by Kenneth Strong of Predictem.com
Lookin At Lucky calls on class to grind out win in 135thPreakness, Super Saver eighth
Lookin At Lucky took advantage of a beautiful trip under new jockey Martin Garcia and called on his class in the drive to win the 135thrunning of the Preakness Stakes by three-quarters of a length over gutsy longshot First Dude on Saturday, May 15, 2010. Kentucky Derby winner and Preakness favorite Super Saver came up empty and finished eighth.
Rating between horses into the first turn, Lookin At Lucky gradually moved to the outside for clear running room on the backstretch while stalking solid fractions of 22.91, 46.47 and 1:11.22 set by the 24-1 First Dude under Ramon Dominguez. Moving in tandem with Caracortado to his inside, the pair challenged First Dude late on the final turn just as outside pace-presser Super Saver was giving way and the battle began into the stretch. Caracortado gave his best between horses and looked like he might go stride-for-stride with Lookin At Lucky at one point, but he couldnt stay with the top two after a mile in 1:36.26. And while Lookin At Lucky may have been called on the lead at the mile marker, he had to grind hard to deep stretch before he got the best of First Dude for good.
The final time for the 2010 Preakness over a Pimlico dirt strip rated as fast was 1:55.47, which resulted in a 102 Beyer Speed Figure for Lookin At Lucky. First Dude held second by a diminishing head over Jackson Bend, who was another length in front of Yawanna Twist in fourth. Dublin was four lengths further back in fifth followed in order of finish by Paddy OPrado, Caracortado, Super Saver, Schoolyard Dreams, Aikenite, Pleasant Prince and Northern Giant.
A bay 3-year-old colt by Smart Strike-Private Feeling by Belong to Me, Lookin At Lucky returned $6.80 to win as the second choice and improved his lifetime record to 7-1-1 from 10 starts, increasing his lifetime earnings to $2,113,000 with the $600,000 winners share of the $1 million purse. The win gave trainer Bob Baffert his fifth Preakness win and jockey Martin Garcia his first.
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Super Saver had no excuse after pressing First Dude from the outside until late on the final turn, where he went straight backwards to finish eighth beaten about 11 -lenghths. He obviously came up flat after his big Kentucky Derby win and in fact never really looked like he was going to be a serious threat at any point in the Preakness. Super Savers loss meant no Triple Crown winner in 2010 and it has now been 32 years now since Affirmed out-gamed Alydar to win the Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont Stakes in 1978.
Third place finisher Jackson Bend ran an excellent race in defeat although he did get a good trip inside just back of the pacesetters. He had to wait just a touch late on the final turn and it might have cost him second money. Regardless, he ran a dynamite race, as did Yawanna Twist. The latter had some mild trouble at the break when Jackson Bend came over, but ended up getting a decent trip inside and giving his best from the outside in the drive while never looking like he was going to win. Fifth-place finisher Dublin bore out at the break, steadied, dropped back to last and moved inside before making a late run outside. His trouble didnt cost him the win either.
Sixth-place finisher and Kentucky Derby third-place finisherPaddy OPrado was almost as big a disappointment as Super Saver. After stalking four-wide he lacked the needed closing punch, and he also appeared to be feeling the effects of his big Derby run. Cinderella horse Caracortado actually gave his best and got into the thick of things late on the final turn but just couldnt stay with Lookin At Lucky when that one laid it down. At least he made a solid bid before tiring and he may come back to win some good races at a shorter distance.Ninth-place finisher Schoolyard Dreams had a good trip and made a nice move following Looking At Lucky through the final turn but flattened out in the drive. The final three finishers, Aikenite, Pleasant Prince and Northern Giant, had no significant excuses.
Neither Kentucky Derby winner Super Saver nor Preakness Stakes winner Lookin At Lucky are expected to contest the Belmont Stakes on Saturday, June 5 at Belmont Park, but the connections of both say they are considering the Haskell Invitational at Monmouth Park on Sunday, August 1.
2010 Preakness Stakes Payoffs
7 Lookin At Lucky $6.80 $4.60 $3.80
11 First Dude $16.60 $9.20
6 Jackson Bend $6.60
5 Yawanna Twist
$2 Exacta 7-11 paid $188.60
$2 Trifecta 7-11-6 paid $2,771.00
$1 Superfecta 7-11-6-5 paid $17,126.00
$2 Super High Five 7-11-6-5-12 paid $61,014.40
$2 Daily Double 8-7 paid $117.20
$2 Pick Three 8-8-7 paid $1,643.60
$2 Pick Four 4/6-8-8-7 paid $3,594.80
$1 Pick Six 2/6/8/9/12-4/7/8-4/6-8-8-7 paid $14,466.00
2010 Preakness Stakes Complete Order of Finish
1.Lookin At Lucky
2.First Dude
3.Jackson Bend
4.Yawanna Twist
5.Dublin
6.Paddy OPrado
7.Caracortado
8.Super Saver
9.Schoolyard Dreams
10.Aikenite
11.Pleasant Prince
12.Northern Giant