Four New Maiden Watchers Join Preakness Fray

This column highlights the performances of 2- and 3-year-old maidens who have made no more than five starts and who either sold for more than $500,000 at public auction, have siblings that are graded/group winners, or have dams that are graded/group winners. BloodHorse research shows maiden winners, in particular, who meet these criteria are more likely to go on to be graded stakes winners.

While Maiden Watch graduates Journalism, Sandman, and American Promise soldier on to the May 17 Preakness Stakes (G1) after their Kentucky Derby exploits, four fellow alumni join the fray in Baltimore for Saturday's second jewel of the Triple Crown.

That makes seven of the nine 3-year-olds, or 77.8% of the total Preakness field, alumni of BloodHorse's Maiden Watch. Not too shabby of a statistic.

Journalism, favored in the Kentucky Derby, ran valiantly in the slop but had to settle for runner-up honors behind the victorious Sovereignty. Fan favorite Sandman, hindered by his far outside 17 post, finished seventh. Virginia Derby victor American Promise, trained by Hall of Famer D. Wayne Lukas, faded to finish 16th in the Run for the Roses. A win by American Promise on Saturday would give Lukas a record-tying eighth triumph in the Preakness.

Onto the newcomers.

Clever Again, listed at 5-1 for the Triple Crown's middle jewel, enters the Preakness off a scintillating gate-to-wire score in Oaklawn Park's Hot Spring Stakes March 30. The one-mile Hot Springs provided the winner with an all-expenses-paid berth in the Preakness.

Despite possessing a pedigree made for the turf—Clever Again is sired by 2015 Triple Crown winner American Pharoah  and out of the Galileo mare Flattering, a group 3 winner in Ireland—the Steve Asmussen trainee has been nothing but impressive in his three starts on the dirt. Beginning his career with a head loss to stakes winner Dreamaway in a 4 1/2-furlong baby race in April 2024, the $500,000 colt wouldn't race again until drawing clear by 3 1/4 lengths to break his maiden in a 1 1/16-mile contest Feb. 23 at Oaklawn. He touted triple-digit Equibase Speed Figures in both his maiden and Hot Springs wins.

Gosger, a homebred for the late Harvey Clarke, is another Preakness contender with turfy ties that has found a home on the dirt. The son of Nyquist  is a half brother to 2020 Queen Elizabeth Challenge Cup (G1T) heroine and Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf (G1T) third-place getter Harvey's Lil Goil (American Pharoah).

Trained by Brendan Walsh, Gosger was second on debut at Gulfstream Park sprinting six furlongs in December. Stretched out to a mile in his next start, he relished the extra ground, capturing a one-mile maiden special weight by 1 1/2 lengths Feb. 15. Put to the test against stakes company for the first time in Keeneland's Lexington Stakes (G3), Gosger turned in a professional effort, rolling past his rivals late for a two-length victory and punching his Preakness ticket.

It would not be a Preakness without a Bob Baffert runner. The eight-time Preakness winning trainer will saddle Derby Day allowance winner Goal Oriented in the run for the black-eyed Susans. A lightly-raced son of Not This Time , Goal Oriented rallied to a sharp debut score April 6 going six furlongs at Santa Anita Park. The win in the California sunshine was a far cry from what the colt would face May 3 in Louisville, where he'd line up against a deep group of experienced 3-year-olds travelling two turns over a mud bath of a surface. No matter, Goal Oriented handled each obstacle with aplomb, driving to the lead and holding sway over Sir Barton Stakes entrant Hypnus.

The last of the newcomers would be local hero Pay Billy. Ever since breaking his maiden in December, the Improbable colt has been nearly unbeatable in the Maryland circuit. The Michael Gorman trainee solidified his position as a worthy Preakness contender with back-to-back wins in Laurel Park's Private Terms and Frederico Tesio Stakes.