Zayat and Baffert still haven’t made a firm decision over Bodemeister’s Preakness prospects
It’s the, Nehro, situation for owner Ahmed Zayat all over again with Bodemeister this year. Nehro, who finished a late second to Kentucky Derby winner, Animal Kingdom, last year, when Steven Asmussen wanted to skip the Preakness Stakes and go for the Belmont Stakes, with an idea in mind that the Kentucky Derby runner up will relish at Belmont, but the forces of nature work against the idea as the track at Belmont turned out sloppy and Nehro finished fourth with an ankle chip that sidelined him for the rest of the season.
The same dilemma looms over the rampant Kentucky Derby runner up, Bodemeister, but the major difference between Bodemeister and Nehro is that Bodemeister came out of the race fine, and he showed that on 9 May when he came out for a jog at Churchill Downs for the first time since running in the Derby.
Bob Baffert has clearly said that he will not decide on the Preakness Stakes until he sees the colt in person, regardless of labeling the colt’s work super sharp.
Zayat, himself isn’t too sure about a Preakness stint for Bodemeister, especially after two weeks on the back of a gruelling effort which made Bodemeister carve the first three opening fractions so fast, that they were among the top five ever recorded for the Kentucky Derby in its 138th running.
The fractions did take a toll on the son of Empire Maker, when he weakened in the deep stretch, only to give way to I’ll Have Another after a huge effort.
“Obviously, he’s doing really, really well,” Zayat said. “I think the prudent thing is to wait and see how he continues to progress. I’ll personally fly in to watch him train and look at his next work as Baffert is going to do then we’ll have to decide then. If you look at the horse right now he’s telling me he wants to run. If you look at my heart, I’m scared. But he deserves to run also.”
Though, for the time being nobody knows what Zayat and Baffert are sitting on, but if there was a case of finding out if Bodemeister is a brilliant horse, than they will have to run him in both of the remaining legs of the Triple Crown.
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