Cox to Skip Preakness with Mandaloun, Caddo River

The May 15 Preakness Stakes (G1) lineup at Pimlico Race Course took a hit May 6 when trainer Brad Cox announced on a media teleconference that both of his prospects, Mandaloun  and Caddo River , would skip the 1 3/16-mile race.

Their removal from the field leaves Bob Baffert's two Preakness hopefuls, Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (G1) winner Medina Spirit  and Rebel Stakes (G2) winner Concert Tour , as clear favorites. Baffert has won the Preakness seven times, tied for most all-time with Robert Wyndham Walden, who saddled seven Preakness winners between 1875 and 1888.

Juddmonte Farms' Mandaloun, second in the Derby, beaten a half-length, came out of the race in good condition, but other goals have been established for the Into Mischief   colt, winner of the Risen Star Stakes Presented by Lamarque Ford (G2) earlier this winter.

"We have made the decision in the last hour to bypass the Preakness and point for grade 1s throughout the rest of the season in hopes of making him a grade 1 winner at 3," Cox said on the National Thoroughbred Racing Association conference call early Thursday afternoon.

Shortleaf Stable's Caddo River, not entered in the Derby after developing what Cox said was a temperature the week before the race, is pointed toward the Matt Winn Stakes (G3) at Churchill Downs May 29. He was runner-up in the Arkansas Derby (G1) last month after dueling early with Concert Tour. Super Stock  ran the two down to post an upset in the 1 1/8-mile race.

"We haven't done enough with him, or feel like we've done enough, to pursue the Preakness," Cox said of Caddo River.

The short turnaround from the May 1 Derby weighed in his decision to skip the Preakness with Mandaloun, the trainer said.

"I just am not a big fan of running back in two weeks unless, once again, if you win the Kentucky Derby and the horse comes out of it in good order, I think you march forward," Cox said. "But without there being an opportunity at a—Triple Crown, I just feel like it's best for the horse to target some other races later on in the year."

The turnaround is something Baffert has managed effectively during his Hall of Fame training career. All seven of his Preakness winners raced in the Derby, five of them winning. Point Given  (2001) and Lookin At Lucky   (2010) were the Baffert-trained exceptions that rebounded from off-the-board finishes in the Derby to win the Preakness.

Baffert has received positive reports from his assistant Jimmy Barnes, who is overseeing Zedan Racing Stables' Medina Spirit and Gary and Mary West's Concert Tour at Churchill Downs. Baffert, who returned to his base in California a day after the Derby, will be back at Churchill Downs this weekend to monitor a scheduled May 9 breeze from Concert Tour. That breeze must satisfy Baffert for that colt, a son of Street Sense  , to be in the Preakness.

Baffert said Medina Spirit, a son of Protonico  , is a lightly made horse, and he believes such types can sometimes handle a hard race such as a Derby better than a heavier horse.

"I haven't seen anything right now that would make me think, well, maybe, I should skip the Preakness," the trainer said.

Asked of his horses' similar running styles—their route victories this year have been on the lead—Baffert declined to discuss strategy before the race. He chose to have Medina Spirit rated just off the pace earlier this year in two races when the colt was matched against his speedy stablemate Life Is Good , who is now sidelined, recovering from a minor injury.

John Velazquez returns in the irons aboard Medina Spirit in the Preakness, while Mike Smith picks up the mount on Concert Tour.

Beyond the Baffert duo, only Midnight Bourbon  (sixth) and Keepmeinmind  (seventh) are confirmed to return in the Preakness after racing in the Derby. Winchell Thoroughbreds' Midnight Bourbon typically shows speed but started sluggishly in the Derby and rallied. 

“We didn’t think he got the opportunity that he deserved after he missed the break and his back end went out from underneath him,” said David Fiske, racing manager for Winchell Thoroughbreds. “He got jostled around by the horses on either side of him, then lost some ground. He was pretty wide on the second turn; I think eventually he ran 56 feet farther than the winner (based on Trakus data). So that would have put him a little closer. And speed seemed to be lethal on Saturday. There weren’t a whole lot of horses that were closing on the frontrunners. Then the fact that it took two handlers to get him back to the barn to give him a bath, it didn’t seem to take that much out of him. So, we thought we’d give it a try.”

Irad Ortiz Jr. has picked up the mount on Midnight Bourbon, trainer Steve Asmussen confirmed to Pimlico publicity.

Unbridled Honor , Crowded Trade , Rombauer , and Japanese raider France Go de Ina are among a group of new shooters pointed to the second leg of the Triple Crown.

According to Kate Hunter, the Triple Crown field representative for the Japan Racing Association, Yuji Inaida's France Go de Ina traveled well on a flight from Japan to Los Angeles, the first leg of an itinerary that will bring the 3-year-old son of Will Take Charge   to Maryland. Should he compete as planned, he would become the first Japanese horse to contest a Triple Crown race since Master Fencer  ran fifth in the 2019 Belmont Stakes (G1), a race that followed a sixth-place finish in the Kentucky Derby.

France Go de Ina will be ridden in the Preakness by Joel Rosario, who was aboard for a sixth-place finish in the UAE Derby Sponsored By Emirates NBD (G2) March 27, his first start of the year. Last year at 2, he twice won 1 1/8-mile races at Hanshin Racecourse.

France Go de Ina, who arrived in Los Angeles from Japan May 5, will be in quarantine there until May 8, when the Kentucky-bred will board a plane for a scheduled flight to Newark, N.J. The Hideyuki Mori-trained colt is expected to arrive at Pimlico Saturday evening following a four-hour van ride.