Quip Breezes at Keeneland Ahead of the Preakness

WinStar Farm, China Horse Club, and SF Racing's grade 2 winner Quip returned to the work tab with a half-mile breeze May 3 ahead of his anticipated start in the May 19 Preakness Stakes (G1).

A bay son of Distorted Humor  bred by WinStar, Quip went four furlongs in :48 flat over Keeneland's main track in his first work since finishing second in the April 14 Arkansas Derby (G1) behind undefeated Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (G1) contender Magnum Moon. The time was second-fastest of 28 horses at the distance.

Trainer Rodolphe Brisset, who put out his shingle after serving as an assistant under Hall of Fame conditioner Bill Mott since 2007, was pleased with the move.

"He went very good this morning. I've been saying we wanted to give him some time to recover from the last race, and we got a nice effort from him this morning," Brisset said. "He went off in :25 and came home in :23 and had a good gallop-out. It looked like he cooled out pretty good, so it looks like we're on schedule to show up at Pimlico."

Quip has three wins from five starts, highlighted by a length victory in the March 10 Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby (G2) over a field that included Kentucky Derby contenders Flameaway and Vino Rosso. Quip had enough points to qualify for a Derby run, but the connections opted instead to give the colt more time between races.

"Some people may have thought I was foolish to pass on the Derby, but we've got to do the right thing by the horse, and he wasn't showing us any sign he wanted to run in three weeks," Brisset said. "Running in the Derby to run is one thing.

"I think the Preakness is, of the three (Triple Crown races), maybe the one race that fits him the best. Hopefully, we did the right thing," he added. "We should have one more work, and if everything goes right, we will ship there and see what happens."

Brisset plans to breeze Quip once more in Kentucky—where he oversees a string of 30 horses—before shipping to Pimlico Race Course May 15.

"More than likely he will work sometime next weekend, but we'll monitor the weather and things like that," the trainer said. "I think he should have one more work and then get on a plane on the 15th … hopefully, everything goes right until the 19th. I'm excited to be there."