Can trainer Bob Baffert win another Preakness with | College News

BALTIMORE — Trainer Bob Baffert loves to come to the Preakness. He loves the actual fact that all the highest horses are in the identical barn, so he can kibitz with his fellow trainers, such as an prolonged dialog with Mark Casse about the best crabcakes in city. He loves the informal ambiance, in distinction to the high stakes, high strain feeling at Churchill Downs for the Kentucky Derby.

Or possibly it’s because he’s gained the second leg of the Triple Crown eight instances, more than any different trainer in historical past.

So, he was requested why he was bringing Goal Oriented, an undefeated two-time starter who has never run in a stakes race, to the Preakness.

“FOMO,” Baffert mentioned with a chuckle, referring to the acronym for “fear of missing out.”

Make no mistake, Baffert doesn’t run a horse in a race this huge just because he likes the crabcakes.

Baffert had truly deliberate to also run Rodriguez in the Preakness. Rodriguez, the simple winner of the Wood Memorial, was supposed to run in the Kentucky Derby but scratched because of a sore hoof. He was being pointed to the Preakness. But that didn’t work out either.

“[Goal Oriented] ran well, and he worked well and came out of [the race on the Derby undercard] really well,” Baffert mentioned. “I was thinking Rodriguez. But, I didn’t get to train him. It took me a long time. I put in a whole week to get that foot right, and then I breezed him.

“But I really think [Goal Oriented] is a bigger, stronger horse, and I think Rodriguez was not quite ready. I’d rather just shoot for the Belmont with him. He’s a lighter horse.”

No one, including Baffert, is aware of how good Goal Oriented is. He is the fourth favourite on the morning line at 6-1. But, given that he’s skilled by Baffert, will possible go off at decrease odds.

“Oh, we don’t know, [how he’ll run],” Baffert mentioned. “We’re just going to throw him in there. He’s handled everything here. He handled the ship, and he handled Churchill, came back like it was nothing. I can tell after they win. In the winner’s circle, he just stood there, stoic, didn’t even take a deep breath. He was like, ‘Hey, that’s it?’ I like that. Some horses come back and they’re blowing (breathing heavy), they’ll blow your hat off. He wasn’t that. He handled it pretty well. We’ve always been very high on him.”

Goal Oriented, a $425,000 buy for the identical possession consortium that also has Rodriguez and Citizen Bull, ran his first race on April 6 at Santa Anita, successful by 3 ¼ lengths. His second race was on the undercard on Derby day, successful an allowance on three-quarters of a size.

“He’s an eyeful, he’s handsome, he’s beautiful,” mentioned Tom Ryan, who heads the possession group. “He’s a May 15 baby who is just now coming into his own. He hasn’t done anything wrong. He’s gone short, he’s gone long, he’s handled the slop.

“We don’t run in Grade 1s just to have a look at a horse. We think he’s in form and deserves a shot. He has to improve for sure. He’s been great in the morning and now we’re hoping he can continue it to the afternoon.”

Goal Oriented definitely appears to be like like he’s in type, but the query stays what particularly is his type and model.

“We don’t even know his style,” Baffert mentioned. “We put him on the lead because of the mud [at Churchill Downs] and we didn’t want to mess around. [Jockey Flavien] Prat knows him now. He’s got tactical speed, but he doesn’t have to be rushed off his feet. He’s a big strong horse.”

Baffert doesn’t declare to have any tremendous secret key to his success at the Preakness.

“I had the best horse,” Baffert mentioned merely. “You have to have the best horse to win. And that’s usually the best secret a trainer can have in these big races is if you have the best horse.”

He gained his first Preakness in 1997 with Silver Charm. His different winners have been Real quiet (1998), Point Given (2001), War Emblem (2002), Lookin at Lucky (2010), American Pharoah (2015), Justify (2018) and National Treasure (2023).

This will most probably be the final time Baffert runs at Pimlico as it’s at the moment constructed. The observe is scheduled to be torn down nearly immediately after Saturday’s race and the Preakness will transfer to close by Laurel for two years during the rebuild.

The observe floor and configuration will just about be the identical. However, the place where the followers watch the race shall be very completely different.

Baffert was more involved that the stakes barn will stay. It will but it’s unclear if the identical construction will stay or if a new barn shall be constructed

“I like this barn,” Baffert mentioned. “I would like to take this barn to Santa Anita.”

On Baffert’s long record of accomplishments, that’s one he might fall short on.