2013 Preakness contenders: Govenor Charlie

Sire: Midnight Lute
Dam: Silverbulletway
Damsire: Storm Cat

Trainer: Bob Baffert
Jockey: Martin Garcia
Owner: Mike Pegram
Record: 3-2-1-0
Earnings: $444,800
Notable Races: 1^st, G3-Sunland Park Derby

Strengths: Govenor Charlie (“yes”, his name is spelled G-o-v-e-n-o-r) hasn’t raced since March 24 so he should be fresh heading into a race where six of the nine horses competed in the Kentucky Derby just two weeks ago. And despite missing some training time in April, he put in a couple of strong works over the Churchill Downs main track in the last week. However...

Negatives: Govenor Charlie won the Sunland Derby on March 24, recorded two published works on April 5 and April 11, and then didn’t have another work until May 2 prior to a decision to skip the Kentucky Derby. He missed training time due to a minor foot issue (is any foot issue minor with a race horse?) and it’s a legitimate question as to whether this colt has put in enough training time to win the Preakness. The first half-mile to mile of the Preakness shouldn’t be a problem; it’s the final 3/16^ths of a mile that will test this colt’s fitness.

Another aspect to Govenor Charlie that will likely work against him at the Preakness is his running style - he likes to get out of the gate quickly and run right up on the lead through the early stages. The problem is Titletown Five, Oxbow, Goldencents and Itsmyluckyday are likely to run a similar kind of race, which could create another demanding pace scenario.