BALTIMORE, (Reuters) – Kentucky Derby champion I’ll Have Another won the $1 million Preakness Stakes yesterday to remain on course for the Triple Crown, the greatest prize in U.S. thoroughbred horse racing.
It has been 34 years since the last horse, Affirmed, swept the three classic races, but I’ll Have Another has the chance to join the sport’s elite if he can win the Belmont Stakes in New York on June 9.
Patiently ridden by Mexican jockey Mario Gutierrez, I’ll Have Another completed the second leg when he wore down Bodemeister in the shadows of the post in a stirring finish.
“More than anything I’m glad I didn’t disappoint people,” said Gutierrez.
“It’s not about me, it’s about the horse. From day one, I’ve believed in him.”
Bodemeister faded to finish third in the Kentucky Derby after being ridden at a suicidal pace for the first mile but fought all the way this time after setting a more comfortable tempo under jockey Mike Smith.
But Gutierrez kept close to the frontrunner from the outset then made his move down the stretch, passing him in the final furlong to win by a neck.
Creative Cause was third after a game run along the rails in front of a crowd of around 100,000 at Pimlico racecourse.
“I just can’t put it into words,” said winning trainer Doug O’Neill. “What a ride. Mario was so patient. It’s incredible.”
A three-year-old chestnut colt, I’ll Have Another paid $8.40 for a $2 win ticket. He started second favourite behind Bodemeister over the mile and three-sixteenths (1.91 kilometres) trip on dirt.
I’ll Have Another became the 22nd horse to win the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness Stakes.
Only half of those have gone on to win the Belmont, the longest and most gruelling of the three races. The last horse to win to win the first two legs but not the last was Big Brown in 2008.
