Rodeo Creek Racing’s grade 1 winner Blazing Sevens breezed five furlongs May 13 over the Belmont Park main track in his final serious move for the May 20 Preakness Stakes (G1) at Pimlico Race Course.
BLAZING SEVENS (outside with @iradortiz up) putting together his final work for next Saturday’s G1 Preakness. pic.twitter.com/iCC4h4y5aY
— Ryan Martin (@RyanMartinNYRA) May 13, 2023
Blazing Sevens just behind and to the outside of his stakes-winning stablemate Artorius , with Blazing Sevens timed in 1:00 over the fast main track. His stablemate was clocked in 1:00 1/5.
Blazing Sevens was piloted Saturday morning by Irad Ortiz Jr., who rode the son of Good Magic to a last-out third-place finish in the Blue Grass Stakes (G1) April 8 at Keeneland.
“It went perfect. He was within himself. He’s fit and happy,” Ortiz said. “I’ve never worked him before, but he worked like a nice horse. Nice and easy. I don’t move on him. The track is maybe a little fast, but he worked one minute nicely.”
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Trainer Chad Brown, a two-time Preakness winner, was also happy with the work.
“The horse did super. I was really pleased with the work,” Brown said.
Blazing Sevens had enough points to secure a spot in the Kentucky Derby (G1) starting gate but his connections ultimately bypassed the race in favor of the middle jewel of the Triple Crown. His road to Baltimore is one frequently traveled by Brown, who skipped the Run for the Roses with his two Preakness winners Cloud Computing (2017) and Early Voting (2022).
“It’s always been decided on an individual horse basis. With those two horses, it worked. This horse seemed to fit the category a bit,” Brown said.
“When getting to the Derby, everything has to go right and that was more evident this year with scratches and such,” Brown added. “You can have a perfect winter, but it just takes one or two days to really derail you. There’s no room for error and you have one crack at it. If I go to the Derby, I just want to make sure I have a legitimate chance to win. The last couple times we participated, we had good finishes. This horse just wasn’t quite there.”
In the Blue Grass, Blazing Sevens finished six lengths behind the victorious Tapit Trice (seventh in the Derby), who bested Verifying (16th) by a neck.
“He got beat by two nice horses that day,” Ortiz said. “It was the first time I rode him and the only thing I can say is he went a little too wide on both turns. It might have cost me a better position and maybe I would have finished a little closer. I’m not saying we would have beat those horses that day, but the way Chad looks at him—he looks stronger and better going into this race. He told me after the Blue Grass he looks stronger.”
Blazing Sevens is expected to be part of a medium-sized Preakness field that is likely to include Derby winner Mage , its fourth-place finisher Disarm and its 10th-place finisher Confidence Game .
Brown said he would most likely ship Blazing Sevens to Pimlico May 14. Entries and post positions are to be determined May 15.
This press release has been edited for content and style by BloodHorse Staff.
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