2011 Preakness Stakes Undercard Preview Part Two

Bob Baffert saddles Ventana (Toccet) for the Maryland Sprint Handicap – the eighth race on the day and a Grade 3 encounter for three-year-old's and upwards. He's got a Grade 2 win under his belt and appears to be strongly-backed for the day with a slim 8/5 morning-line price that looks destined to drift downwards if things continue as they have been. So far win-less this season in three starts he will need to improve and get back to basics if he is going to live up to expectations as he has finished on the board in more than half of his starts. There really aren't too many who catch the eye in this one and several contenders are still without pilots so it's probably worth checking back on this one closer to post time.

Grade 1 winner Shared Account (Pleasantly Perfect) headlines the ninth race – the Gallorette Handicap which is a Grade 3 race. Many might expect this one to be easy pickings for the classy five-year-old mare. Graham Motion likely has his eyes on another race today at Pimlico but this represents one of his yard's best shots at glory on the day. Though you would imagine having the morning-line favourite in the Preakness probably has him hoping for a dramatic double. Canadian trainer Roger Atfield saddles No Explaining (Azamour), an Irish-bred turfist who looks a decent outside shot as the potential spoiler. She won her only start of the 2011 season at Keeneland in an allowance contest and she is Grade 2 placed in her career. Currently listed as a strong 4/1, you can certainly expect her to be there or thereabouts on the run-in. Don't expect a lightning quick early pace on this one so it really should be decided by who's got the best position and the best late kick on the way home.

The Grade 3 William Donald Schaefer Memorial Stakes is another one for three-year-old's and up with an impressive field of nine set to contest this one. This one is a mile and a sixteenth and the early betting choice appears to be Apart (Flatter) will be looking to finally get that elusive victory for 2011 as he's been out three times with two places and a show but no victories despite running well at Fair Grounds. He's only finished off the board three times in an eleven race career and, while this one is complicated by the large amount of shippers, he looks to have a bit of an edge going into the gate. 5/2 on him is about right but I get the feeling he might take a bit more late money than he probably should.

Local warhorse Researcher (Two Smart) lines up in this one and he padded his lifetime earnings when taking the tricky Charles Town Classic last year to secure the winners' share of a $1,000,000 purse. He's not getting a tremendous amount of early support but he does tend to put in some gutsy performances and the 8/1 listing looks about right to me.

The final race before the Preakness is the Grade 2 Dixie Stakes which goes 1m1f on the grass and Kentucky Derby third-place finisher Paddy O'Prady (El Prado) headlines this one with a slim 4/5 morning line price. I've always preferred Paddy on the grass and he will likely relish this distance and the pace he is likely to get from the others. There's not too many very recognizable names in this one so he should be able to dictate the race and sink his teeth into the lion's share of the $200,000 purse.

Expect this one to be a potential make or break race in the Pick 6 as I'm expecting a large number of bettors to single Paddy on this one. A long-shot winner in this one could see a single ticket taking the massive purse. If you're looking for a genuine outsider in this one, why not try Pocket Patch (Partner's Hero) who is 1/1 this year after a score in the Henry S. Clark Handicap at Pimlico earlier in the meet. He likes the surface and has been training over this course so he could be worth a bash at that 12/1 if you think Paddy is beatable.