'Sense' and Sensibility

Derby Champ Is Commanding Preakness Favorite

Photos
The 132nd Preakness Stakes
Street Sense will try to claim the second leg of the Triple Crown as he battles a field of nine at Pimlico on Saturday, May 19.

BALTIMORE, May 16 -- Carl Nafzger drove the 600 miles from Louisville to Pimlico Race Course and arrived Wednesday afternoon at the stakes barn looking as fit and fine as his horse, Kentucky Derby winner Street Sense.

"I can drive 200 miles just for lunch," Nafzger quipped before heading downtown to the post position draw. "I've got a Lexus with 85,000 miles on it, and it's just a year old. I like flying very much, but I like driving better."

A 65-year-old former bull rider from Texas, Nafzger likes to be in control, and, according to Pimlico linemaker Frank Carulli, he is heading into the 132nd Grade I $1 million Preakness Stakes. After Street Sense drew post No. 8 in the nine-horse field, Carulli installed Nafzger's colt as a commanding 7-5 favorite to win the second leg of the Triple Crown.

On the first Saturday in May, Street Sense obliterated two strong trends -- no winner of the Breeders' Cup Juvenile had come back the following spring to win the Kentucky Derby, and in the past 60 years only Sunny's Halo in 1983 had won the Derby after starting in just two prep races as a 3-year-old.

On Saturday, Street Sense will have a trend working in his favor: the Preakness has been won five of the past six years by the favorite, and the streak might not have ended had Barbaro not broken down at the start last year.

"I don't believe in reincarnation, but if I do, I'm coming back as a second-guesser," Nafzger said. "I didn't want to be the favorite this time, but I earned it."

Unlike at the Kentucky Derby, where the connections for each horse selected their post positions, the Preakness gate order came by a traditional luck of the draw. Street Sense will start to the direct outside of the principal speed horses in the field, Kentucky Derby runner-up Hard Spun, Derby Trial winner Flying First Class and Santa Anita Derby runner-up King of the Roxy.

"You can sit there and read everybody, whether the pace is going or not," Nafzger said of Street Sense's position outside the speed. "If the pace is not going, you get going."

Curlin, in post position No. 4, also figures to get away quickly after his disastrous start at Churchill Downs. After breaking in 13th place, Curlin was steadied and caught behind horses before rallying in the stretch to finish a well-beaten third, eight lengths behind Street Sense.

Curlin's trainer, Steve Asmussen, missed the draw because of the death of his grandmother, and assistant Scott Blasi supervised the colt's arrival Wednesday morning. In the Preakness, Curlin will race at his fourth racetrack in five career starts.

"He's taken it well," Blasi said. "After he broke his maiden, he flew from Gulfstream to New Orleans. Then he vanned to Hot Springs [in Arkansas] for the Rebel [Stakes] and won it. Then we flew him back to Keeneland. From Keeneland, he flew back to Oaklawn for the Arkansas Derby. He's done quite a bit of traveling."

With the return of the top three finishers from the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness field looked strong, but it got even stronger Tuesday when trainer Todd Pletcher decided to run Circular Quay, a three-time stakes winner who finished sixth at Churchill Downs after starting far back.

Carulli gave Circular Quay 8-1 odds and said it was a sign of the field's strength.

"Lukas and Zito at 20-1, that's all you need to know," Carulli said, referring to Wayne Lukas and Nick Zito, two of the greatest Triple Crown trainers, whose Flying First Class and C P West are outsiders on Saturday. "It tells you there are a lot of horses that are going to take play."

Carulli sees the Fair Hill-based Xchanger as the dark horse in the field, and he gave the winner of the Federico Tesio Stakes at Pimlico respectful odds of 15-1.

With the exception of favorite Etude, who ran poorly, Xchanger faced a weak field in the Tesio on April 21, but the gray colt effortlessly opened an eight-length lead in the stretch before jockey Ramon Dominguez slowed him down considerably before the finish line.

Trainer Mark Shuman said he was delighted with the draw, with Hard Spun and Flying First Class lined up next to each other and Xchanger tucked away in the No. 2 spot on the inside.

"Let those two go head-and-head for the lead," Shuman said.

"I think Xchanger will run good," Carulli said. "If I can convince myself his best will be good enough, I might pick him. He just dragged Ramon around there [in the Tesio], and he was under death lock that last half mile. He just dragged him to the front. I realize it wasn't that strong of a field, but it was the way he did it."