Lookin At Lee, Hence in Final Preakness Moves

Lookin At Lee, the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (G1) runner-up, and stablemate Hence turned in their final works for the Preakness Stakes (G1) the morning of May 15 at Churchill Downs.

Calumet Farm's Hence, a son of Street Boss   and who was 11th in the Derby, breezed a half-mile in :51 3/5 at 6 a.m. EDT through splits of :13 and :25 4/5 before galloping out five furlongs in 1:05. L and N Racing's Lookin At Lee, by Lookin At Lucky  , worked a half-mile at 7:15 a.m. in :51 1/5 with splits of :13 and :25 4/5 before galloping out in 1:04 4/5.

"They both had really easy works," said Steve Asmussen, the Hall of Famer who trains both contenders for the May 20 Preakness at Pimlico Race Course. "Both horses were traveling well and came out of the Derby in good shape.

"Hence didn't really run his race in the Derby. Watching from the grandstand he was jumping from the kickback of the sloppy racetrack. I expected him to come out of the race as though he didn't exert himself and that's exactly what he did. He's a very impressive individual and still training very well.

"Lookin At Lee has always had a good rhythm to his training," the conditioner continued. "This is a typical breeze for him. His personality and gamesmanship gave us a lot of confidence in him going into the Derby. We have no control of how the other horses run but we always feel like he does his best. It takes a horse like him to get the dream trip as he did in the Derby. Some of the spots that he went through aren't for everybody and that's what has us feeling so strongly about him going into the Preakness."

The two horses are scheduled to depart Louisville early Tuesday afternoon on a Tex Sutton equine flight that originates in California. The horses are scheduled to arrive in Baltimore about 4 p.m.

Also Monday, Asmussen's Dubai World Cup Sponsored by Emirates Airline (G1) runner-up Gun Runner worked an easy half-mile in :51. The seven-time winner with earnings of $4,337,800 is expected to make his next start in the Stephen Foster Handicap (G1) at Churchill Downs June 17.