Seize the Grey

There's not a trainer in the country who would have won the GI Preakness S. with Seize the Grey (Arrogate) other than Wayne Lukas because no one would have run him in this race except for Wayne Lukas. Horses need six, seven weeks between races. Good horses can't run more than four or five times a year, no one should ever mess with their winning percentage and run a 25-1 shot and don't dare use a jockey with no prior experience in the Triple Crown. Apparently, Lukas never got that...

Baltimore, MD--The journey from the First Saturday in May through the Preakness can be an arduous one, fraught with activity and often times challenges that can try the most steady nerves. Young and old alike could be heard complaining about exhaustion by the time they made it through Preakness day, however, for some, it provided enough buoyancy to raise the Titanic. Such was the case with D. Wayne Lukas Sunday morning, the day after his colt Seize the Grey (Arrogate) wired the second jewel in the Triple Crown. Despite the...

In terms of positive momentum, the best result in the aftermath of every year's GI Preakness S. is for the GI Kentucky Derby winner to triumph again in Baltimore, setting up a potential Triple Crown bid that infuses the sport with a three-week burst of buoyancy leading up to the GI Belmont S. In the majority of years that doesn't happen, which is why the elusive Triple Crown is so special. So the next-best result is an exciting race with a compelling storyline. Saturday's 149th Preakness didn't quite deliver on...

Baltimore, MD--The naysayers said it couldn't be done. Seize the Grey (Arrogate) wasn't fast enough, was unlikely to go that far and simply put, was just being thrown into the deep end. D. Wayne Lukas, however, blocked out the noise. The Hall of Famer has been quoted countless times over the years that he has built a career running where he didn't belong. And the 88-year-old proved once again that he not only belongs, but gave yet another master class in winning a Classic in Saturday's GI Preakness S. at...

BALTIMORE, MD -- He's baaack. The truth of the matter, trainer Bob Baffert never really went away. The Hall of Famer's omnipresent influence--be it through his runners or the offspring of the stallions he helped mold--can be felt everywhere, regardless of whether the man shows up or not. Conspicuous in his absence at Churchill Downs two weeks ago, Baffert did make his first appearance on the Pimlico backstretch Friday morning, surrounded by a rockstar-caliber entourage, including his kids and his wife Jill, in addition to SF Bloodstock's Tom Ryan and...

Baltimore, MD--The stage may have changed but the show remains the same. Two weeks ago, the Triple Crown train ran through Louisville, where all were treated to a sensory assault that can only be understood when experienced first-hand. With the tour moving on to Pimlico this week, there is an undeniable adjustment. It's something like comparing Taylor Swift to Courtney Love. No further explanation required. However, despite all of its shortcomings (and no, the elevator is still not working), Pimlico and the GI Preakness S. offer a charm that many...

With the scratch of GISW and 'TDN Rising Star' Muth (Good Magic) from Saturday's GI Preakness S. due to a temperature, Lance Gasaway, 4 G Racing, Daniel Hamby III, and Valley View Farm LLC's Mystik Dan (Goldencents) is expected to be the favorite. The GI Kentucky Derby winner galloped 1 3/16 miles on a sloppy, sealed surface Wednesday morning under retired jockey Robby Albarado at Pimlico after the renovation break. "I'm doing a rain dance all this week," said Albarado. "I'm not saying he has to take a racetrack with...

GI Kentucky Derby winner Mystik Dan (Goldencents) continued his preparation ahead of Saturday's GI Preakness S. with a leg-stretching trip around the Pimlico surface Tuesday morning under Robby Albarado. The pair jogged seven furlongs before Albarado let the colt gallop through 1 1/2 miles. "I let him clip along today, and he's not even blowing," Albarado told Pimlico media following the work. "I thought every day would be a better day for him. He's getting comfortable with his surroundings. He knows where he's at now. I couldn't be more pleased...

In the few days after Mystik Dan (Goldencents) pulled an 18-1 upset in the GI Kentucky Derby, there was the real possibility that none of the 20 horses that competed in the first leg of the Triple Crown would press on to Saturday's GI Preakness S. By Sunday afternoon, any such concerns had abated--the Derby winner had been confirmed by trainer Ken McPeek and Derby fourth Catching Freedom (Constitution) was also given the green light by Brad Cox, joining a field that had already included two each from Hall of...

Before anything else, first and foremost we need to acknowledge the unfathomable legacy of Darling My Darling (Deputy Minister) as second dam of both colts denied in an agonizing three-way finish to the GI Kentucky Derby. The odds of that coincidence, for all her elite blood and performance, are best be left to an actuary. In the meantime, however, we should salvage the contrasting narratives aptly condensed, in what remains the definitive test of the American Thoroughbred, by her two grandsons. For our collective obsession with first place is such...

Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas confirmed both Seize the Grey (Arrogate) and Just Steel (Justify) would go on to Baltimore with an eye on the GI Preakness S. after runs this past Saturday at Churchill Downs, the Maryland Jockey Club announced Monday. Seize the Grey won the GII Pat Day Mile S. while Just Steel wound up 17th in the GI Kentucky Derby. "We'll bring both of ours," Lukas confirmed to the Maryland Jockey Club media Monday. "We will be there Monday." Meanwhile, Derby hero Mystik Dan (Goldencents),...

To say that the connections of Seize the Grey (Arrogate) were disappointed that the 3-year-old wouldn't be making it into the starting gate for the GI Kentucky Derby is an understatement. D. Wayne Lukas, who had Just Steel (Justify) tabbed to run later in the day, felt that the MyRacehorse runner could also have also been competitive in the Run For the Roses. While things didn't pan out for the grey to make it into the big dance, he still came away a winner Saturday, taking the GII Pat Day...