Resounding victory for Journalism in Preakness Stakes
BALTIMORE - Pre-race favourite Journalism stormed to victory in the US$2 million (S$2.6 million) 150th Grade 1 Preakness Stakes (1,900m) on May 17, producing a devastating finish to claim the second leg of the US Triple Crown series.
Journalism looked set for more disappointment following his second-placed finish to Sovereignty in the first leg, the Grade 1 Kentucky Derby (2,000m) at Churchill Downs on May 3, after being boxed in coming down the stretch at Pimlico racecourse in Baltimore, Maryland.
But after clashing with the Bob Baffert-trained 6-1 shot Goal Oriented (Flavien Prat), Journalism - ridden by Italian jockey Umberto Rispoli - burst through a gap and reeled in 20-1 outsider Gosger (Luis Saez) for a sensational win.
Gosger and 4-1 shot Sandman (John Velazquez) ran second and third respectively.
There was a brief delay as stewards reviewed footage of Journalism's skirmish with Goal Oriented before the Michael McCarthy-trained horse was announced as the victor.
Two-time Italian champion jockey Rispoli said he owed the victory to Journalism's "never say die" approach.
"I still can't quite comprehend what this horse did today," an emotional Rispoli said.
"I got in trouble at the corner pole. But it's all about him - it's a pleasure and a privilege to ride a horse like him.
"It's just unbelievable. I won one of the legs in the Triple Crown and I'm crying like a kid."
Journalism's triumph also marked a fairy-tale win for California-based trainer McCarthy, who lives in Altadena, one of the Los Angeles communities devastated by deadly wildfires in January.
McCarthy said when he saw Journalism seemingly in a hopeless position, boxed in on the rails coming off the final turn, he had feared the worst.
"I guess when I saw that, I kind of resigned myself to the fact that it was another fantastic effort and that we were going to come up short," he said.
"I couldn't be prouder of him. At the back of my mind, I thought we'd be two for two coming here. But you know what - I'm just happy to get one of these. They're very, very difficult to win."
While McCarthy's home survived the wildfires earlier this year, he and his family have been displaced from the property due to smoke damage.
"We'll get back there, everybody will get back there, we'll rebuild. This is for Altadena," he added.
The third leg will be the Grade 1 Belmont Stakes (2,400m) at Saratoga, New York on June 7.
AFP
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