Baltimore, MD (SportsNetwork.com) – A little peace and quiet is being enjoyed
by Kentucky Derby runner-up Firing Line at Churchill Downs.
Owned by Arnold Zetcher and trained by Simon Callaghan, Firing Line walked
under the shedrow for approximately 30 minutes Monday morning.
“He’s doing really well. Even the first day after the race, he was in his
stall always looking for something to eat. He never lost his appetite,” said
Carlos Santamaria, assistant to Callaghan, who returned to his stable at Santa
Anita. “For most horses to run that kind of race, it takes them a couple days
to recover. With him, it was just another horse race.”
While Firing Line lost the Derby by a length to trainer Bob Baffert’s American
Pharoah, the colt finally defeated Baffert’s other runner in the race, third-
place finisher Dortmund. Owned by Kaleem Shah, Dortmund posted consecutive
narrow losses on Firing Line in the Los Alamitos Derby and Robert B. Lewis
Stakes.
“We were glad we finally got to best Dortmund after he’d beaten us twice (in
photo finishes). And we believe we can be right there with American Pharoah,”
Callaghan noted.
American Pharoah and Dortmund also walked the shedrow at Churchill Downs on
Monday morning.
As expected, Louisiana Derby runner-up Stanford is a go for the Preakness
Stakes on May 16. Trained by Todd Pletcher, Stanford was scratched from the
Derby the day after the post position draw, though the 3-year-old colt was
uninjured.
Other probables for the 140th Preakness are Danzig Moon, fifth in the Derby;
Divining Rod, who captured the Lexington Stakes at Keeneland on April 11;
Mr. Z, 13th in the Derby and owned by Zayat Stables who owns American Pharoah;
Louisiana Derby winner International Star, who was scratched from the Derby
with a minor foot injury and Bodhisattva, the winner of the Federico Tesio
Stakes at Pimlico on April 18.
