Takeaways from 2022 Preakness

May 25, 2022 James Scully/TwinSpires.com

Patience paid off for the connections of Early Voting, who bypassed a Kentucky
Derby loaded with pace in favor of the middle leg of the Triple Crown, the Preakness.
The lightly-raced colt tracked the speed to the conclusion of the far turn,
powering clear into the Pimlico stretch on a commanding lead, and Early Voting
held rallying Epicenter safe by 1
1/4 lengths on the wire.

Breakthrough
win

Freshened seven weeks after a neck second in the Wood
Memorial (G2), Early Voting earned his first major victory, and he provided
record-breaking freshman sire Gun Runner with his initial classic winner. Chad
Brown trains the dark bay sophomore for Seth Klarman’s Klaravich Stables.

It marked the second Preakness win for Klaravich and Brown,
who also skipped the Kentucky Derby in 2017 with Wood third Cloud Computing,
who came back to upset the Preakness at 13-1. Early Voting brought much
stronger credentials to the Preakness, leaving the starting gate as the 5-1
third choice among nine runners.

For the first time in four career starts, Early Voting didn’t
control pace. The frontrunner broke on top at Old Hilltop, but jockey Jose
Ortiz conceded the early advantage to Armagnac,
who established a moderate pace on a short lead before throwing in the towel.

Early Voting settled into a perfect trip just off the leader’s
flank in the clear and after advancing to even terms on the far turn, he drew
off authoritatively into the stretch drive, leading by about four lengths with
a furlong remaining. The winner did tire a little late, drifting in as
Epicenter closed into the frame along the rail in the latter stages, but Early
Voting was always clear.

A $200,000 yearling purchase, Early Voting earned a 104
Brisnet Speed rating, two points better than Rich Strike received for his
Kentucky Derby upset.

The June 11 Belmont S. is out, as Brown wants to give his
charge more time to prepare for a summer campaign that includes the Travers S.
(G1) on Aug. 27, and a sense of anticipation surrounds the rest of the season
for Early Voting, who has established himself as a top contender for
championship honors in the three-year-old division.

Tough-luck
second

Epicenter was compromised at the break, squeezed back by
wayward foes on both sides, and Joel Rosario had to angle inward for running
room, winding up eighth as the field passed the stands for the first
time. Favored at 6-5, the Kentucky Derby runner-up was left with too much to do
from off the pace against a perfect-trip winner.

It was surprising to see him break so poorly. Granted,
Epicenter had shown outstanding tractability in his last two starts, rating in
eighth in the Kentucky Derby before launching an eye-catching move to take a
clear lead in upper stretch, but Epicenter had broken like a rocket from the
starting gate when capturing the Risen Star (G2) three starts previously.

The Preakness clearly lacked the speed elements that led to
a pace meltdown in the Kentucky Derby, and I expected Epicenter to be prominent
from the start, closely stalking Early Voting, who was the main threat on the
front end to the favorite.

Epicenter will skip the Belmont, and the hard-trying dark
bay should appreciate the freshening after making seven starts over the last
seven months. He remains a major presence in the division moving forward.

Early
Belmont thoughts

Mo Donegal registered
a 111 Brisnet Speed rating when edging Early Voting in the Wood, which was tied
with the Santa Anita Derby (G1) for the fastest Kentucky Derby prep, and Mo
Donegal received a bad trip in the Kentucky Derby, rallying for fifth after swinging
nearly 15 paths wide into the stretch from an advantageous inside position.

He’ll take some beating at Belmont Park in my estimation.

Rich Strike will look to back up his 80-1 stunner in the Kentucky
Derby, and Barber Road is also
expected after closing for sixth at Churchill Downs.

Peter Pan (G2) romper We
the People will be a dangerous new shooter with speed, and Ethereal Road will join the mix for
four-time Belmont winner D. Wayne Lukas following a visually impressive
off-the-pace win in the Sir Barton S. on the Preakness undercard.

Kentucky Oaks (G1) runner-up Nest is also under consideration, and the filly would add intrigue to the festivities.