2012 Triple Crown Trail: 11 try to deny I'll Have Another

[Danzig]

Originally Posted by declansharbor

Came acrossed this on twitter. Just had to share it. It HAS TO BE a joke, right?

http://m.bleacherreport.com/articles...-for-preakness

andrew is a moron. proves that anyone with a laptop can 'write' articles.
i didn't realize finishing so far back you're in another zip was a 'good showing'.

[slotdirt]

I liked this Twitter response particularly:

Josh Dutzy ‏ @JoshD3173
@AKonSports you wrote the worst horse racing article I have ever read, that is all.

[TouchOfGrey]

Preakness 2012: Trinniberg will run if Bodemeister doesn’t

[Danzig]

Originally Posted by TouchOfGrey

Preakness 2012: Trinniberg will run if Bodemeister doesn’t

so, they want to have the ability to run first before spitting the bit instead of second? morons.
and a few weeks back he was getting kudos for being smart; turns out he was dumb after all.

[tywizard]

Union Rags skipping Preakness and pointing to Belmont according to twitter.

[Mike]

Interesting tidbit from Jerardi of DRF:

As to this Derby, I am now convinced that, unless your horse has top-end speed, you really want to be in the auxiliary gate. Since 1995, in races with 16 or more horses, the second gate has produced eight winners or exactly 50 percent.

[Kasept]

1. Bodemeister B. Baffert M. Smith Kentucky Derby, 2nd
2. Brimstone Island (W. Campbell/X. Perez)
3. Cozzetti (D. Romans/J. Lezcano)
4. Creative Cause (M. Harrington/J. Rosario)
5. Hierro (S. Asmussen/J. Leparoux)
6. I'll Have Another (D. O'Neill/M. Gutierrez)
7. Liaison (B. Baffert/M. Garcia)
8. Optimizer (D. Lukas/C. Nakatani)
9. Teeth of the Dog (M. Matz/J. Bravo)
10. Tiger Walk (I. Correas/K. Desormeaux)
11. Went The Day Well (G. Motion/J. Velazquez)
12. Zetterholm (R. Dutrow/J. Alvarado)
13. Pretension (C. Grove/J. Santiago) -- Unlikely
14. Guyana Star Dweej (D. Shivmangal/TBA)

[parsixfarms]

If Guyana Star Dweej runs, hopefully, he'll draw next to Went the Day Well.

[Kasept]

I’LL HAVE ANOTHER GIVING TRAINER CONFIDENCE; TEETH OF THE DOG WORKS FOR PREAKNESS

BALTIMORE– 05-12-12 – On a sunny Saturday morning at Pimlico Race Course, trainer Doug O’Neill was very enthusiastic about Kentucky Derby winner I’ll Have Another’s chances of winning the Middle Jewel of the Triple Crown.

“I’m just very pumped the way our colt is settling in and training,” O’Neill said. “I really look for him to repeat in the Preakness.”

Under exercise rider Jonny Garcia, Reddam Racing’s Derby winner turned in an enthusiastic gallop when the track reopened at 8:30 a.m. following the renovation break. I’ll Have Another skipped over the Pimlico surface for the third morning since he resumed galloping.

“He had great energy today and his normal long, beautiful stride,” O’Neill said. “We’re very happy with the way things are going.”

After the gallop, O’Neill and his staff schooled I’ll Have Another in Pimlico’s indoor paddock. O’Neill said he liked the way the colt acted in that space and will take him there before the Preakness.

“The game plan now will be to saddle downstairs there and then go out on the turf course where they do the ‘riders up,’” O’Neill said. “I like it breaking up the monotony a little bit and we saddle these guys in stalls seven days a week. I just don’t want to saddle him in the wide-open if we don’t have to. They offered that opportunity to saddle in the stalls. I’d like to keep that consistent.”

I’ll Have Another’s chestnut coat glowed in the bright sun like a new penny and O’Neill said that he likes everything about what the colt is showing him at the midpoint between the Derby and the Preakness.

“He came out of the Derby in incredible shape, so he has been able to maintain his energy, his appetite,” O’Neill said. “He’s a phenomenal horse, obviously. You don’t win the Derby unless you are a phenomenal horse. The way he has settled in here and continued his energy is incredible. Today after schooling he was bucking and playing going back home. He looks and feels as good as he ever has.”

O’Neill and his staff are enjoying their time in Baltimore and are taking advantage of the opportunities that have come their way. Following training hours Saturday, the group ran in the Preakness 5K. O’Neill’s high-profile, multi-millionaire stable pony, Lava Man, also participated, serving as Grand Marshall while leading the field of runners in the first leg of the race around the Pimlico racetrack.

Team O’Neill shipped I’ll Have Another from Churchill Downs to Pimlico two days after his Derby victory and the veteran trainer said that Barn D at Pimlico has a laid-back atmosphere similar to his stable in California.

“It’s pretty quiet at Hollywood Park; Churchill was kind of a zoo,” O’Neill said. “Right now it almost feels like we’re at a training center, it’s such a quiet, nice environment. I think it’s been a huge help, after the chaotic Derby week, to have a nice, mellow few days here. I’m sure it will get going pretty hot and heavy next week, but to have this little breather has been beautiful.”

O’Neill said I’ll Have Another is “a happy camper,” and is pleased he decided to break the form of recent Derby-winning trainers and ship to Pimlico as early as possible.

“No matter what happens, I feel 100 percent certain that we made the right call,” O’Neill said. “The track is in great shape. Everything is ready for us here. We show up here and there are breakfast burritos and coffee. They are treating us like kings here. It’s been awesome for the team and awesome for the horses.”



TEETH OF THE DOG – J.W. Singer LLC’s Teeth of the Dog breezed five furlongs in 1:01 under exercise rider Paul Madden Saturday morning at Fair Hill Training Center.

“He worked real well and galloped out real good. We’re all set for next Saturday,” said trainer Michael Matz, who had entered Teeth of the Dog in Saturday’s Peter Pan (G2) at Belmont Park but scratched when assured that the son of Bluegrass Cat would qualify for the 14-horse Preakness field.

Joe Bravo, who guided Teeth of the Dog to a maiden victory at Gulfstream and a third-place finish in the Wood Memorial (G1) at Aqueduct, has the Preakness mount.

ZETTERHOLM – Winter Park Partners’ Silver Train colt boarded a van bound for Pimlico after his morning exercise at Aqueduct Saturday.

Trainer Richard Dutrow Jr., who sent the New York-bred colt to the track for a once-around gallop, said Zetterholm is scheduled to work six furlongs at 8:30 a.m. Sunday at Pimlico. The colt was entered in the Peter Pan (G2) Saturday at Belmont Park but was scratched in favor of the Preakness.

Dutrow said that the colt’s regular jockey, Junior Alvarado, will ride the colt in the 137th Preakness Stakes.

“We’re ready to roll,” Dutrow said.

Zetterholm, winner of three consecutive races, will be Dutrow’s third Preakness horse . He won his debut with Kentucky Derby winner Big Brown in 2008 and Yawanna Twist was fourth in 2010.

BODEMEISTER/LIAISON – Zayat Stables LLC and Michel and Tiffany Moreno’s Bodemeister, runner-up to I’ll Have Another in last Saturday’s Kentucky Derby (G1), visited the starting gate and then galloped 1 ½ miles under exercise rider George Alvarez on a mild Saturday morning at Churchill Downs.

The Bob Baffert trainee had his exercise following the 8 o’clock renovation break for track maintenance.

Arnold Zetcher’s Liaison, sixth in the Kentucky Derby, galloped 1 ½ miles under Alvarez before the morning break.

Baffert is expected to be at Churchill Downs on Monday morning. The Preakness status of both colts will not be determined until Baffert arrives.

After Bodemeister completed his morning activity, Peachtree Stable’s Mamma Kimbo, undefeated in two starts and winner of the Fantasy (G2) in her most recent outing, worked a bullet five furlongs in :59.60 in preparation for an anticipated start in Friday’s Black-Eyed Susan (G2).

With jockey Shaun Bridgmohan up and working over a fast track, Mamma Kimbo produced fractions of :12, :23.80, :35.40, :47.60 and galloped out in 1:12.60. Of the 17 works at the distance, the next fastest clocking of the morning was 1:01.80.

“Bob said he wanted 59 and change and out in 1:12 and change and that’s what we got,” said Jim Barnes, assistant to Baffert. “That’s her.”

COZZETTI – The Albaugh Family Stables LLC’s Cozzetti galloped 1 ½ miles at Churchill Downs under exercise rider Romero Cordache.

Fourth in the Arkansas Derby (G1) in his most recent start, Cozzetti is scheduled to work Sunday for trainer Dale Romans. It would be Cozzetti’s third work since the Arkansas Derby.

“He’s a nice horse but he needs to step up and run like he trains,” said Romans, who won the Preakness last year with Shackleford.

Jose Lezcano, who has been aboard for Cozzetti’s past two starts, has the call in the Preakness.

TIGER WALK – Sagamore Farm’s Tiger Walk galloped 1 3/8 miles at Kevin Plank’s historic Glyndon, Md. Farm Saturday morning.

Trainer Ignacio Correas will ship the son of Tale of the Cat to Pimlico Sunday morning for a workout at 8:30 following the renovation break.

“Most likely, he’ll go an easy half,” said Correas, whose colt will be ridden by Horacio Karamanos in the breeze. “I might change my mind before now and then, but that’s what I’m looking for.”

Kent Desormeaux, who dominated the Maryland circuit during the late 1980s, will ride Tiger Walk for the first time in the Preakness.

HIERRO/ISN’T HE CLEVER – Trainer Steve Asmussen’s two potential Preakness entrants, Stonestreet Stables’ Hierro and J. Kirk and Judy Robison’s Isn’t He Clever, galloped at Churchill Downs Saturday.
Exercise rider Carlos Rosas was aboard both horses.

Kirk Robison said from El Paso, Texas Saturday morning that a decision on Isn’t He Clever will not be made until after the gelding works Monday morning at Churchill Downs.

“There are a couple of factors in the decision,” Robison said. “Steve wants to see how he works on Monday and we’ll talk about the field. The key thing is we want to put the horse where he belongs.”

Isn’t He Clever, who finished second in the Sunland Derby (G3) before finishing eighth in the Arkansas Derby (G1), has been in Asmussen’s care for four weeks since the race at Oaklawn Park. Prior to that, Isn’t He Clever was trained by Henry Dominguez.

Monday’s scheduled work will be the fourth at Churchill Downs for Isn’t He Clever.

Robison was not tipping his hand about a possible trip to Pimlico next weekend.

“I can get there if I need to be,” Robison said with a laugh.

WENT THE DAY WELL – Team Valor International and Mark Ford’s Went the Day Well was galloped a mile under exercise rider Zeke Castro at Fair Hill Training Center Saturday morning.

Trained by Graham Motion, the fourth-place Kentucky Derby finisher is expected to ship to Pimlico from the Elkton, Md. farm early next week.

John Velazquez will have the return mount aboard the son of Proud Citizen.

CREATIVE CAUSE – Heinz Steinmann’s colt jogged a mile and galloped a mile Saturday morning at Hollywood Park and remains a candidate for the Preakness Stakes.

Trainer Mike Harrington said that the multiple graded-stakes winner and fifth-place finisher in the Kentucky Derby was doing well training at his home base in California.

HANSEN – Dr. Kendall Hansen and Skychai Racing’s Hansen galloped Saturday morning at the Trackside Training Center under exercise rider Joel Barrientos for trainer Mike Maker.

Ninth in the Kentucky Derby, the 2-year-old champion of 2011 remains a possible candidate for the Preakness with a decision expected Monday or Tuesday.

OPTIMIZER – Five-time Preakness winning trainer D. Wayne Lukas sent Bluegrass Hall’s Optimizer to the track as it opened at 6 o’clock for a 1 ½-mile gallop under exercise rider Joel Cano.

Eleventh in the Kentucky Derby, Optimizer will be ridden in the Preakness by Corey Nakatani.

Lukas said Optimizer may work before he vans to Pimlico on Tuesday. Rain is forecast for the Louisville area beginning Saturday night and continuing through the day Sunday.

Lukas did work Bluegrass Hall’s Colonial Empress, a candidate for Friday’s Black-Eyed Susan (G2), a half-mile in :47.80 Saturday morning, the second fastest of 53 works at the distance.

PRETENSION – Kidwells Petite Stable’s Pretension galloped 1 ½ miles at Bowie Training Center Friday morning.

Trainer Chris Grove reported Pretension’s Preakness status has yet to be determined but that he is training the Canonero II Stakes winner as though he will run in the Middle Jewel of the Triple Crown.

[NTamm1215]

Originally Posted by Kasept

OPTIMIZER – Five-time Preakness winning trainer D. Wayne Lukas sent Bluegrass Hall’s Optimizer to the track as it opened at 6 o’clock for a 1 ½-mile gallop under exercise rider Joel Cano.

Eleventh in the Kentucky Derby, Optimizer will be ridden in the Preakness by Corey Nakatani.

Lukas said Optimizer may work before he vans to Pimlico on Tuesday. Rain is forecast for the Louisville area beginning Saturday night and continuing through the day Sunday.

Lukas did work Bluegrass Hall’s Colonial Empress, a candidate for Friday’s Black-Eyed Susan (G2), a half-mile in :47.80 Saturday morning, the second fastest of 53 works at the distance.

Oh my God. His abuse of that horse is endless.

[Kasept]

Hansen, as Vol Jack told you last week, officially a 'no' for Preakness..

[Kasept]

1. I'll Have Another (D. O'Neill/M. Gutierrez)
2. Bodemeister (B. Baffert/M. Smith)
3. Went The Day Well (G. Motion/J. Velazquez)
4. Creative Cause (M. Harrington/J. Rosario)
5. Liaison (B. Baffert/M. Garcia)
6. Optimizer (D. Lukas/C. Nakatani)
7. Daddy Nose Best (Asmussen/Gomez) -- Possible
8. Cozzetti (D. Romans/J. Lezcano)
9. Teeth of the Dog (M. Matz/J. Bravo)
10. Tiger Walk (I. Correas/K. Desormeaux)
11. Zetterholm (R. Dutrow/J. Alvarado)
12. Pretension (C. Grove/J. Santiago) -- Uncertain
13. Guyana Star Dweej (D. Shivmangal/TBA)

[NTamm1215]

Originally Posted by Kasept

Hansen, as Vol Jack told you last week, officially a 'no' for Preakness..

And going to what is rapidly becoming an awesome Woody Stephens on Belmont day.

[RolloTomasi]

Originally Posted by NTamm1215

And going to what is rapidly becoming an awesome Woody Stephens on Belmont day.

They need to add Mark Valeski to that mix.

[Alan07]

Hierro and Isn't He Clever also out of Preakness.

[Kasept]

Daddy Nose Best now a possibility..

[Danzig]

i wonder if liason will like pimlico??

[Danzig]

Originally Posted by Kasept

Daddy Nose Best now a possibility..

but does steve assmussen?

[Kasept]

And Brimstone Island bows out; Still to come is a Pretension decision.

[Kasept]

BODEMEISTER CONFIRMED; DADDY NOSE BEST MAY JOIN FIELD

BALTIMORE, 05-14-12 – Trainer Bob Baffert on Monday got his first look at Bodemeister since the morning after his brilliant second-place finish in the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs. The Hall of Fame trainer liked what he saw during his colt’s 1 ½-mile gallop around a muddy oval before confirming the son of Empire Maker for Saturday’s Preakness Stakes at Pimlico Race Course.

“He looks good, his coat is good and he is eating well,” the five-time Preakness-winning trainer said after Bodemeister completed his activity under exercise rider George Alvarez. “I see no reason not to take him (to Pimlico).”

Owned by Zayat Stables, LLC and Michel and Tiffany Moreno, Bodemeister ran some of the fastest fractions in the 138-year history of the Kentucky Derby and did not surrender the lead to eventual winner I’ll Have Another until just before the sixteenth pole.

“He ran an amazing race,” Baffert said. “At the eighth pole, when (jockey) Mike (Smith) went to the left-handed stick, the yellow caution light came on. He tried to fight back and he hung on for second. He was glorious in defeat.”
Baffert liked how Bodemeister bounced out of the race.

“He cooled out quickly and started to eat right after the race,” Baffert said. “I was worried that he might be wiped out and just stay in the back of his stall for three days and sulk, but he never did.”

Baffert has visited the Pimlico winner’s circle with Preakness winners Silver Charm (1997), Real Quiet (1998), Point Given (2001), War Emblem (2002) and Lookin At Lucky (2010).

He said that Bodemeister would not have a work before the Preakness.

“I didn’t work Lookin At Lucky after the Derby,” Baffert said. “If a horse didn’t really run or didn’t show up in the Derby, I might breeze them to see if I was missing something.”

Bodemeister entered the Kentucky Derby off a 9 ½-length victory in the Arkansas Derby when he was ridden for the first time by Smith, who won the Preakness in 1993 on Prairie Bayou.

“He deserves it (a shot at the Preakness),” Baffert said of Bodemeister. “He won the Arkansas Derby and then came back in three weeks and ran a great race. He looks good and I don’t see why he can’t run another one.”

Also observing the morning activity was co-owner Ahmed Zayat, who has now had horses finish second in three of the past four runnings of the Kentucky Derby.

“I keep waking up at 3 or 4 in the morning dreaming about the race,” said Zayat, whose Nehro finished second in 2011 and Pioneerof the Nile was second in 2009.

Does Bodemeister win the Derby in the dream?

“No, he does not,” Zayat said.

Baffert told Maryland Jockey Club stakes coordinator Coley Blind that Arnold Zetcher’s Liaison would not run in the Preakness Stakes. Liaison finished sixth in the Kentucky Derby. Baffert said a couple of options for Liaison would be the Belmont Stakes (G1) on June 9 or a return to California for the $150,000 Californian (G2) at 1 1/8 miles at Betfair Hollywood Park on June 2.

I’LL HAVE ANOTHER – With rain starting to fall Monday morning, trainer Doug O’Neill called an audible and sent the Kentucky Derby winner out for his daily exercise at 6:45 instead of 8:30.

“We sent one horse out at 6:30 and the track was great,” O’Neill said. “It just started sprinkling and everyone’s iPhone was saying ‘rain’s coming.’ We didn’t want to get caught up in a sloppy track or a wet track, so we took him out. Turned out that we could have waited, but we didn’t know.”

Under his regular exercise rider, Jonny Garcia, the colt had his standard piece of exercise, a half-mile jog followed by a strong gallop for six to eight furlongs.

O’Neill believes in a strong galloping program to keep his horses fit for racing. I’ll Have Another has flourished in that system and has won his three starts, all graded stakes, this year.

“Most of his works were by himself and all well within himself,” O’Neill said. “He’s just a horse that gives 110 percent in all his exercise, so he is able to keep himself fit and ready.”

O’Neill and members of his staff were guests of the Baltimore Ravens at the NFL team’s training center in Owings Mills on Sunday. They watched a session of the rookie camp and had lunch with Ravens head coach John Harbaugh.

”We talked about horses; his wife loves to ride,” O’Neill said. “A lot of what we talked about was his love for the horses and our love for football. It was a great time and he treated us like we all knew each other for years, and yet we had just met.”

Team O’Neill also met Ravens’ general manager Ozzie Newsome, assistant coaches and coordinators.

“It was fun. What a first-class setting,” O’Neill said. “That will definitely be one of the top things that we have experienced here in Baltimore.”

COZZETTI – The Albaugh Family Stables LLC’s Cozzetti indicated his readiness for Saturday’s Preakness by working five furlongs over a muddy Churchill surface in :58.80, the fastest clocking of 10 recorded at the distance.

With exercise rider Tammy Fox aboard, Cozzetti worked on his own while reeling off fractions of :11.60, :23.20, :34.80, :46.80 and galloping out six furlongs in 1:12.40 and seven-eighths in 1:27.40.

“It was a good five-eighths work,” said trainer Dale Romans, who won the Preakness with Shackleford last year.

Romans indicated that Cozzetti probably would go to the track Wednesday morning before flying to Pimlico.

CREATIVE CAUSE – Heinz Steinmann’s gray son of Giant’s Causeway walked the shedrow at Betfair Hollywood Park as he prepares for his second cross-country trip to run in Saturday’s Preakness.

After finishing fifth in the Kentucky Derby, Creative Cause was shipped back to California by trainer Mike Harrington, who has determined that his colt is fit and ready to ship to Pimlico on Wednesday.

“Everything’s fine,” said the 71-year-old Harrington, who is scheduled to arrive by plane in Baltimore on Wednesday afternoon. The colt will be on an earlier flight that will stop in Louisville to pick up the Churchill Downs contingent heading to the Preakness.

“I’d like to be there for the draw, but I don’t know if I’ll make it there in time or not,” Harrington said. The post-position draw is scheduled for 6 p.m. on Wednesday on HRTV. Creative Cause finished only three lengths behind winner I’ll Have Another in the Kentucky Derby.

Joel Rosario has the return mount.

HANSEN – Trainer Mike Maker said Monday morning that 2011 Eclipse Award winner Hansen would not be running in Saturday’s Preakness at Pimlico.

“He is not going,” Maker said of the ninth-place finisher in the Kentucky Derby. “That would be coming back a little quick.”

Hansen, winner of the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (G1) at Churchill Downs last fall to cement his championship status, is owned by his breeder, Dr. Kendall Hansen, and Skychai Racing.

Maker indicated that Hansen likely would be pointed to the $400,000 Woody Stephens (G2) to be run at seven furlongs on the Belmont Stakes (G1) Day undercard June 9.

DADDY NOSE BEST – Although Hierro and Isn’t He Clever were withdrawn from Preakness consideration Monday morning, trainer Steve Asmussen may still be represented in the Middle Jewel of the Triple Crown.

Cathy and Bob Zollars’ Daddy Nose Best was added to the list of Preakness candidates after working a half-mile in 53 seconds over a sloppy track at Churchill Downs Monday morning. The Sunland Park Derby (G3) winner finished a troubled 10th in the Kentucky Derby.

“The decision will be made on Tuesday after we see how he comes out of his work,” said Zollars by phone from Texas. “He came out of the (Kentucky) Derby fine. We had him all checked over. Steve and I will talk it over on Tuesday.”

Representatives of Barbara Banke’s Stonestreet Stables informed Pimlico officials Monday morning that Hierro, the winner of the Cliff’s Edge Derby Trial (G3) at Churchill Downs on April 28, will not run in the Preakness Stakes.

Kirk and Judy Robison also decided to bypass the Preakness with Isn’t He Clever, who finished ninth in the Arkansas Derby (G1) last time out.

“We are going to wait for something after the Preakness,” Kirk Robison said from El Paso, Texas. “The horse could not be doing any better and Steve said he worked well this morning. We are going to wait for the right spot with him and I’ll let Steve tell me what that spot is.”

WENT THE DAY WELL – Team Valor International and Mark Ford’s Went the Day Well galloped 1 ½ miles at Fair Hill Training Center Monday morning.

Trainer Graham Motion’s plan to ship to Pimlico after training hours Tuesday morning could be changed by rainy weather.

“Only if it looks like the track is going to be a mess on Wednesday will I not ship him (Tuesday),” Motion said. “As long as it looks like it will clear up tomorrow, I’m not too worried.”

Motion has a long history of success at Pimlico.

“Pimlico was actually where I started. That was where I worked for Bernie Bond and when I took over his stable. We were always at Pimlico until I moved to Laurel when I set up my own stable,” said Motion who worked for Bond in 1991. “I’ve certainly had a lot of stakes success at Pimlico.”

The 47-year-old trainer scored his first graded-stakes win at Pimlico with Gala Spinaway in the 1993 Polynesian (G3).

John Velazquez, who guided Went the Day Well to a fourth-place Kentucky Derby finish, has the return mount for the Preakness.

TEETH OF THE DOG – J.W. Singer LLC’s Teeth of the Dog enjoyed a morning of light training at Fair Hills Training Center Monday.

“He’s doing great. He just jogged two miles,” trainer Michael Matz said.

Matz said he plans to ship the son of Bluegrass Cat from the Elkton, Md. training center to Pimlico later in the week.

Joe Bravo has the return mount aboard Teeth of the Dog for the Preakness.

TIGER WALK – Trainer Ignacio Correas reported Monday morning that Sagamore Farm’s Tiger Walk came out of his workout the day before in fine order.

“He came out of it fantastic,” said Correas from Kevin Plank’s historic Glyndon, Md. farm. “He walked today and he grazed a little bit before the rain.”

Tiger Walk, who finished fourth in the Wood Memorial (G1) last time out, breezed four furlongs in 47 3/5 seconds at Pimlico Sunday morning before taking the 20-minute ride back to Sagamore.

“He likes the track. He was training here for about a month, and then we only left the babies here. We took all the other horses to the farm,” Correas said. “He’s very familiar and comfortable here. Now we’ll see how he handles the crowd – that’s the only question.”

Kent Desormeaux is scheduled to ride Tiger Walk for the first time in the Preakness.

ZETTERHOLM – The New York-bred son of Silver Train walked the shedrow in the Preakness Stakes Barn on Monday, the morning after he breezed five furlongs on 1:01.40.

“Everything is good,” assistant trainer Blake Dutrow said. “He seems happy to be here. It’s an off day for him so he’s just taking it easy.”

Dutrow, 20, works for his uncle, Richard Dutrow Jr., and is the grandson of the late Maryland training legend, Richard Dutrow Sr. His father, Chip, and his uncle, Tony, are trainers, too.

Zetterholm brings a three-race winning streak at Aqueduct into the Preakness. The New York-bred opened 2012 with a second-place finish on Jan. 7 and broke his maiden on Feb. 4. He rallied from off the pace to beat an allowance field by a half-length on March 4 and took the restricted Patsyprospect Stakes by 2¼ lengths on April 6.

Blake Dutrow said the bay colt out of the Lord at War mare Holy Wish is easy to deal with.

“He’s a pretty smart horse. He likes to stop and look at his surroundings,” he said. “He’s just getting used to the place.”

Zetterholm will be taking a sizeable step up in competition from the Patsyprospect to the Preakness.

“Every race he has improved from his last,” Dutrow said. “If he likes the track and the race sets up nice for him, he’s got as good a shot as anybody. I think the race does set up nice.”

Jockey Junior Alvarado, Zetterholm’s regular rider, will make his Preakness debut on Winter Park Partners’ colt.

OPTIMIZER – Bluegrass Hall LLC’s Optimizer completed the Kentucky portion of his training for the Preakness by working a half-mile in :49.80 Monday morning at Churchill Downs.

With exercise rider Joel Cano up, Optimizer was the first horse to work over a track labeled as sloppy when the track opened at 6 o’clock. Working on his own, Optimizer recorded fractions of :13.20, :25.60 and :37.60.

“That was perfect,” trainer D. Wayne Lukas said of the move that was the 14th fastest of 25 at the distance.

Optimizer is scheduled to leave Churchill Downs early Tuesday morning for a van ride to Baltimore.

Lukas has saddled five Preakness winners: Codex (1980), Tank’s Prospect (1985), Tabasco Cat (1994), Timber Country (1995) and Charismatic (1999).

GUYANA STAR DWEEJ -- Trainer Doodnauth Shivmangal sent the son of Eddington onto a track labeled fast at Belmont Park Monday morning for a leisurely gallop before learning there were enough defections for him to make the field for Preakness 137. Showing only a maiden victory on his resume, Guyana Star Dweej will likely be one of the longest shots in the prospective field.

“After his maiden win (April 7 at Aqueduct) we knew he had run a better Beyer (Speed) Figure in every race and he beat older horses,” said Shivmangal, who saddled Isn’t He Perfect for a ninth-place finish in last year’s Preakness. “He ran against some good horses. One of the horses that beat him at Aqueduct, Morgan’s Guerrilla, that’s the horse they took to the Illinois Derby.”

Shivmangal said he probably should have given the colt more recovery time after the maiden score, but instead ran him back in 20 days and finished second in an optional claimer the first time facing winners.

“I should have given him the whole month off,” said the 59-year-old Guyana native. “I was really heading to the Peter Pan (last weekend at Belmont). Since we didn’t get to the Peter Pan, I decided to give him a shot in the Preakness. He’s a horse, I think, that can go the mile and three-sixteenths.”

PRETENSION – Kidwells Petite Stable’s Pretension had a scheduled walking day at Bowie Race Course Monday morning.

Trainer Chris Grove will meet with owner Irving Kidwell after training hours Tuesday morning to discuss Pretension’s status for the Preakness Stakes.

BRIMSTONE ISLAND – The consistent son of Tiznow will run in a race on Saturday’s undercard instead of the Preakness, according to owner/trainer Billy Campbell.

“These are some of the best horses in the country,” Campbell said. “I’m not sure he’s up to that kind of task.”

A four-time winner with three seconds from 10 starts, Brimstone Island will be entered in the fourth race, a $50,000 allowance at 1 1/16 miles that will likely include trainer Bob Baffert-trained Paynter, runner-up in the Cliff’s Edge Derby Trial (G3) last time out.