First came the drama of a Kentucky Derby that was won by a nose and then the drama of whether Derby winner Mystik Dan would race in next Saturday’s Preakness.
On Saturday, trainer Kenny McPeek gave the answer racing fans hoped for when he announced that the dreams this year might have a Triple Crown winner remain alive, according to The Associated Press.
"All systems go," McPeek said. "The horse is doing fantastic."
Earlier, he had been cautious about whether the horse would or should race so close to the Derby.
Next stop: @PreaknessStakes for Mystik Dan! 🌻🏆 pic.twitter.com/dp9PuCHIn8
— TwinSpires Racing 🏇 (@TwinSpires) May 11, 2024
The news comes after the horse's heart-stopping victory in Louisville on May 5, when Mystik Dan just edged out Sierra Leone, which in turn beat third-place finisher Forever Young by a whisker. It was the first Derby won by a nose since 1996, according to the Lexington (Kentucky) Herald-Leader.
McPeek said Mystik Dan will be shipped to Baltimore on Sunday, according to the Louisville, Kentucky, Courier-Journal. The draw for Preakness positions takes place on Monday. Only 13 horses have ever won the Triple Crown.
Although Brian Hernandez Jr. will be Mystik Dan’s jockey in the race, retired jockey Robby Albarado is riding him as he prepares for the race. Albarado and McPeek won the Preakness in 2020 with Swiss Skydiver.
“Kenny gave me a call and said, ‘Rob, I need you at Pimlico,’” Albarado said.
“Me and Kenny have had a little luck at Pimlico. We’re trying to do this whole Swiss Skydiver thing over again. This will be the only time I’ll be riding him this year, but we got just as good a rider, Brian, on him,” he said.
“Robby knows this horse as well as anybody. I think he gets along with him the best,” McPeek said.
As noted by the AP, the last Triple Crown champion, Justify, came in 2018. This year’s third leg of the Triple Crown will be at New York’s Saratoga Race Course while Belmont on Long Island is being renovated.
Mystik Dan will face competition from Muth, trained by Bob Baffert, who is currently banned from Churchill Downs after a Baffert horse, Medina Spirit, failed a drug test after winning the 2021 Derby.
Watch the overview of Mystik Dan’s trip. #KyDerby pic.twitter.com/C7LeoPA79B
— Kentucky Derby (@KentuckyDerby) May 5, 2024
The horses raced before in the Arkansas Derby, where Mystik Dan finished third, 6 ¼ lengths behind Muth.
McPeek said Mystik Dan’s post position of ninths in the field of 10 in that race “was probably what got him beat, more than anything. He really got hung out there, and then he got bumped pretty good.”
“He was ready for the Arkansas Derby,” McPeek said. “I’m not going to use that as an excuse. He did get turned sideways in that turn, and Brian felt like that cost him 3 or 4 lengths. The horse fought back, fortunately. I’m optimistic maybe we can give (Muth) another run,” he said.
Mystik Dan & I 🤝🏼 @preaknessstakes
Who is ready for next weekend?!
🎥Video credit: @offtotheracesmedia @twinspires#brianhernandezjr #mystikdan #preakness #horseracing #jockey #horses pic.twitter.com/Lh33yzlZRz
— Brian Hernandez (@b_hernandezjr) May 11, 2024
The duel between trainers is a friendly one, McPeek said, noting that Baffert called him after his Derby win, according to WRDB-TV.
”I want to tell you, Bob was one of the first people to call me,” McPeek said. “World of respect for Bob Baffert. And he and I had just (talked) from horseman to horseman — and not everybody calls you after you win a big race like that — but Bob’s great. And we had a good chat about it. And he was over the moon for me. And any notion that Bob Baffert isn’t special guy, he is.”
