Real Quiet, Free House Return to the Scene of Their Primes

Real Quiet had one of his biggest days at Pimlico, the Baltimore track where Free House suffered his most heartbreaking defeat. Today these survivors of different Triple Crown wars square off for the first time, and what better place than Maryland, where they’re the favorites--Free House at 6-5 and Real Quiet 8-5--in the $500,000 Pimlico Special.

The race is run at an unusual distance, 1 3/16 miles, but Free House and Real Quiet have experience in that department, having both run in the Preakness, which is also 1 3/16 miles.

Real Quiet, who had already won the Kentucky Derby, won last year’s Preakness, before Victory Gallop caught him at the wire of the Belmont Stakes, depriving the sport of its first Triple Crown champion in 20 years.

In the 1997 Preakness, one of the most scintillating, there was a three-horse charge to the finish line, Silver Charm beating Free House by a head and Captain Bodgit finishing another head back.

Only five horses are running in today’s race, and other than Precocity the other starters appear to be there just for a piece of the purse. Fred Bear Claw has won a couple of small stakes at neighboring Laurel Park, but late last year was running for claiming prices of $50,000 and $40,000. Brushing Up, who ships in from New York, is running his 74th race, with only one win in six tries this year.

Precocity, once trained by Bob Baffert, beat Baffert’s Real Quiet by half a length in the New Orleans Handicap at the Fair Grounds in March. A year ago, Precocity ran second to Skip Away in the Pimlico Special, and today he gains the services of hall-of-fame jockey Pat Day.

Real Quiet hasn’t won since last year’s Preakness. After his defeat at the Fair Grounds, the colt lost by a neck to Littlebitlively in the Texas Mile at Lone Star Park.

Free House, winner of the Santa Anita Handicap, on a day when he beat Event Of The Year, Silver Charm and Puerto Madero, could solidify his position as the best older horse in training with a win today. He’s undefeated this year, having won the San Antonio Handicap in a prep for the Big ‘Cap.

Rain is in the forecast, and the Pimlico track could turn muddy. Paco Gonzalez, who trains Free House, doesn’t know how the horse will handle an off track, but said Free House has worked well in the mud in California. Free House probably will try to win on the lead, a style that worked in both races at Santa Anita.

The Special is run under handicap conditions. Here’s the field, in post-position order, with jockeys and weights:

Fred Bear Claw, Edgar Prado, 112 pounds; Precocity, Pat Day, 112; Brushing Up, Mario Pino, 111; Free House, Chris McCarron, 124; and Real Quiet, Gary Stevens, 120.

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After the Pimlico Special, Baffert will return to Churchill Downs to supervise workouts that will clarify his plans for next Saturday’s Preakness, the middle race in the Triple Crown.

Both Prime Timber and the filly Silverbulletday will work Monday at Churchill. Since running fourth in the Kentucky Derby, Prime Timber has gone from definite to doubtful for the Preakness, and Silverbulletday, who won the Kentucky Oaks the day before the Derby, has another option--Pimlico’s Black-Eyed Susan Stakes for fillies on Friday.

Prime Timber was knocked out by the roughly run Derby and has lost weight since last Saturday’s race.

“The work will determine whether he runs or not,” Baffert said. “The filly is doing just great. Right now I plan to enter her in both the Black-Eyed Susan and the Preakness. It pretty much depends on where she draws, whether she goes in the Preakness. If I don’t like the post, she’ll go in the other race.”

When post positions are drawn Wednesday, there probably will be more than 14 horses entered, which would require Pimlico to invoke its career-earnings rule to limit the field. There are 17 horses on the tentative list, and right now, assuming Prime Timber and Silverbulletday are entered, the three short on money are Patience Game, who won the Derby Trial; Lead Em Home, and Valhol, whose $300,000 winner’s purse from the Arkansas Derby was taken away for the second time.

Valhol’s Arkansas Derby jockey, Billy Patin, was found by Oaklawn Park stewards to have carried an illegal electrical device--a battery--in the race. After a hearing on Wednesday, the stewards fined Patin $2,500 and suspended him for the rest of the year, with the Arkansas Racing Commission likely to issue a stiffer penalty. Certain was declared the winner of the race.

Midway through Kentucky Derby week, before Patin’s hearing, the $300,000 purse was in limbo until Jim Jackson, the owner of Valhol, received a favorable ruling from an Arkansas judge that enabled him to run his gelding at Churchill Downs. Valhol finished 15th, but Jackson badly wants to run in the Preakness, and he’s likely to appeal the stewards’ rulings in Arkansas. That process, however, won’t be finished in time for the Preakness. Jackson’s only chance would appear to be finding a judge who would order Pimlico to accept the horse.

Trainer Dallas Keen said Friday that if Valhol runs, he would like to hire Laffit Pincay to ride. Pincay passed up a chance to ride Charismatic, who won for Chris Antley in the Derby.

Here is the list of Preakness horses, in order of earnings: Silverbulletday, Charismatic, Cat Thief, Vicar, Menifee, Kimberlite Pipe, Prime Timber, Stephen Got Even, Adonis, K One King, Worldly Manner, First American, Badge, Torrid Sand, Patience Game, Lead Em Home and Valhol.

Horse Racing Notes

Gary Stevens, who led the country last year in purses with $19.3 million and ranks fourth this year, will leave California in June to ride in England. Stevens, whose wife, Nicola, is British, will ride first call for trainer Michael Stoute, with options to ride out the year and also sign a three-year contract. Stevens, who rode at the Royal Ascot meet in England in 1997, is expected to retain his mounts on some of trainer Bob Baffert’s top horses, including Silverbulletday, Real Quiet and General.