Trainer Zito Will Run His Version of the Trifecta

Trainer Nick Zito indicated Monday that three of the five horses he ran in the Kentucky Derby would run Saturday in the Preakness, the middle leg of the Triple Crown, at Pimlico in Baltimore.

After Sun King and Noble Causeway worked five furlongs at Churchill Downs, Zito declared them ready for the Preakness. Zito added that High Fly, scheduled to work today, would also probably run.

Two planes from Louisville will transport Preakness contenders to Baltimore on Wednesday. One of them will carry Giacomo, who won the Derby at odds of 50-1.

Zito started a record-tying five horses in the Derby, but his best finish was seventh with Bellamy Road, the betting favorite. The career of Bellamy Road, who has a splint-bone injury, is on hold, and Zito is saving Andromeda’s Hero for the Belmont Stakes.

Sun King, 15th in the Derby, worked Monday with another Zito horse and was clocked in 1:01 1/5 , ninth-fastest of 20 horses who worked at that distance. Noble Causeway, 14th in the Derby, posted a time of 1:02 3/5 . High Fly ran 10th in Louisville.

There have been some critics of Giacomo’s Derby, which was run in 2:02.75, a slow time, but Zito isn’t among them.

“He was a very worthy winner,” the trainer said. “He came with his run, I don’t care what anybody says. But now that we’ve saluted him, we’ll try to beat him.”

Giacomo, whose far-back running style isn’t conducive to winning the Preakness, won’t be the favorite at Pimlico. That role is likely to befall Afleet Alex, who was third, beaten by one length, in the Derby. High Fly, who won the Florida Derby before his disappointing finish in Kentucky, could be the second choice, followed by Giacomo.

A full field of 14 is expected. Besides Giacomo, Zito’s trio and Afleet Alex, the probables are Closing Argument, Wilko, Greeley’s Galaxy, Going Wild and High Limit from the Derby; and the newcomers Galloping Grocer, Hal’s Image, Malibu Moonshine and Scrappy T. Also trying to squeeze into the field is Golden Man, who needs a dropout in order to qualify.

Jockeys Jerry Bailey and Gary Stevens, who have won two Preaknesses apiece, are scheduled to ride High Fly and Noble Causeway, but Zito will need a rider for Sun King. Edgar Prado, who rode that colt in the Derby, has jumped to High Limit.

While horses who didn’t run in the Derby might theoretically be fresher, they seldom win the Preakness.

Twenty of the last 21 Preaknesses have been won by horses who ran in the Derby. The exception was Red Bullet in 2000.

Zito is hoping that one of his Preakness candidates will give him a bounce-back like Louis Quatorze had in 1996. Louis Quatorze, ridden by Chris Antley, was 16th in the Derby. For the Preakness, there was a switch to Pat Day, who rode Louis Quatorze to a 3 1/4 -length win, giving Zito his only Preakness victory.

John Shirreffs, who trains Giacomo, isn’t surprised about the capacity turnout at Pimlico, which hasn’t had a 14-horse field since Pine Bluff beat 13 rivals in 1992.

“Who would be scaring anybody off?” Shirreffs said. “This is the Triple Crown. Each one is a jewel of the crown. You’re not going to scare anybody off.”