Albaugh Family Stable's Catching Freedom (Constitution) is being considered for a start in the GI Preakness S. at Pimlico a week from Saturday, Jason Loutsch, co-owner and racing manager for the operation, told the Pimlico media office.
Settled far off the strong early pace of the GI Kentucky Derby by Flavien Prat, the $575,000 Keeneland September yearling made a long run into contention, sneaking through inside in upper stretch before staying on into fourth, beaten two lengths behind the three-horse photo.
Loutsch said the GII Louisiana Derby winner, trained by Brad Cox, would either get on a van to Baltimore or remain in Louisville for the GIII Matt Winn S. at Churchill Downs June 9.
“We never really ruled it out,” Loutsch said of the Preakness. “We were just going to give the horse some time to come back. We weren't going to commit until we found out how the horse is doing. We'll know something by Saturday. Obviously, you'd love to run in Triple Crown races, but at the same time the horse is always first.
“We'll make a decision by the weekend. He's doing well now. I'm not opposed to taking a shot in the Preakness, but I've got to listen to Brad and the horse and take my heart out of it. Of course I want to run, but at the end of the day it's all about the horse. He ran a bang-up race, ran hard in the Derby. We'll just see how he comes back out of it. If we don't run in the Preakness, we'll go to the Matt Winn.”
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