Callaghan Looking to Turn Preakness Tables

Heading into the May 16 Xpressbet.com Preakness Stakes (gr. I) at Pimlico Race Course this weekend, trainer Simon Callaghan said there are several factors that could enable his charge Firing Line to manage a victory over American Pharoah and six other 3-year-olds.



In the 1 1/4-mile Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I) two weeks ago, Firing Line was passed in the stretch by American Pharoah to finish one length back in second and three lengths in front of Dortmund.



Callaghan expects the 1 3/16th-mile Preakness to be a rematch of the Derby, but with a different outcome for his Line of David   colt.



"They (Firing Line and American Pharoah) have only run once and it was a close battle," Callaghan said the morning of May 14 from the Pimlico barn area. "I pretty much see the same thing happening in this race. I think it is going to be a really close race... our horse is ready to fire a really good race.



"They are very close in ability," he continued. "Probably not everybody (in the Derby top three) is going to be coming back (well) in two weeks, and hopefully we do."



Callaghan said Firing Line, who will again be ridden by Hall of Famer Gary Stevens for owner Arnold Zetcher and is the 4-1 morning line third choice, is "training really well" and looks like he has gained weight since the Derby. Those factors, along with the shorter distance of the Preakness and the six weeks Firing Line had between races leading up to the Derby give Callaghan optimism. American Pharoah, on the other hand, had less than a month between races leading up to the Derby.

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Also, Firing Line's outside post 8 is viewed as a more favorable starting position than the inside 1 post for the Derby winner, who is joined by stablemate Dortmund in the 2 post.



"I think that it being a sixteenth of a mile shorter could help us and we've got a good post while they have a slightly more difficult post," Callaghan said. "Those are a few factors that could help us turn the tables."



Callaghan said American Pharoah's Derby victory make him the obvious horse to beat in the Preakness, in which he is the 4-5 morning line favorite.



"He's definitely the horse to beat," Callaghan said. "He ran us down fair and square in the Derby."



Bred in Kentucky by Clearsky Farms out of the Hold for Gold mare Sister Girl Blues, Firing Line was purchased for $240,000 from the Keeneland April 2-year-olds in training sale. He has earned $974,800 as he has never finished worse than second in six starts, with his two victories including a romp in the Sunland Derby ( gr. III) March 22.

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"Everything has gone perfectly," Callaghan said of the Preakness lead-up. Firing Line, who shipped to Baltimore from Kentucky May 13, jogged with the pony the morning of May 14.