War Of Will wins Preakness Stakes at Pimlico

Ridden masterfully by 24-year-old jockey Tyler Gaffalione, War of Will came in ahead ahead of the fast-finishing Everfast in second and Owendale in third.

The Preakness Stakes is the second leg of USA racing’s Triple Crown. Run over a distance of nine and a half furlongs, the race carries a purse of $1.5 million with the historic $4 million Woodlawn Vase, created by Tiffany and Co. in 1860, also awarded to the winner.

Saturday’s race marked the first time in 23 years that the Kentucky Derby winner did not contest the middle jewel of the Triple Crown, stripping the Preakness of its most compelling story line: Would it produce a Triple Crown contender heading into June’s Belmont Stakes? Country House was installed as the Derby winner when stewards disqualified first-place finisher Maximum Security after the horse had interfered in his charge to the front. Trainer Bill Mott didn’t enter Country House in the Preakness, citing illness. Maximum Security, whose owner has filed a lawsuit over the disqualification, also skipped the Preakness, as did the third and fourth horses across the line, Code of Honor and Tacitus.

That made Improbable, the fifth-place Derby finisher (credited with fourth), favourite for the Preakness, despite he had yet to win in three starts this year. And that record did not look likely to improve as he got visibly agitated in the gate and finished sixth, denying Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert the distinction of becoming the first trainer to win eight Preakness Stakes.

Instead, it was young Tyler Gaffalione, who found himself in the spotlight two weeks ago when his same mount was impeded by Maximum Security in the Kentucky Derby, who was centre of attention for the right reasons.

After the drama of the Kentucky Derby, a crowd of 131,256 at Pimlico revelled in the sun-streaked afternoon and got to see a dramatic start to the Preakness. As soon as the gates flew open, Bodexpress reared and bucked sending jockey John Velazquez off his mount before he even had a chance to race a step. The Gustavo Delgado trained-runner then sprinted loose on the outside all the way around the racetrack, with suspense mounting as he stayed in stride with the other 12 horses in the field. However the horse was apprehended by the outrider after crossing the finish line as part of the group, but only after he turned back to head the wrong way down the stretch. Velazquez for his part emerged from the incident unscathed.

The loose horse was far enough to the outside to avoid Gaffalione and War Of Will during the race for after breaking from the stall one, the same post he drew in the Kentucky Derby, the jockey sat coolly as the colt came nicely to hand while saving ground on the first turn.

Warrior’s Charge had a one-length lead through three-quarters, but as he hit the top of the stretch, he drifted out and began to fade. The golden path opened for War Of Will on the rail, exactly where he’d raced all the way around the wide dirt strip in Baltimore. This time, the colt got the clean trip he’d been looking for.

War Of Will took command and edged away urging to a length and a quarter victory to ensure his place in history. Everfast closed from 11th to finish second by a nose over Owendale, who also rallied after racing ninth early. Warrior’s Charge held for fourth.

Hopes that the locals might see a first Maryland-bred winner of the Preakness since 1983 were dashed when Kelly Rubley’s Alwaysmining could only come in seventh, this after winning its previous six races.

Speaking afterwards about War Of Will, Gaffalione said, “He was more relaxed than usual today,”

“That was the key. We warmed him up to do so. Mark said, ‘Just jog him today, let him walk, try and keep him as calm as possible,’ and it worked out.”

“We just followed Warrior’s Charge the whole way around there. He came off the fence going into the turn, and I thought about waiting to go outside him, but he kept going out, out, out. So I took my shot and went through there. The horse didn’t hesitate, and he finished the job.”

Trainer Casse hinted his Preakness winner could now be bound for New York and the Belmont Stakes which will take place on 8 June.

A sub-note to Saturday’s Preakness is that it may have been the penultimate running of the race in Baltimore. The Canada-based Stronach Group, which owns both Pimlico and Laurel Park, hopes to move the race to Laurel Park after the 2020 event.

Baltimore’s political leaders oppose the move, but the 149-year-old Pimlico Racecourse is in dire need of repair and renovation. A February 2017 study by the Maryland Stadium Authority concluded that the track needed $250 million in improvements. A follow-up study last year recommended that the complex be demolished and built anew, at a projected cost of $424 million.

In April, the track closed the Old Grandstand, taking roughly 6,700 seats out of commission for this year’s Preakness Stakes, after engineers concluded it could not bear the weight of so many spectators.

Also on the card at Pimlico was the Longines Dixie Stakes which went the way of the favourite Catholic Boy.

Javier Castellano, who was on board Warrior’s Charge in the Preakness, had better fortune this time in the Grade 2 rated contest for three year olds which was run over a mile and half a furlong. Castellano’s mount came in half a length clear of Admission Office in second, who just picked Just Howard back in third by a neck.