Kentucky Derby runner-up Journalism set for Preakness Stakes run
- Share via
BALTIMORE — The connections around Kentucky Derby runner-up Journalism were rather coy about whether their horse would run in the 150th Preakness Stakes, the second leg of the Triple Crown. It was a game of wait and see until a pronouncement on social media Sunday night that the colt was coming to Pimlico.
Now that the 3-year-old Santa Anita Derby winner is in the stakes barn, shielded from the drizzle and rain that has enveloped the Baltimore area, trainer Michael McCarthy made it seem like it wasn’t a close call at all.
“I would say there wasn’t a time I didn’t think I was coming,” McCarthy said Wednesday morning as his horse walked the shedrow at Pimlico Race Course. “We just had to make sure the horse was good and then you commit.”
Journalism, for the second Triple Crown race in a row, has been installed as the favorite. The morning line has him at 8-5 odds. In the Kentucky Derby, Journalism ran a very solid second, beaten down the stretch by Sovereignty, whose connections elected to pass on the Preakness and wait for the Belmont Stakes on June 7.
“I thought the favoritism was certainly warranted,” McCarthy said. “I don’t think he disgraced himself on Derby day. Obviously, he’s the favorite again here and deserves to be. I guess it would be nice to have a rematch at some point.
“I hope Journalism stays healthy and Sovereignty stays healthy and somewhere down the road we get to hook up. It would be great for the fans, great for the sport. … We’re certainly not going to duck him.”
Check out the top storylines to watch during the Preakness Stakes, including a look at favorites with Kentucky Derby winner Sovereignty out.
While everyone would have preferred to see the rematch at the Preakness, Sovereignty’s trainer Bill Mott announced three days after the Derby that the colt was going to skip the 1 3/16-mile race.
“Bill Mott is one of the best of all time, who am I to tell him [what to do],” McCarthy said. “I don’t know much about Sovereignty outside of what I’ve seen from him, so if [Mott] says his horse needed to regroup and get ready for the Belmont, I’d believe him.”
This is only McCarthy’s second appearance as a head trainer in the Preakness. His first appearance turned out pretty well. He wanted to run Rombauer in the Kentucky Derby in 2021 but the colt’s owners overruled him.
“I was bullish on running in the Kentucky Derby,” McCarthy said at the time. “John and Diane [Fradkin] thought this was the better route.”
We’ll never know how he would have done in the Derby, but he won the Preakness by 3 ½ lengths. That’s a big win for a horse that qualified by winning the El Camino Real Derby at the now-shuttered Golden Gate Fields. And that win was on a synthetic surface, not dirt.
McCarthy doesn’t put a lot of stock in his one-time experience at Pimlico, saying it might help “a little bit.”
“They are two totally different types of horses,” he said. “[Journalism] has been good from day one. Rombauer, in his own right, was a nice horse and just seemed like he was getting better all the time. I’ve been fortunate enough to work for [trainer] Todd [Pletcher] for obviously an extended period of time, so Breeders Cup races, Triple Crown races. You’ve done it so many times, you kind of know what to expect.”
McCarthy grew up in Arcadia and was a fixture at Santa Anita. It’s where he met Aron Wellman, who manages the ownership group connected to Journalism.
McCarthy got his trainer’s license in 2006 and went to work for Pletcher in Kentucky and New York.
“It became evident that Michael was going to strike out on his own,” Wellman said. “It was just a matter of when, and that he would do so moving back home to Southern California to be with his family. And when he did that, I’m proud to say that Eclipse [Thoroughbred Partners] was the first operation to provide Michael with horses to train.”
It was in 2014 when McCarthy made the move. His first big national win was in 2019 when he won the Pegasus World Cup with City of Light.
“We’ve had a lot of success together,” Wellman said. “I’d be lying to you if I didn’t say it took some time. It’s a really hard thing to do to get off the ground and not just get off the ground but to find success and get good horses and get that support.”
Despite finishing second, Journalism did not disappoint in the Kentucky Derby. When Journalism made his move on the far turn, expectations couldn’t have been higher. The only problem was that Sovereignty was right behind him.
Asked if Journalism knew he lost, McCarthy thought about it for a few seconds before answering.
“I’m not sure if he knew,” McCarthy said. “The trainer certainly did. I would certainly think there’s a difference in some horses when they win. I think horses get confident. I think they get an air about them.”
McCarthy replayed the race a few times in his head and then moved on. What else can you do?
“If I could do anything, I’d like to have the first 100 yards over again,” he said of the start in the 19-horse field. “I just like to lay a little bit closer. That’s what’s great about racing. If your horse stays healthy, you’re always going to have another shot at it. So, I’m taking a shot on Saturday.
“The ‘what ifs’ in this game are just too many. I’m grateful, certainly, that we have a horse like this to be able to showcase here.”
On paper, there really isn’t a horse as good as Journalism in the Preakness Stakes. There are currently nine starters in the race, which should make the first 100 yards a lot easier to navigate.
Go beyond the scoreboard
Get the latest on L.A.'s teams in the daily Sports Report newsletter.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
