowledging California Chrome is "beatable" on
Saturday at Pimlico Race Course, conceded: "I don't see it
happening."
"This is the best California horse - and not California-bred - but
the best horse to come out of California since Sunday Silence," the
jockey said. "Sunday Silence went on to prove himself probably as
the best three-year-old of my generation.
"This horse has that same class and fortitude that Sunday Silence
did."
(Reporting By Steve Ginsburg; Editing by Julian Linden)
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