Rosario Named on Ride On Curlin for Preakness

Joel Rosario, who finished 11th in the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I) aboard General a Rod, will have the Preakness Stakes (gr. I) mount aboard Daniel Dougherty's Ride On Curlin in the May 17 race at Pimlico Race Course.

Trainer Billy Gowan was not happy with the ride Hall of Fame jockey Calvin Borel gave the colt during his seventh-place finish in the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I) May 3 at Churchill Downs. Ride On Curlin broke from the No. 19 post and dropped back to last as Borel took the colt straight to the rail.

"I told him before the race that he had three-eighths of a mile to work his way over," Gowan said.

Gowan said Ride On Curlin is doing well and would return to the track Wednesday.

"He was not tired at all after the Derby. He only ran three-eighths of a mile," Gowan said. "He was more tired after his seven-eighths work (April 27)."

Dougherty echoed his trainer's thoughts.

"I walked back with him after the Arkansas Derby (gr. I) and he was tired," Dougherty said of the runner-up effort. "He wasn't tired Saturday."

Even though his Derby dream was dashed, Dougherty was able to find one positive going forward with Ride On Curlin.

"It is only two weeks (to the Preakness) and you don't want to leave it all out there on the track," Dougherty said.

In other Preakness news:

The recent trend of Preakness candidates shipping to Pimlico shortly after the Kentucky Derby will continue this year with Rontos Racing Stable Corp.'s Social Inclusion scheduled to arrive Thursday, May 8.

In 2012, trainer Doug O'Neill sent I'll Have Another   to Baltimore less than 48 hours after his Derby victory. O'Neill followed suit with Goldencents last year.

Dynamic Impact galloped before the morning renovation break May 3 at Churchill with exercise rider Marco Cano up for trainer Mark Casse. Winner of the Illinois Derby (gr. III) in his most recent start, Dynamic Impact worked five furlongs in 1:00 1/5. The horse is scheduled to arrive at Pimlico May 14. Casse said that jockey Miguel Mena will retain the Preakness mount.

Kaleem Shah's Bayern, working in company with two-time graded stakes-winning filly Awesome Baby, drilled five furlongs in :58 1/5 over a fast Churchill racing surface after May 5.

Trained by Bob Baffert and ridden by Rosie Napravnik, Bayern started two lengths behind and outside of Awesome Baby, who was ridden by Joe Rocco Jr. Bayern drew to within a length on the turn and finished three lengths in front while posting the fastest move of 19 at the distance for the morning. Fractions were :23 and :34 2/5 and a six-furlong gallop out was timed in 1:13 2/5.

Bayern finished first in the Derby Trial Stakes (gr. III) April 26 at Churchill but was disqualified and placed second behind Embellishing Bob for interference in the stretch. Napravnik received a three-day suspension that she is serving this week.

West Point Thoroughbreds' Ring Weekend, trained by Graham Motion, is being considered for the Preakness.

Headed to the Preakness is speedy Pablo Del Monte, the third-place finisher in the Blue Grass Stakes (gr. I). Trainer Wesley Ward decided to scratch out of the Derby rather than have Pablo Del Monte start from the outside in a 20-horse field.  After the Giant's Causeway colt worked six furlongs in 1:10 4/5 May 4, Ward said he could have been a contender in the Derby. 

"The way the race played out with soft fractions for a Derby and a slow final time, I really think I would have had a great chance to be at least second," Ward said. "I was speaking to my good friend Paul Shanahan and I told him just that. He said, 'Listen Wesley, nobody remembers who was second. If you really feel that way and the horse worked as good as he did, maybe we can win the Preakness and that will be forever.'"

Linda Rice-trained Kid Cruz, the winner of the Private Terms Stakes at Laurel Park and the Federico Tesio Stakes at Pimlico in his past two starts, is scheduled to compete in the Preakness. The son of Lemon Drop Kid was claimed from the Black Swan Stable by Vina Del Mar Thoroughbreds for $50,000 at Aqueduct in November. Black Swan later bought back into the Kentucky-bred colt.  

Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas said that Robert Baker and William Mack's Hopeful (gr. I) winner Strong Mandate will not run in the Preakness.

 "He's not going," said Lukas, who won his sixth Preakness last May with Oxbow. "I am going to wait until Saratoga."