Shackleford wins Preakness

By LRN Staff

Soaked with sweat, Shackleford bucked and kicked until attendants finally shoved him into gate five before the Preakness Stakes.One ton of horseflesh all but screamed, "Get me out of here."Less than two minutes after the gate sprang open, the nervous colt was a cool Classic winner.Shackleford held off a late charge by the 2-1 favourite Animal Kingdom, spoiling yet another Triple Crown try and beating the Kentucky Derby winner by a half length at Pimlico on Saturday.The colt, who led into the str

Soaked with sweat, Shackleford bucked and kicked until attendants finally shoved him into gate five before the Preakness Stakes.

One ton of horseflesh all but screamed, "Get me out of here."

Less than two minutes after the gate sprang open, the nervous colt was a cool Classic winner.

Shackleford held off a late charge by the 2-1 favourite Animal Kingdom, spoiling yet another Triple Crown try and beating the Kentucky Derby winner by a half length at Pimlico on Saturday.

The colt, who led into the straight in the Derby two weeks ago, covered the 1-3/16 miles (1900m) in 1:56.47.

With Jesus Castanon aboard, Shackleford battled Flashpoint for the lead through a quick opening quarter-mile (400m) of 22.69 seconds, just a fifth of a second off the Preakness record.

They continued their duel until midway on the final turn, when Shackleford dug in to hold off the onrush ing Animal Kingdom before 107,398 fans.

"He was a little hot in the beginning, but he was able to calm down," Castanon said.

"He's a good horse and able to handle it."

It was the first victory in a Triple Crown race for Castanon and trainer Dale Romans, a Louisville, Kentucky native.

Shackleford's pre-race antics weren't unusual. He often gets nervous and sweats excessively, not normally a good thing on a sunny Baltimore day.

"He wasn't acting that bad. It's a hot day, so that wasn't worrying me too much. I was more concerned at the quarter-pole if he was going to hold on," said Romans, who had one Breeders' Cup victory and a win in the $6 million Dubai World Cup to his credit in his long career.

"I've won some big races, but none as exciting as that one.

Dialed In was fourth after finishing eighth in the Derby as the beaten favorite.

"They went fast enough early, but then they slowed out," trainer Nick Zito said. "It didn't work out."

Once again, fans' hopes of a Triple Crown winner at long last will have to wait another year.

The last horse to sweep the Derby, Preakness and Belmont Stakes was Affirmed in 1978. Big Brown was the last to attempt a Triple, in 2008.

Trainer Graham Motion, full of hope and expectation at the start of the race, looked on glumly as Animal Kingdom couldn't catch Shackleford in time.

"He ran huge. I was hoping he was going to get there," Motion said.

As Shackleford set the pace, Animal Kingdom and Dialed In, the second favorite, were running at the back of the 14-horse field.

"I kind of had to hustle him out of there," Animal Kingdom's jockey John Velazquez said.

"We lost a lot of ground in the first turn."

Velazquez tore through multiple sets of goggles as the dirt kicked back into Animal Kingdom's face, which he clearly didn't like.

Castanon was able to get Shackleford to relax into a comfortable rhythm as the pace slowed going down the back straight.