On to Preakness for Derby's Top Three

American Pharoah (Pioneerof the Nile), Firing Line (Line of David) and Dortmund (Big Brown), the top three finishers from Saturday's GI Kentucky Derby, are all now targeting a rematch in the May 16 GI Preakness S. Still savoring a fourth Derby win Sunday morning, trainer Bob Baffert admitted Saturday's win by American Pharoah was different from his previous victories. “It's fun to come here, but I think this win was different than my other ones,” Baffert said. “I needed to get it done. I needed to win it. Something was building that something good was going to happen. And it did. It was a big sigh of relief. I was like 'mission accomplished.' That's the feeling I have at this time.” 
Of American Pharoah, Baffert added, “He was just born with that talent. He has that long stride. He's quick. He's got a really good mind. He just floats over the ground. He's different, just the way he's made. What we saw yesterday is that he's not one-dimensional, which is so nice to have. He's quick. He's handy. You can move on him at any time. I think with more racing he's getting smarter.” 
“He wasn't rank with Victor [Espinoza] at all,” Baffert continued of American Pharoah. “So he can sit there and pounce, run by you and go a mile and a quarter. He is competitive. He wants to win. He knows he's special.” 
Baffert's previous Derby winners, Silver Charm, Real Quiet and War Emblem, each went on to victory in the Preakness. American Pharoah will likely have to face stablemate Dortmund in Baltimore. 
“It's one of those things where I will sit down and discuss it with [Dortmund's owner] Kaleem Shah,” Baffert said. “I'm sure he's going to want a little revenge. His horse ran a really good race. If 'Pharoah' is that good, he's going to have to run hard. Right now I would say if all's well [Dortumnd would run]; and Dortmund looked good.” 
Owner Arnold Zetcher and trainer Simon Callaghan were also looking ahead to the Preakness Sunday morning. 
“You'd have to think if all is well that he's earned that right,” Callaghan said of a Preakness start for Firing Line. “We were glad we finally got to best Dortmund after he'd beaten us twice. And we believe we can be right there with American Pharoah. We'll walk him here for the next three or four days and monitor him. We'll then train him with the Preakness in mind. Maybe we'll breeze him, or maybe we'll just gallop him. We'll let the horse tell us. If we go, we'll probably ship up there at some point next week.” 
Of his Derby runner-up, Zetcher added, “We're all exhausted and he's not.”