Preakness the Target for Lexington Stakes Winner Collected

Collected turned in a dominant performance in the Grade 3 Coolmore Lexington Stakes on Saturday at Keeneland. (Coady Photography)
By Frank Angst, @BH_FAngst
While he’s unlikely to run in the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands, Collected put on a show in the $150,000, Grade 3 Coolmore Lexington Stakes on Saturday at Keeneland that suggests he could factor in this year’s Triple Crown races.
Speedway Stables’ Collected tracked longshot One More Round through most of the 1 1/16-mile race for 3-year-olds before pouncing at the eighth pole and surging to a four-length victory.
One More Round held on for second, a half-length ahead of a fast-closing Synchrony.
Trained by Bob Baffert and ridden to victory by Javier Castellano, Collected completed the 1 1/16 miles in 1:43.33 on a fast track.
“What an impressive horse. I really liked the way he did it. He broke well out of the gate, and he wanted to dictate the pace today,” Castellano said. “I tried to sit a little bit behind the pacemaker. Turning for home, I really like the way he accelerated. When I asked, he really responded. I was really satisfied today.”
Castellano believes Collected could excel at longer distances.
“I think so,” Castellano said. “The way he galloped out past the wire, I was very impressed.”
Swipe, favored in his first start since finishing second to Nyquist in last year’s Sentient Jet Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, moved into third through three-quarters of a mile in 1:11.73 but flattened out and finished sixth.
With the win, Collected picked up 10 points on the Road to the Kentucky Derby Leaderboard to give him a total of 21, which is still several spots out of the top 20. The Derby limits its field to 20 horses and uses the qualifying points to determine the runners should more than 20 be entered.
After the race his connections said they were leaning toward the Preakness Stakes in five weeks for the City Zip colt.
“I think that would be the most logical step, given the distance,” said Peter Fluor of Speedway Stable. “We’ll see how he comes out [of this race], but that would be a thrill for us.”
LEXINGTON STAKES REPLAY

Courtesy of Keeneland
Well-traveled Collected secured his third stakes win of the season Saturday after opening the year with a clear victory in the Grade 3 Sham Stakes at Santa Anita Park, finishing fourth as the favorite in the Grade 3 Southwest Stakes at Oaklawn Park and then bouncing back with a win in the Sunland Park Festival of Racing Stakes at Sunland Park before winning the Lexington.
Collected paid $6.40 to win, $4 to place, and $3 to show. One More Round returned $28.40 to place and $13.80 to show while Synchrony paid $5 to show.
Bred in Kentucky by Runnymede Farm and Peter J. Callahan, Collected is the first stakes winner for the winning Johannesburg mare Helena Bay. Speedway landed Collected for $170,000 at last year’s Ocala Breeders’ Sales Co. March sale of 2-year-olds in training, where he was consigned by SGV Thoroughbreds, agent.
For an Equibase chart, click here.
COLLECTED WINNING LEXINGTON

Coady Photography