Gunnevera looks strong, capable
NOTEBOOK
BALTIMORE — For a seventhplace finisher in the Kentucky Derby, Gunnevera got a lot of attention at Pimlico Race Course from the moment he stepped off the van from Churchill Downs on Saturday.
The Antonio Sano- trained colt’s gleaming chestnut coat and the manner in which he carried himself while preparing for tomorrow’s 142nd Preakness Stakes have generated somewhat of a buzz.
“For me, he is better than he was before the Derby, stronger,” Sano said yesterday. “He likes this track, and the weather Saturday looks good.”
Gunnevera, who was rated at 15-1 in the morning line for the second leg of the Triple Crown, was bumped at the start of the Derby and raced extremely wide on a wet Churchill Downs track that seemed to favor horses running near the inside rail.
“The horse is doing very well. The race isn’t going to be easy,” said Sano, whose trainee won the Fountain of Youth Stakes at Gulfstream Park and finished third behind Always Dreaming in the $1 million Florida Derby also at Gulfstream.
“Always Dreaming was the best in the Derby, and there are other good horses.” Like a dream again
Kentucky Derby winner Always Dreaming continued to impress trainer Todd Pletcher yesterday with his preparation for his bid to add the second leg of the Triple Crown to his resume.
The son of Bodemeister again demonstrated a high level of energy during his 11⁄ 2- mile gallop on the Pimlico racing surface.
“I thought he had a very strong, enthusiastic, contained gallop,” Pletcher said. “He’s giving us a great feel and shown us everything we’re hoping for, leading back in two weeks. The tank seems full. He seems eager to go. We’re just trying to keep him on the ground one more day.”
Always Dreaming has won all four of his starts this year by a combined 231⁄ lengths. 4 Classic comeback
In the aftermath of Classic Empire’s horrific journey in the Derby, trainer Mark Casse has a right to dream about a smoother trip for his 2016 juvenile champion.
“If I could draw it out, Always Dreaming would go full-tilt and him and Conquest Mo Money going at it for about three-quarters of a mile, and we sit behind them and watch,” said Casse, envisioning Classic Empire sweeping around the tiring pacesetters to a Preakness victory. “That’s my dream.”
Classic Empire was slammed by a chain reaction of bumping horses to his outside while leaving the starting gate in the Derby, causing jockey Julien Leparoux to later wonder how he stayed aboard.
Classic Empire, like Gunnevera, was forced to race extremely wide in the stretch but still was fourth.