Trainer Riley Mott is making his second ever trip to Laurel Park to saddle Incredibolt in Saturday's $2 million Preakness Stakes (G1). The last time he was here was "years ago" when he was working for his father, Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott.
The 34-year-old Riley Mott arrived in Maryland Thursday afternoon and was at the Preakness Stakes Barn Friday morning and watched Incredibolt and exercise rider Charlotte O'Connell gallop about 1 1/4 miles.
"Charlotte said he was feeling himself this morning," Mott said. "He feels good, and he looks good. We galloped around to the starting gate and stood and backed out and he finished his gallop up by the quarter pole."
Mott made a last-minute decision Monday to enter Incredibolt in the Preakness. While eating lunch - he said he was having an Uncrustable - he got the idea that running his horse in the Middle Jewel of the Triple Crown wasn't such a far-fetched idea.
Incredibolt, owned by Pin Oak Stud LLC, ran a good sixth in the Kentucky Derby (G1) and was doing well. He called his father to get his thoughts.
"First person I called," Riley Mott said. "While I was eating lunch, I called and said, 'What do you think?' He said, 'If he's doing good, put him in. When do they enter?' I said I didn't know. I called up the racing office and was like 'Hey, when do you enter?' They said, 'We close in about an hour.' That's a true story. I am not embarrassed to say that. That is how not on the radar this race was."
Now, here he is. And he is one of three horses with 5-1 odds on the morning line. He will be ridden by Jaime Torres, who has been on board in all six of his prior starts.
"On paper, it looks like there is plenty of speed," Riley Mott said of the Preakness. "I could see him potentially in the second or third flights and hoping he gets into a good rhythm no matter where he's at. And then get a clear run at it from the three-eighths pole."
IRON HONOR - The 9-2 morning-line favorite for the 151st running of the Preakness Stakes (G1) has three lifetime starts, two of them as a 3-year-old. That should be no problem for Iron Honor, trained by Chad Brown, who has won a pair of Preakness Stakes.
Iron Honor is coming off a seventh-place finish in the Wood Memorial (G2) at Aqueduct April 4 as the 5-2 favorite after winning the Gotham (G3) at the Big A Feb. 28.
The son of Nyquist began his racing career with a maiden win at Aqueduct Dec. 13.
Brown's two Preakness winners - Cloud Computing (2017) and Early Voting (2022) - also came to Maryland with three career starts.
The undefeated Taj Mahal, who is one of three horses with 5-1 odds on the morning line, is the only other Preakness horse with as few as three career starts. He has won them all.
Iron Honor, owned by Vincent and Teresa Viola's St. Elias Stable and William H. Lawrence, will be racing without blinkers for the first time in the Preakness and will be ridden by Flavien Prat for the first time.
"He had a tough race the last time, and although it did not work out for him, it gave him a lot of experience," Brown said by phone from his base in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. "His works have been very good, particularly since we took the blinkers off. He has a good body of work. I am confident he has enough foundation to handle this."
Jose Hernandez, Brown's assistant, said Iron Honor galloped 1 1/4 miles Friday morning. Brown is expected to be at Laurel Park on Saturday to saddle the colt.
NAPOLEON SOLO - Like many of the others in the 151st Preakness (G1) Saturday at Laurel Park, Napoleon Solo's performance will be closely analyzed by his connections and the public.
Will the brilliance that he showed as a 2-year-old while breaking his maiden and winning the Champagne (G1) be on display in the 1 3/16-mile Middle Jewel of the Triple Crown? Can he secure his first win around two turns after off-the-board finishes in the Fountain of Youth (G2) and the Wood Memorial (G2) earlier this year? How will the speedy son of Liam's Map fare tactically in a race that is expected to have a robust early pace?
Trainer Chad Summers is confident that the gray colt is up to the assignment, leaving from Post 10 under jockey Paco Lopez in the full field of 14.
"For me, with the short run to the first turn, you've got to just get yourself in position," Summers said Friday morning. "But other than that, the chips will fall where they're going to fall. The questions are obviously well known. The answers are well known, as far as how fast he is and when NBC goes off the air, I guess we'll have all the answers."
Summers has carefully managed Napoleon Solo's preparations for the Preakness. Per usual, Napoleon Solo has turned in some impressive timed workouts in recent weeks, including a torrid six furlongs in 1:10 May 2. The colt goes out near the end of the training program so that he has a quieter, less-hectic atmosphere. Friday morning, his exercise was limited to walking.
"This will be his best race of the year," Summers said. "Where that puts us, we're going to find out. We're excited. We feel like he's a lot better than his two fifth-place finishes have shown. I'll take the brunt of the criticism. That's fine. You know, the trainer gets too much credit, too much blame. We feel like he's back to the old Napoleon. It took us a little while to get here, but we're expecting to see the best Napoleon we've seen to date."
OCELLI - Ocelli could not have drawn a more advantageous post position - Post 2 - for Saturday's 151st Preakness (G1) at Laurel Park if trainer Whit Beckman had picked it out himself.
"Couldn't be in a better spot," Beckman said of his late-running maiden, who is expected to settle into a leisurely, ground-saving position along the rail while allowing the plethora of speed horses in the race establish the early pace.
In the May 2 Kentucky Derby (G1), Ocelli and jockey Tyler Gaffalione broke from Post 17 and had to work their way over to the rail before mounting a rally to finish third.
"We don't need to make a long run over to the rail like we did in the Derby," Beckman said. "We ran 19 more feet than [winner Golden Tempo] in the Derby and only lost by a length. I think if he catches the trip, we've got a tremendous shot."
CHIP HONCHO - Steve Asmussen, Hall of Fame trainer of the Gun Runner winner and Risen Star (G2) runner-up Chip Honcho, expressed concern over racing on a deeper surface than the colt is accustomed to in Saturday's 151st Preakness Stakes (G1) at Laurel Park.
Asmussen skipped the Kentucky Derby (G1) to await the Preakness after Chip Honcho finished a well-beaten fifth in the Louisiana Derby (G2) eight weeks ago.
"I think the surface is the variable that's going to change the race so much," Asmussen said. "You see a lot of the horses come in here and struggle over the surface with how much material is on it. I think they're going to lack a consistency of form with the horses that have not run over the surface or ever been here."
Beyond adjusting to the surface, Asmussen said "the horses that ran in the Derby have the advantage," meaning late-running third-place finisher Ocelli and sixth-place Incredibolt. Robusta, who finished 14th, also returns from the Derby for the Preakness.
Chip Honcho galloped Friday morning at Laurel under exercise rider Brooke Stillion.
TALKIN - When the connections of Talkin purchased him as a yearling, their goal was to have the son of Good Magic out of the Tiznow mare Rote compete at the highest level of the sport in the spring of his 3-year-old season, namely the Triple Crown. There were a few hurdles - most notably, an illness in December - for trainer Danny Gargan to negotiate, but he has delivered the colt to Saturday's 151st Preakness Stakes (G1) at Laurel Park.
Since breaking his maiden Aug. 30 at Saratoga, the colt co-owned by Reeves Thoroughbred Racing, Pine Racing Stables, Legendary Thoroughbreds, Belmar Racing and Breeding, LLC and R. A. Hill Stable has been playing in racing's major leagues. He has a pair of graded-stakes placings in four tries. The Preakness is another big test for the colt who cost $600,000 at auction.
Gargan hopes that Eclipse Award-winning jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. can orchestrate a stalking trip from Post 5 and that the colt will finish strongly in the stretch.
"If he hits the board, we're going to be super happy," Gargan said. "He's a developing horse. He's going to get better with age, because he's a horse that has taken time to get to the races. We're lucky, we're blessed that we're here. If we run big and hit the board, we'll be happy. And it's just one of those things where you just hope you run well. He's trained well. We need him to show up and run good. If he hits the board, I think everybody will be over the moon. If he wins, it'll be amazing because he's such a well-bred horse. Obviously, you want to win a Classic race with a horse with a pedigree like this, because he'll be a stallion one day, and that's what we all dream to have, stallions. But, if he just runs well and shows up, it'll be fine. The group of owners I have understand that. They're all happy to just participate in these kind of races."
Gargan said that the colt's name is connected to his training victory with Dornoch in the 2024 Belmont Stakes (G1), but is a compromise.
"The owner, Mark Pine, Pine Racing, owned part of Dornoch and he loves to talk about him," Gargan said. "Mark named him, but we were all joking with him. He wanted to name him Talkin Man, but there was a good horse named Talkin Man. I said, 'Let's just name him Talkin.' So that's what we did because I like one-word names."
Talkin Man, an Ontario-bred, was a standout in 1994 and 1995, winning five stakes in Canada and the U.S., including the Wood Memorial. He was 12th in the 1995 Kentucky Derby (G1) and sixth in the Preakness, his final career start.
PRETTY BOY MIAH - Trainer Jeremiah Englehart has reached the Triple Crown with his first Preakness Stakes (G1) starter, Pretty Boy Miah, whom he said must simply be himself Saturday at Laurel Park to be successful starting from the far outside.
"Just run to his numbers," Englehart said Friday. "He's shown that he's definitely got a lot of speed, and he can kind of be asked early on and still stretch at a fast pace. I look at it like, if he runs his race, he's got a very good shot of being right there.
"He's got to run back to the type of races he ran to his last two," he added. "Now, he's facing much tougher competition, but at the same time, too, I don't feel like he knows that. He knows he likes to run. We're going to try to hopefully get him to a good spot and if that's the case, he should run well."
Ricardo Santana Jr., who has been up for the gelding's back-to-back wins before the Preakness, will guide the son of Beau Liam from outermost Post 14 in his stakes debut. Pretty Boy Miah is owned by Team Penney Racing, Echo Racing, Flower City Racing LLC, Anthony Bruno and Christopher Meyer.
BULL BY THE HORNS - Peachtree Stable and Mark Corrado's Bull by the Horns galloped 1 1/4 miles at Laurel Park Friday morning in preparation for a start in Saturday's 151st Preakness Stakes (G1) at Laurel Park. Exercise rider Luis Hernandez was aboard the son of Essential Quality.
Micah Husbands will make his Triple Crown debut aboard Saffie Joseph Jr.-trained Bull by the Horns Saturday.
The Gulfstream Park-based jockey is the 23-year-old nephew of Patrick Husbands, the winner of multiple Sovereign Awards in Canada. Joseph, a fellow native of Barbados, has been very supportive of Micah Husbands since the rider arrived at Gulfstream from Woodbine last fall.
The rising star will ride Bull by the Horns for the first time Saturday since guiding the last-out Rushaway winner to a 4 1/2-length maiden victory Nov. 2 at Gulfstream.
"He's won on this horse already. Once we couldn't get a couple riders we wanted, he was the best choice. We're very confident in him," Joseph said. "He's done really well for us this year. I think he's something like 4-for-10 this year for us in graded races, including a Grade 1."
Husbands rewarded Joseph's confidence in him this year with victories aboard Claret Beret in the Royal Delta (G3) at Gulfstream and Apple Blossom (G1) at Oaklawn Park, Skippylongstocking in the Essex (G3) at Oaklawn and R Disaster in the Hurricane Bertie at Gulfstream.
THE HELL WE DID - The first thing you notice about this horse is his name.
The Hell We Did.
Obvious question: where did that moniker come from?
Here's the story, courtesy of trainer Todd Fincher:
The Hell We Did is owned and was bred by Peacock Family Racing Stable LLC. When they first got into the game, the late patriarch Joe Peacock Sr. got the family involved with naming their horses.
A few years back, a horse came along and the name the family came up with was Senor Buscador, who went on to win seven of 23 career starts, the biggest being the $20 million Saudi Cup (G1) in 2024.
"Mr. Peacock said to his son, Joe Jr., 'Name the baby.'" Fincher said. "They had everyone in the family submit names and pick the best one. They chose Senor Buscador. Mr. Peacock was in his 80s at the time and Joe Jr. came into his office and his father asked, 'What did you name the horse?' He was told the name was Senor Buscador. He then said, 'The Hell We Did.'"
Presto. As an homage to their father, the Peacock family came up with the name of the horse that will carry their colors in Saturday's 151st Preakness Stakes (G1) at Laurel Park.
"If would be really special if he could win the Preakness or any big race like that," Fincher said. "Really cool."
The Hell We Did is 15-1 on the morning line and will be ridden by Luis Saez, who was on board when he finished second in his last start, the Lexington (G3) at Keeneland.
The Hell We Did had his normal gallop at Laurel Park on Friday morning with assistant trainer Oscar Rojero aboard.
GREAT WHITE - FanDuel TV reporter/paddock analyst Andie Biancone was aboard Great White for the second morning Friday, galloping around the 1 1/8-mile track for trainer John Ennis. Great White will start from Post 13 in Saturday's 151st Preakness Stakes (G1) under jockey Alex Achard.
"Loads of speed," Ennis said. "I'm on the outside, which is great. We'll take our time and ride to finish, that's it. He needs targets. Whether they're going fast or slow, he's going to have targets. Hopefully, he'll sit mid-pack. There's plenty of speed."
Great White got into the May 2 Kentucky Derby (G1) as a late also-eligible but was scratched after flipping behind the starting gate as horses were being loaded for the start. He won the John Battaglia Memorial over Turfway Park's all-weather surface and was fifth in the April 4 Blue Grass (G1) at Keeneland in his lone dirt start.
CRUPPER - Crupper, who earned a fees-paid berth in Saturday's 151st Preakness Stakes (G1) by virtue of winning Oaklawn Park's Bathhouse Row April 18, had a routine gallop Friday morning at Laurel Park under exercise rider Pedro Velez.
Asked how he saw the race unfolding, trainer Donnie K. Von Hemel in turn jokingly asked what the pace would be.
"If I knew that it would be a lot easier to plan," he said. "With a 14-horse field, it has to be an honest race as far as pace, I would think. Otherwise, you're stuck wide on the turn. There's got to be enough pace to stretch the field. I think that will happen. You just have to have a good trip from there."
Crupper will break from Post 3 under jockey Junior Alvarado. While that inside position would seem insurance against being hung out wide on the turn, Von Hemel said the flip-side concern was being sucked too far back.
"You don't want to get spit out the back, either," he said. "It's a mile-and-an-eighth track" and with the finish at the first wire, "that means we're going to have a longer run to the first turn than if we were going to use the second. I like that. And a shorter stretch. It may make horses that are off the pace have to make more of their run on the turn. But looking forward to it. Ready to go."
CORONA DE ORO - Trainer Dallas Stewart is counting on the expertise of Hall of Fame jockey John Velazquez to nurse a winning trip out of Corona de Oro in Saturday's 151st Preakness Stakes (G1) at Laurel Park.
"He's got a lot of tricks up his sleeve, Johnny," Stewart said of Velazquez, who will be riding the colt for the first time. "He wouldn't have won all those races if he didn't know how to dictate pace."
Corona de Oro is one of about 10 horses in the Preakness field with a penchant for early speed. The colt went straight to the front in each of his previous two races, including the Lexington (G3) at Keeneland when he finished third. But Corona de Oro broke from Post 1 in the Lexington and might have had little other choice.
"Probably had to go," Stewart acknowledged.
Breaking from Post 11 in the Preakness, that might not be the case.
"I know we're on the outside," Stewart said. "I guess it depends on how he breaks and where Johnny puts him. I think maybe he'll lay third or fourth. We'll just have to see how it plays out. If he breaks good and can get over, Johnny can slow him down."
ROBUSTA - There was a change in plans for Calumet Farm's homebred Robusta Friday morning at Laurel Park.
Originally, Sabas Rivera, the assistant to trainer Doug O'Neill, was planning on jogging the son of Accelerate in preparation for Saturday's 151st Preakness Stakes (G1).
"The boss changed his mind," Rivera said. "He wanted to gallop him. It was no problem."
Robusta galloped 1 1/4 miles.
Rivera said Robusta, who is 30-1 on the morning line and coming off a 14th-place finish in the Kentucky Derby (G1), will walk the shedrow on Saturday morning.
He said O'Neill was scheduled to fly into Maryland Friday night.
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