Rematch Probable for Preakness

Sunday, September 6, 2020

Bernies Blog

BALTIMORE – Authentic, upset winner of Saturday’s Kentucky Derby, and beaten favorite Tiz the Law, could be headed for a rematch in the 145th Preakness Stakes Saturday, Oct. 3 at Pimlico Race Course.

Trainer Bob Baffert said this morning that Authentic emerged from his front-running 1 ¼-length triumph in good shape and would remain in Kentucky with fellow Hall of Famer D. Wayne Lukas to prepare for the Preakness, presented this year as the final jewel in a refashioned Triple Crown.

“I couldn’t believe it. I thought he’d be a little tired, but the track was in really good shape and it was fast and he got over it really well,” Baffert said. “They were planning on leaving tomorrow for California but being that the Preakness is a few weeks away, I thought it might be a little too hard for him to go back. We’ll just run him out of here. If he’s working well and all is going well, then he’ll go to the Preakness. We want to give him every opportunity.”

Baffert said that the 2020 Robert B. Lewis and 2019 Los Alamitos Futurity winner, Florida-bred Thousand Words, is also being pointed to the Preakness. Albaugh Family Stables and Spendthrift’s Thousand Words flipped in the paddock after being saddled for the Derby and was scratched just before post time.

“We’re planning on sending both if they’re doing well,” Baffert said. “He didn’t even have a scratch on him. He fell on his side, so we were fortunate.”

Authentic won the Sham (G3), San Felipe (G2) and Haskell (G1) and was second in the Santa Anita Derby (G1) this year. The Derby was the first time in six career starts that the bay Into Mischief colt didn’t go off as the favorite.

That role was filled by Sackatoga Stable’s Tiz the Law, who had been unbeaten during his 3-year-old season with wins in the Holy Bull (G2) and Florida Derby (G1) at Gulfstream Park over the winter, then the Belmont Stakes, and most recently the 1 ¼-mile Travers (G1) Aug. 8 at Saratoga.

Trained by Barclay Tagg, Tiz the Law got within a head of Authentic with a half-mile to run but was never able to get by. Tiz the Law’s only two losses in eight starts have come at Churchill; he was third by less than a length over a sloppy track in the Kentucky Jockey Club (G2) last fall.

  “I haven’t seen a speed figure but it sounds like he bounced a little bit off the big Travers effort, and Barclay has a question that maybe he just really doesn’t like the racetrack,” Sackatoga managing partner Jack Knowlton said. “Watching him finish, he said he was kind of swimming a little bit maybe coming down the stretch. But, he ran the race that we were looking for. He got the trip. Manny gave him a great ride and he just didn’t beat one horse. There’s no shame in running second in the Kentucky Derby.”

“He ran good and came out of it great. I was over at the barn this morning and all is well,” Knowlton said. “I’ll have that discussion with Barclay and we’ll take a little time to see. My thinking is that we will, but we’ll have the horse dictate what’s going to happen. Certainly that would be my preference but we’ve just go to see how he comes out and see how he works when we have the next work in a couple weeks. We’ll have time for a couple works.”