Gustavo Delgado and Gustavo Delgado Jr. arrived at Pimlico Race Course May 14 seconds after their Kentucky Derby (G1) winner Mage made the scene for a planned start in the May 20 Preakness Stakes (G1) following an overnight van ride from Louisville, Ky.
Delgado Jr., assistant trainer to his father, recalls being in Baltimore "no more than three times before."
The first time came four years ago when the Delgados had their first Preakness (G1) starter in Bodexpress . Unfortunately, the Florida Derby (G1) runner-up reared at the start and unseated Hall of Fame jockey John Velazquez. The good news is that Bodexpress galloped around the track safely, didn't impede anyone in the race, and went on to become a grade 1 winner the next year in Churchill Downs' Clark Stakes to cap a career with just shy of $700,000 in earnings.
Bodexpress stamped his place in Preakness history, too, albeit the type trainers want to avoid. A loose horse might delight the crowd when it keeps running with its rivals that still have jockeys on their back, but it is a horrifying experience for horsemen, for fear the horse might get hurt or somehow alter the outcome of the race.
"With Bode, he got famous," Delgado Jr. said with a wry smile. "Last year we attended the sale, looking for the right horse. I didn't go to the track, though. Let's see how this year goes. We're trying to change our luck at the track."
Bodexpress had yet to win a race when he finished second behind Maximum Security in the Florida Derby. He lost all chance in the Kentucky Derby when caught up in the melee triggered when Maximum Security veered out, interfering with War of Will . Maximum Security was disqualified, promoting 65-1 runner-up Country House into the victory, while War of Will moved up to seventh and Bodexpress to 13th. War of Will in his next start won the Preakness, while Bodexpress ran into more misfortunate.
"He was doing so well for that race," Delgado Jr. said of Bodexpress. "We had the feeling he could have run very well. Bode was special in his character; most people probably would have gelded him, but we wanted to stick with horsemanship, give him time, being patient, understanding that's his way, and eventually he would mature. Which he did."
Delgado Jr. said Mage's character is completely different. "Both talented, though," he said. "Both fast."
Mage arrived at Pimlico at 6 a.m. ET Sunday following an 11-hour trip from Churchill Downs, where the son of Good Magic has been stabled since winning the Derby.
The Delgados—with the elder Delgado driving—followed behind their Derby winner's van the entire way.
Delgado Jr. said two stops were made.
"We stopped for gas and we stopped to check (Mage's) water," Delgado Jr. said. "We left when we did because we wanted to beat traffic. It was a good, smooth trip. He is a good traveler."
Once Mage got to Pimlico, he walked after exiting the van and laid down in his new stall for a bit. By 8:30, he was up and alert, checking out his new surroundings. The plan is for Mage to make his first appearance on the track early May 15.
Blazing Sevens Arrives at Pimlico Following 'Pretty Easy Ship'
Rodeo Creek Racing's Blazing Sevens was led off a Sallee Horse Van at 9:20 a.m. Sunday at Pimlico to prepare for the Preakness. The son of Good Magic left trainer Chad Brown's Belmont Park base at 5 a.m.
"Good trip, pretty easy ship," said Jose Hernandez, Brown's assistant, who met Blazing Sevens at Pimlico. "I flew down and got here almost at the same time as the van. I was parking the car and the van was coming right behind."
Blazing Sevens has two wins in six career starts. He is one of three offspring of Good Magic being pointed to the Preakness. The other two are Kentucky Derby winner Mage and Perform, who won the Federico Tesio Stakes at Laurel Park April 15. The Tesio is a win-and-in Preakness prep.
Hernandez said that Blazing Sevens will get his first look at Pimlico on Monday when he heads to the track just after 8:30 a.m. to jog.
National Treasure Walks on First Morning at Pimlico
Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert's Preakness Stakes candidate National Treasure arrived at Pimlico Race Course the evening of May 13 and walked the shedrow in the stakes barn Sunday morning. The son of Quality Road is expected to visit the track Monday morning.
Hall of Fame jockey John Velazquez will ride National Treasure in the Preakness. Velazquez, the leading money-earning jockey in North American racing history, has three wins in the Kentucky Derby and two in the Belmont Stakes (G1) but he is winless in 12 starts in the Middle Jewel of the Triple Crown. He has a record of 0-3-1 in the Preakness. His most recent runner-up finish was on the Baffert-trained Kentucky Derby winner Authentic in 2019.
Red Route One Breezes; Disarm Gallops at Churchill
Red Route One had his final major training move for the Preakness Sunday morning, breezing at Churchill Downs in :49.20 seconds in trainer Steve Asmussen's well-established pattern of an easy half-mile the week of a race.
Going out when the track opened at 5:30 a.m., Red Route One avoided the rain and thunder that swept through soon afterward.
His stablemate, Kentucky Derby fourth-place finisher Disarm, galloped as rain started to fall. He'll have his own "easy half" Monday morning. The horses are scheduled to van to Baltimore May 16. Both colts are sons of 2017 Horse of the Year Gun Runner and owned by breeder Ron Winchell, the co-owner of Gun Runner with Three Chimneys Farm.
This press release has been edited for content and style by BloodHorse Staff.
