No gruelling work for I’ll Have Another ahead of the Preakness Stakes
Trainer Doug O’Neill is going to keep it simple, and do what he has been doing until the Derby with, I’ll Have Another, and that includes no works, just a few gallops, because the Grade 1, $2 million Kentucky Derby winner was on a massive work tab prior to the Grade 1, $750,000 Santa Anita Derby at Santa Anita Park on 7 April, 2012, but didn’t turn in any leading up to the Derby.
The same method is going to be adapted by Doug O’Neill ahead of the Grade 1, $1 million Preakness Stakes for the son of Flower Alley.
Bred in Kentucky by Harvey A. Clarke, I’ll Have Another is yet to taste defeat in 2012, and with three major starts this season, the colt has looked invincible.
Starting with a win in the Grade 2 Robert B. Lewis Stakes, J. Paul Reddam owned, I’ll Have Another defeated Empire Way and Rousing Sermon in the home stretch to claim his seasonal bow.
His second win of the season was the one that set the tone. The Grade 1 Santa Anita Derby at about 1 1/8 miles was I’ll Have Another’s real big test of his sophomore season – which he passed in flying colours, defeating the seasoned Creative Cause in second.
“I love the way he went (at Pimlico) this morning and he’ll just continue to gallop that way up to the race,” O’Neill said. “He hasn’t missed an oat in months, he’s full of energy, and he’s sound. He looked fantastic on the track today, and so far so good.
“Coming back in two weeks, you can’t have anything go wrong. And, knock on wood, we haven’t had any hiccups so far. It’s so difficult running in three different states in five weeks and not encounter one little bump or pimple.”
Instead where all the action is in a designated Kentucky Derby winner barn at Pimlico, Doug O’Neill opted for a quite spot for his colt, where usually undercard stakes runners reside ahead of their races at Pimlico, and when asked Doug said that he likes a nice quite environment.
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