Mott 'Leaning Toward' Preakness Bid for Country House

The morning after Country House won the May 4 Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (G1) via the disqualification of Maximum Security from first to 17th, trainer Bill Mott noted the high expectations to run the Derby winner back in the May 18 Preakness Stakes (G1).

While Mott had originally expressed the opinion that he viewed the son of Lookin At Lucky  as a strong contender for the June 8 Belmont Stakes presented by NYRA Bets (G1), the Hall of Fame conditioner said May 6 he was inclined to run the colt back in the Triple Crown's middle jewel at Pimlico Race Course.

"We're leaning toward the Preakness, since he is the Derby winner and we don't want to pooh-pooh the Triple Crown," Mott said. "We want to support that. If he's real good and continues to do well with no issues, not worn out, all those good things, we'll keep pecking away and going in that direction.

"If there's anything we don't like as we get into the weekend or early next week, we won't feel—I don't feel—a lot of pressure to run him, and talking to the ownership group, I don't think they'll put on a lot of pressure, if I'm not happy with him for some reason."

Owned by Mrs. J.V. Shields Jr., E.J.M. McFadden, and LNJ Foxwoods, Monday was the second day Country House walked the shedrow at Churchill Downs since his Derby win. The colt is expected to have at least one more walk day before returning to the track.

If Country House runs in the Preakness, Mott said he plans to ship the colt to Pimlico from Louisville the week of the race.

MITCHELL: Owner West Says No Preakness for Maximum Security

Others Derby horses under consideration for the Preakness include runner-up Code of Honor, fourth-place finisher Improbable, seventh-place finisher War of Will, and 13th-place finisher Bodexpress.

Trainer Bob Baffert confirmed to BloodHorse Monday that WinStar Farm, China Horse Club International, and Starlight Racing's Improbable is a go for the Preakness. As originally reported by the Daily Racing Form, jockey Mike Smith will have the mount on the son of City Zip for the first time.

The same ownership group, along with Head of Plains Partners, teamed with Baffert and Smith last year when Justify  emerged from the fog to win the Preakness Stakes en route to taking the Triple Crown.

The three horses to receive automatic berths to the Preakness—Anothertwistafate, Alwaysmining, and Laughing Fox—all appear to be on track to make their first Triple Crown appearance.

Anothertwistafate earned his way in with a seven-length win at his home track in the Feb. 16 El Camino Real Derby at Golden Gate Fields, which was a "win and your in" for the Preakness and also awarded points toward a Derby start. He was then second by a neck in the March 24 Sunland Park Derby (G3) at Sunland Park, and earned additional points on the Road to the Kentucky Derby when he  again finished second in the April 13 Stonestreet Lexington Stakes (G3) at Keeneland. However, he did not earn enough points to make the Derby field May 4.

Winner of his last six starts, Alwaysmining has been a force to reckon with among sophomores in Maryland. His victory in the April 20 Federico Tesio Stakes at Laurel Park awarded him a spot in the Preakness, where he will test graded company for the first time.

Laughing Fox, who finished fourth, one spot behind Country House in the April 13 Arkansas Derby (G1), earned a berth into the Preakness when he ran in Arkansas on Derby Day to score the inaugural Oaklawn Invitational Stakes as part of Oaklawn Park's expanded meet. Connections are also likely to send him on to the Preakness.

"So far, so good; I'll put it that way," said Alex Lieblong, who co-owns Laughing Fox with his wife JoAnn. "First of all, we're very, very honored that we've got the choice. I think it's a neat thing Oaklawn and Pimlico worked out. We're kind of just going to let the horse tell us. If at all possible, we'll probably do it but we're going to make sure that the horse wants to do it, so to speak."

Also under consideration for the Preakness are multiple graded stakes-placed Sueno and grade 2 winner Signalman, neither of which entered as also-eligibles in the Derby after falling short on points. Joining them in consideration are Lexington Stakes winner Owendale, Pat Day Mile Stakes presented by LG & E and KU (G3) winner Mr. Money, and Xpressbet Fountain of Youth Stakes (G2) runner-up Bourbon War.

Rupp Racing's Owendale, trained by Brad Cox, rallied to a breakthrough victory in the Lexington after finishing off the board in the Feb. 16 Risen Star Stakes presented by Lamarque Ford (G2) at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots. 

"I feel like this horse, as long as he's doing well and training well, he can run with that group, just like he did in the Lexington," Cox said. "He didn't surprise us in the barn, or the rider (Florent Geroux) or anybody who had been dealing with him leading up to the Lexington. The way he was training, we had a lot of confidence in him. If we can get him in that same form, that confidence level going into the Preakness, he'll be competitive."

After Bourbon War ran fourth in the March 30 Xpressbet Florida Derby (G1) at Gulfstream Park, trainer Mark Hennig did not enter Bourbon Lane Stable and Lake Star Stable's colt in the Derby, preferring instead to target a start in either the Preakness or May 11 Peter Pan Stakes (G3) at Belmont Park. 

"He's doing excellent. Right now, he's probable for the Preakness," Hennig said. "We had a conference call yesterday and speaking with the owners we felt like after watching the events of the weekend, the Florida horses gave a good account of themselves and we felt we were competitive with them. So, why not take a shot in the Preakness rather than the more conservative route we were thinking in the Peter Pan?"