Bernardini back home in New York
Preakness S. (G1) winner BERNARDINI (A.P. Indy) was put on a van at 7 a.m. (EDT) on Sunday to start the journey back to his home base at Belmont Park, trainer Tom Albertrani reported. The bay colt, who was making just his fourth career start in the 1 3/16-mile Preakness, came out of his 5 1/4-length triumph in good order.
"I knew he had it in him," Albertrani said. "I was confident in him. I didn't think he'd win so easily. If Barbaro (Dynaformer) was in the race, I don't know how close it would have been."
Unfortunately, the tragedy of Barbaro's breakdown at the beginning of the race marred some of the celebrations for Bernardini's connections.
"I was still very excited because of the way Bernardini won the race, but I know how it feels to go through an ordeal like that," Albertrani added. "I feel bad for the connections of Barbaro. That's something you never want to see."
The conditioner indicated that Bernardini, who entered the Preakness off a 3 3/4-length victory in the Withers S. (G3), might continue his classic quest in the Belmont S. (G1) on June 10. The final decision will rest with the bay colt's owner, Darley Stable principal Sheikh Mohammed, but Albertrani said that the distance would not be a factor.
"After the (one-turn mile) Withers, (jockey) Javier Castellano said he had just got going, and he galloped out so strong. With the two turns, I knew he'd relish (running longer distances) that much more," Albertrani commented.
If Bernardini does go in the Belmont, Albertrani will have two horses to saddle, reporting that Tampa Bay Derby (G3) victor Deputy Glitters (Deputy Commander), who ran eighth in the Kentucky Derby (G1), will try the 1 1/2-mile test.
SWEETNORTHERNSAINT (Sweetsouthernsaint) was doing fine Sunday morning after making the trip back to his home base of Laurel Park. Trainer Mike Trombetta said the dark bay had grabbed a quarter early in the Preakness, but it wouldn't cost him in training time.
"I don't think it's too bad," he explained. "The vet was going to trim it off this morning. I only took a brief look at it, but I don't think he'll lose but a day or two over it."
Sweetnorthernsaint grabbed a slight lead in the stretch, but couldn't hold off Bernardini's rush. The gelding was much the best of the rest of the field, six lengths clear in second, and Trombetta said he'll take 10 days or so before deciding on whether or not to send his charge to the Belmont.
HEMINGWAY'S KEY (Notebook) ran without blinkers in the Preakness and earned his best finish in a stakes race while running third. He will attempt to improve yet again in the Belmont next out.
"If everything is good, yes," trainer Nick Zito said of the colt running in the third leg of the Triple Crown. "If he has a couple good weeks, why not. He had a lot of energy; he's wild. He rebounded nicely (on Saturday). That was exactly what I wanted to see."
The Hall of Fame conditioner, who put Hemingway's Key on a van to Saratoga Springs, New York, around 8:30 Sunday morning, was still upset from Saturday's accident.
"I guess I'm a 100 percent fan of racing," he said. "I love the game, and but for racing, I don't know where I'd be. It's a sad day for racing. The whole story, unfortunately, was what happened, and it's part of our business.
"Let's hope he lives. You need this horse to have some kind of miracle. Hopefully, God can pull him through. He needs to live. This horse has to live, and if he lives, then you can rebound."
Santa Anita Derby (G1) hero BROTHER DEREK (Benchmark) filled the fourth-place position in the Preakness, the same result as in the Kentucky Derby, though this time he held that spot on his own and not in a dead-heat. Trainer Dan Hendricks said that the bay colt would head back to California on Sunday, and that the Belmont was out.
"He's fine. He didn't get nicked up or cut up," Hendricks commented, adding that his charge did have a slight cut on his nose from banging into the gate. "All I wanted was a clean race. When (jockey Alex Solis) had to grab him (to avoid running into Barbaro), he got on the muscle and was never able to run his race.
"It could have been worse. We could have run into him."
Hendricks said that Barbaro's accident really put things into perspective.
"The horse getting hurt made it anticlimactic how we ran. It's a game of highs and lows. You never know what you're going to get. All you can do is enjoy it when it's good and you've got to make it through when it's not."
GREELEY'S LEGACY (Mr. Greeley) rewarded trainer George Weaver's faith in him with a fifth in the Preakness, getting the spot by a neck over PLATINUM COUPLE (Tale of the Cat).
"We took a shot," Weaver said. I was hoping that he could do better and I still think he is capable of better than that. It was a great experience for us as a trainer, our team and our owners.
"This horse is going to come up to a big race. It's just a matter of getting him to it."
Greeley's Legacy headed back to Belmont Park Sunday morning on a van.
Platinum Couple rested Saturday night at Pimlico and was vanned back to his home base at Belmont Park around 10:30 a.m. Sunday.
Assistant trainer Glenn Lostritto, son of conditioner Joe Lostritto, said that Platinum Couple would probably get some time off before pointing toward some New York-bred events during the summer.
LIKE NOW (Jules), who finished seventh in the Preakness, set the quick pace and was compromised after being pushed too fast in the early stages, according to trainer Kiaran McLaughlin.
"We were pressured a lot earlier than I thought we would be," McLaughlin said. "Sweetnorthernsaint pressured us early and obviously it cost us. We weren't sure we wanted to go that far, but at that pace we sure didn't want to go that far."
Like Now, like many of his fellow Preakness runners, shipped back to Belmont Park, and the gelding could show up in an easier spot next out.
"He could probably get the distance with a little less company," McLaughlin added. "This was as tough as they come. Maybe if it was a little easier competition, I think he would get the distance."
McLaughlin added his well wishes to Barbaro's connections.
"I feel terrible about Barbaro; they're great people," he said. "The highs and lows of this game are extreme. I guess they don't get any more extreme than winning the Derby and then having something like that happen. We just pray that he gets through surgery and is OK."
DIABOLICAL (Artax) will shorten up in the future after checking in eighth and last in the Preakness, trainer Steve Klesaris said.
"Fortunately, we can report that he came out of the race very well. The distance was just a little bit beyond his scope. You could see that it was too far for him. We had suspected that and decided to take a shot at it anyway to find out. We found out."
Klesaris said that Diabolical's best distance would probably be around seven furlongs.
Source: www.brisnet.com
"I knew he had it in him," Albertrani said. "I was confident in him. I didn't think he'd win so easily. If Barbaro (Dynaformer) was in the race, I don't know how close it would have been."
Unfortunately, the tragedy of Barbaro's breakdown at the beginning of the race marred some of the celebrations for Bernardini's connections.
"I was still very excited because of the way Bernardini won the race, but I know how it feels to go through an ordeal like that," Albertrani added. "I feel bad for the connections of Barbaro. That's something you never want to see."
The conditioner indicated that Bernardini, who entered the Preakness off a 3 3/4-length victory in the Withers S. (G3), might continue his classic quest in the Belmont S. (G1) on June 10. The final decision will rest with the bay colt's owner, Darley Stable principal Sheikh Mohammed, but Albertrani said that the distance would not be a factor.
"After the (one-turn mile) Withers, (jockey) Javier Castellano said he had just got going, and he galloped out so strong. With the two turns, I knew he'd relish (running longer distances) that much more," Albertrani commented.
If Bernardini does go in the Belmont, Albertrani will have two horses to saddle, reporting that Tampa Bay Derby (G3) victor Deputy Glitters (Deputy Commander), who ran eighth in the Kentucky Derby (G1), will try the 1 1/2-mile test.
SWEETNORTHERNSAINT (Sweetsouthernsaint) was doing fine Sunday morning after making the trip back to his home base of Laurel Park. Trainer Mike Trombetta said the dark bay had grabbed a quarter early in the Preakness, but it wouldn't cost him in training time.
"I don't think it's too bad," he explained. "The vet was going to trim it off this morning. I only took a brief look at it, but I don't think he'll lose but a day or two over it."
Sweetnorthernsaint grabbed a slight lead in the stretch, but couldn't hold off Bernardini's rush. The gelding was much the best of the rest of the field, six lengths clear in second, and Trombetta said he'll take 10 days or so before deciding on whether or not to send his charge to the Belmont.
HEMINGWAY'S KEY (Notebook) ran without blinkers in the Preakness and earned his best finish in a stakes race while running third. He will attempt to improve yet again in the Belmont next out.
"If everything is good, yes," trainer Nick Zito said of the colt running in the third leg of the Triple Crown. "If he has a couple good weeks, why not. He had a lot of energy; he's wild. He rebounded nicely (on Saturday). That was exactly what I wanted to see."
The Hall of Fame conditioner, who put Hemingway's Key on a van to Saratoga Springs, New York, around 8:30 Sunday morning, was still upset from Saturday's accident.
"I guess I'm a 100 percent fan of racing," he said. "I love the game, and but for racing, I don't know where I'd be. It's a sad day for racing. The whole story, unfortunately, was what happened, and it's part of our business.
"Let's hope he lives. You need this horse to have some kind of miracle. Hopefully, God can pull him through. He needs to live. This horse has to live, and if he lives, then you can rebound."
Santa Anita Derby (G1) hero BROTHER DEREK (Benchmark) filled the fourth-place position in the Preakness, the same result as in the Kentucky Derby, though this time he held that spot on his own and not in a dead-heat. Trainer Dan Hendricks said that the bay colt would head back to California on Sunday, and that the Belmont was out.
"He's fine. He didn't get nicked up or cut up," Hendricks commented, adding that his charge did have a slight cut on his nose from banging into the gate. "All I wanted was a clean race. When (jockey Alex Solis) had to grab him (to avoid running into Barbaro), he got on the muscle and was never able to run his race.
"It could have been worse. We could have run into him."
Hendricks said that Barbaro's accident really put things into perspective.
"The horse getting hurt made it anticlimactic how we ran. It's a game of highs and lows. You never know what you're going to get. All you can do is enjoy it when it's good and you've got to make it through when it's not."
GREELEY'S LEGACY (Mr. Greeley) rewarded trainer George Weaver's faith in him with a fifth in the Preakness, getting the spot by a neck over PLATINUM COUPLE (Tale of the Cat).
"We took a shot," Weaver said. I was hoping that he could do better and I still think he is capable of better than that. It was a great experience for us as a trainer, our team and our owners.
"This horse is going to come up to a big race. It's just a matter of getting him to it."
Greeley's Legacy headed back to Belmont Park Sunday morning on a van.
Platinum Couple rested Saturday night at Pimlico and was vanned back to his home base at Belmont Park around 10:30 a.m. Sunday.
Assistant trainer Glenn Lostritto, son of conditioner Joe Lostritto, said that Platinum Couple would probably get some time off before pointing toward some New York-bred events during the summer.
LIKE NOW (Jules), who finished seventh in the Preakness, set the quick pace and was compromised after being pushed too fast in the early stages, according to trainer Kiaran McLaughlin.
"We were pressured a lot earlier than I thought we would be," McLaughlin said. "Sweetnorthernsaint pressured us early and obviously it cost us. We weren't sure we wanted to go that far, but at that pace we sure didn't want to go that far."
Like Now, like many of his fellow Preakness runners, shipped back to Belmont Park, and the gelding could show up in an easier spot next out.
"He could probably get the distance with a little less company," McLaughlin added. "This was as tough as they come. Maybe if it was a little easier competition, I think he would get the distance."
McLaughlin added his well wishes to Barbaro's connections.
"I feel terrible about Barbaro; they're great people," he said. "The highs and lows of this game are extreme. I guess they don't get any more extreme than winning the Derby and then having something like that happen. We just pray that he gets through surgery and is OK."
DIABOLICAL (Artax) will shorten up in the future after checking in eighth and last in the Preakness, trainer Steve Klesaris said.
"Fortunately, we can report that he came out of the race very well. The distance was just a little bit beyond his scope. You could see that it was too far for him. We had suspected that and decided to take a shot at it anyway to find out. We found out."
Klesaris said that Diabolical's best distance would probably be around seven furlongs.
Source: www.brisnet.com
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