Trainer Danny Gargan won his first Triple Crown race with Dornoch in the 2024 Belmont Stakes (G1). Now he's hoping for a second triumph in racing's most revered series as he points Talkin to the 151st Preakness Stakes (G1), to be run May 16 at Laurel Park.
Talkin most recently finished third in Keeneland's April 4 Blue Grass Stakes (G1), which Further Ado won by 11 lengths. As with Dornoch, he's a son of Good Magic , the 2017 2-year-old champion who finished second in the 2018 Kentucky Derby (G1) and fourth in the Preakness behind Triple Crown winner Justify . Talkin, a $600,000 Keeneland September yearling purchase, races for Reeves Thoroughbred Racing, Pine Racing Stables, Legendary Thoroughbreds, Belmar Racing and Breeding, and R. A. Hill Stable.
Even if Talkin wound up with enough points to make Derby field, Gargan said the plan was to wait for Maryland's Middle Jewel of the Triple Crown at 1 3/16 miles.
"The Preakness is the kind of race that fits him," he said by phone from South Florida, where he was preparing to pack up his winter stable to head north. "I told everybody that even if we ran second in the Blue Grass, we'd probably wait on the Preakness. He's not a real big horse. He's average-sized, not a big strong, strapping colt and I don't want to do too much with him. He's sound, he's really good. I don't want to overwhelm him, and the Derby can be too overwhelming. Twenty horses, and you can get pushed around there and run nowhere or run a mediocre 10th or eighth. I've done that.
"I want to win another Triple Crown race," he added. "He fits the smaller field. I think he'll like that track. It's a shorter distance. He really doesn't want to go a mile-and-a-quarter, probably. Hopefully that's the race he can jump up and run big. I didn't really like the position we were in the other day, stuck on the rail the whole race, and the rail was kind of flat. Once he finally got out, it was over. Hopefully we can get a better post where we can sit a nice third or fourth, a nice trip instead of jammed in there, and have a chance to win this thing. It would be tremendous. I'd love to win the Preakness."
Gargan said Talkin likely will remain at Keeneland to train before shipping to Laurel. He said at this point, he expects Joel Rosario to ride him back. "If something happens and he can't ride him, I'll ride Kendrick (Carmouche)," he said.
"I'm going to run three or four horses that week," Gargan said of Laurel. "I have a filly (grade 1-placed) Snowyte that I'm going to run in the fillies and mares route race (Allaire Dupont Distaff). Golden Tornado, who was probably my best 2-year-old last year, might make his 3-year-old debut in the Sir Barton."
Lexington Runner-Up The Hell We Did a Preakness Possibility
Saturday's Lexington Stakes (G3) upset winner Trendsetter is not nominated to the Triple Crown, and trainer Ben Colebrook ruled out supplementing to the Preakness. However, runner-up The Hell We Did remains a possibility.
Todd Fincher, the Southwest-based trainer of Peacock Family Holdings' The Hell We Did, said the Preakness was definitely on his mind heading into the 1 1/16-mile Lexington and remains a possibility.
"He'd only run 6 furlongs," Fincher said of The Hell We Did's races before the Lexington, which came at Sunland Park, Zia Park, and Remington Park. "We were hoping there would be three or four go to the front, and we could just chill back there. The pace wasn't super-fast, and he naturally has speed. He put himself in the race. Probably not fit enough for that. Very happy with him. He should only improve from here on out. Next step, I don't know.
"I had envisioned a great race and a win, and then go to the Preakness, but that is a long way away. We have options. We'll talk with the owners and decide. I think the next time he goes two turns, he'll be a lot better."
Positioned five weeks out, the Lexington has been a reliable source of Preakness starters, including last year's runner-up Gosger, who won the Lexington. Owendale (2019) and Senior Investment (2017) both were third in the Preakness after winning the Keeneland stakes.
This press release has been edited for content and style by BloodHorse Staff.
