Atone Tops Dinner Party; Motion Runs Trio in Gallorette

The Preakness Stakes (G1) undercard May 20 at Pimlico Race Course is the perfect time to get the Triple Crown experience of bustling crowds, high energy, and excitement—without the lofty expectations.

Returning to the Baltimore oval is grade 1 winner and millionaire Atone , who will contest the 1 1/8-mile Dinner Party Stakes (G3T) after showing in the turf event last year. The 6-year-old gelded son of Into Mischief   will face six older males in the $200,000 race.

Trained by Mike Maker for Three Diamonds Farm, Atone hit the board in three graded stakes in 2022 along with fourth-place finishes in both the Maker's Mark Mile Stakes (G1T) and the Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational Stakes (G1T)—a race he took this year earning him his first graded win.

"He doesn't quite get there (all the time), but he got a perfect ride. He was a hard-luck horse last year. He's always been right there, and today was his day," Maker said after the gelding's Pegasus win in January.

Following that race, Atone finished a disappointing ninth in the March 25 Muniz Memorial Classic Stakes (G2T) at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots.

Tyler Gaffalione rides Atone.

Jockey Irad Ortiz Jr., who partnered Atone in the big win, will be aboard trainer Todd Pletcher's multiple graded stakes winner Emmanuel . 

Most recognizable for his attempt on the Kentucky Derby (G1) trail last year, the 4-year-old son of More Than Ready  traded in the dirt for grass last summer and never looked back. His first try in the 2022 Pennine Ridge Stakes (G2T) was a success when the colt went gate-to-wire at Belmont Park for owners Siena Farm and WinStar Farm.

In his next start in the 2022 Saratoga Derby Invitational Stakes (G1T), Emmanuel finished last and entered a long layoff before coming back to win both the Tampa Bay Stakes (G3T) and Canadian Turf Stakes (G3T) this year. A slow-start seventh followed in the Maker's Mark Mile last month.

Trainer Graham Motion brings three contenders, including 2022 Hollywood Derby (G1T) winner Speaking Scout , European group-placed Hurricane Dream , and last-out allowance winner Easter .

Completing the field are Rising Empire , a Brendan Walsh trainee, and Never Explain , who will contest his first graded race for trainer Shug McGaughey.

Motion Holds Upper Hand in Gallorette

Along with his three shots at the Dinner Party, Motion arrives with three in hand to look for his fourth win in the $100,000 Gallorette Stakes (G3T), a 1 1/16-mile turf event for older fillies and mares.

Both Sopran Basilea  and Vergara  arrive from layoffs while Bipartisanship  comes from a third-place finish in an allowance at Keeneland last month. Originally entered for the Bewitch Stakes (G3T), Motion found that the Gallorette would better suit Italian grade 2 winner Sopran Basilea who is making her first start in North America.

"I think it looks like she probably wants to go further," Motion said. "We actually toyed with the idea of running her at Keeneland going a mile and a half. But I thought this was a good starting point."

As for his other two entrants, Motion says that Vergara has been quite consistent, having only finished off the board twice in nine starts, and that Bipartisanship's last race indicates her aptitude for graded company.

Completing the field are Walsh trainee Princess Theorem , the Chad Brown-trained pair of Eminent Victor  and Whitebeam , and Traffic Song , trained by James Toner.