By Ray Paulick
Martin Garcia might be trainer Bob Baffert’s new good-luck charm after the up-and-coming rider scored his first Triple Crown victory on Saturday aboard Lookin At Lucky in the 135th running of the Preakness Stakes at Pimlico racecourse in Baltimore, Md. Front-running longshot First Dude finished second, beaten three-quarters of a length, with Jackson Bend third and Yawanna Twist fourth in the field of 12 3-year-olds. Kentucky Derby winner Super Saver was eighth.Time for the 1 3/16 miles was 1:55.47.

Preakness chart. Preakness video.

The win was the fifth in the Triple Crown’s middle jewel for Baffert, who made a decision to change riders from Eclipse Award-winning Garrett Gomez to the unheralded Garcia following the Kentucky Derby, when Lookin At Lucky ran into a ton of trouble in the early going after drawing the disadvantageous rail post. It was the third consecutive race in which Lookin At Lucky and Gomez had trouble in a race following the Rebel Stakes at Oaklawn Park (narrowly won by Lookin At Lucky) and the Santa Anita Derby (where Lookin At Lucky ran third). "Bob Costas (on the NBC Sports telecast) kept trying to get me to say something bad about Garrett," Baffert said Saturday afternoon, as he leaned over the infield fence and watched the Preakness post parade. "Garrett and I are friends. Sometimes you just have to shake things up to change your luck, that’s all. I’ve won million-dollar races with him and will again."
 
Immediately after the race, Baffert was asked if he was concerned that a young rider like Garcia had so little big-race experience. "If they have vomit on the top of their toes, I know we’re in trouble," Baffert joked. Garcia’s boots were clean and shiny when the white-haired trainer legged him up on the Smart Strike  colt who carried the silks of longtime Baffert client Mike Pegram. Paul Weitman and Karl Watson are co-owners of last year’s 2-year-old champion. (Smart Strike was also the broodmare sire of runner-up First Dude.)

"He just rode a perfect race," Baffert said of Garcia, who put Lookin At Lucky in good position, running fifth atter the start as First Dude and Ramon Dominguez carved out fast fractions of :22.91 for the opening quarter, :46.47 for the half mile and 1:11.22 for six furlongs. Meanwhile, Calvin Borel had Kentucky Derby winner Super Saver chasing the fast pace from second, but before the field hit the top of the stretch it was apparent the long Triple Crown drought going back to Affirmed in 1978 would not be snapped in 2010.

Garcia swung Lookin At Lucky to the outside and moved toward the lead at the top of the stretch as Super Saver began to retreat. "When I asked him he just kind of folded up," Borel said. Super Saver wound up eighth as the 19-10 betting favorite.

Lookin at Lucky hit the front before reaching the furlong pole after an opening mile in 1:36.26, holding a half-length advantage over First Dude, who battled down the stretch in a very game effort. Jackson Bend was close up throughout, but lacked room in the stretch on the inside, then swung out and rallied well to finish just a head behind First Dude. "If we can get out, it’s a different story. We win," said Jackson Bend’s trainer, Nick Zito. The final time was 1 3/5 seconds off the Preakness record and the slowest since Smarty Jones won by 11 1/2 lengths in 1:55.59 in 2004.

Complete order of finish: Lookin At Lucky, First Dude, Jackson Bend, Yawanna Twist, Dublin, Paddy O’Prado, Caracortado, Super Saver, Schoolyard Dreams, Aikenite, Pleasant Prince, Northern Giant.

"I never worried," said Garcia, a 25-year-old native of Veracruz, Mexico, who was working in a deli in the San Francisco area seven years ago when someone introduced him to the racetrack. "I was happy with my position (early in the race)." Garcia rode pacesetter Conveyance in the Kentucky Derby. "He just got tired," said Garcia, "but this is a great horse." Garcia said he didn’t sleep the night he was told by Baffert he would be riding Lookin At Lucky in the Preakness.

Baffert has put Garcia up on five 2010 American Graded Stakes winners before Saturday’s Preakness and said he’s been something of a coach to the rider, who came around the barn and started exercising some of Baffert’s horses before he ever rode for him in a race. "He’s learning and he’s getting it," said Baffert. "He comes from very humble beginnings and he’s a very humble person. He kept thanking me before the race for giving him the chance to ride in the Preakness."

The Preakness triumph was the second for Pegram, who won in 1998 with Real Quiet. "When Bobby puts a saddle on a horse you’ve got to be confident," Pegram said of his longtime trainer.  "Today was about redemption and we got it. This is a great sport we’re in and it’s all about the horse. Today we got a clean trip, Martin rode him beautifully and Bobby had him ready."

"This was a redemption win," emphasized Baffert. "This horse is such a warrior. I wanted to win it for the horse. He tries so hard every time. I didn’t want him to get hit. Everytime he had a rough trip he came back. He’s got a great mind and is a great athlete. He’s one of the best horses I’ve ever had. He’s still a baby, he’s so immature (Lookin At Lucky is  a May 27 foal). There’s no better people to win for than Mike Pegram, Paul Weitman, and Karl Watson. We’ve bought some really nice ones and we’ve bought some bad ones."

Baffert bought Lookin At Lucky on behalf of the partnership at the 2009 Keeneland April sale of 2-year-olds in training for $475,000. The colt, out of the Belong to Me mare, Private Feeling, was bred in Kentucky by Jerry Bailey and Lance Robinson’s Gulf Coast Farms and entered in the 2008 Keeneland September yearling sale. An unfavorable veterinarian’s report turned some potential buyers away, and when bidding stopped at $35,000, Bailey and Robinson bought him back, broke and trained him at Bailey’s Florida farm, then sold him at Keeneland. (For more about the horse’s sale background and veterinary report, click here.)

With his $600,000 share of the $1-million purse, Lookin At Lucky has now earned $2,113,000 after winning seven of 10 starts.

Baffert has won five Preaknesses from 11 starters: Silver Charm in 1997; Real Quiet in 1998, Point Given in 2001, War Emblem in 2002 and Lookin At Lucky in 2010. His previous four winners took two legs of the Triple Crown, but Baffert said before the Preakness it is doubtful Lookin At Lucky would contest the Belmont Stakes in three weeks.

When pressed after the race, he said he wasn’t sure. "He leaves tomorrow," Baffert said. "I have to decide, do I send him back to California, New York or Kentucky? I never have a plan. Mike Pegram knows that. I just wait. Don’t make a decision till you have to. I’m going to go back to the barn with the horse and decide what I’m going to do. But I’ll let the horse tell me. Tomorrow morning, I guess we’ll know." If you see him at Belmont tomorrow, or if you see him in California tomorrow, you’ll know."

A crowd of 95,760 was on hand at Pimlico (33,200 of them in the track’s infield, where a special all  you can drink for $20 beer promotion was held), and handle totaled $79,209,170, which Pimlico officials said was the sixth highest.

UPDATE: Late Saturday night trainer Bob Baffert said Lookin At Lucky would not contest the Belmont Stakes. "He’s shipping home," Baffert said. Details here.

Tags: Bob Baffert, First Dude, garrett gomez, Gulf Coast Farm, jerry bailey, Karl Watson, Lance Robinson, lookin at lucky, Martin Garcia, mike pegram, Paul Weitman, Paulick Report, preakness, Ray Paulick, smart strike, Super Saver

This entry was posted on Saturday, May 15th, 2010 at 5:29 pm and is filed under Triple Crown, preakness. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.