Photo: Scott Serio/Eclipse Sportswire
Trainer Kenny McPeak said Friday that if he could return to 2024 he would not have competed for the Kentucky Derby winner. With the mystic With Preakness.
“If I could do it again, I wouldn’t have gone last year,” McPeak said. Tony Cornheiser Shaw Podcast. “I think that was a mistake on my part.”
The wounded leg drives Rodriguez out of Preakness.
Speaking on the Kentucky phone, McPeak said Mystic Dan spent time after finishing his first place in the Derby, second in Preakness and eighth in the Belmont Stakes. Goldens Colt ended on the second Saturday
Lake Huachita Stakes In Oak Lawn, he was the only horse to run in all three triple crown races in 2024.
“He was taxed at the end of the three,” McPeak said. “He ran a horrible run at Belmont. He put in effort, but he was on the top. Hindsight is 20-20.
Between Triple Crown and Lake Huachita, Mystic Dan came in sixth in Santa Anita at Malibu (G1) on December 26th and ninth in the Pegasus World Cup Invitational (G1) on January 25th.
McPeak said he spoke to trainer Bill Mott about his decision not to run Preakness next weekend just two weeks after winning Saturday’s Kentucky Derby.
“He said, ‘Kenny, there’s no incentive. What incentive will you come back in two weeks?” McPeak said. “He said years ago when he had a $5 million bonus on his visa, he said there was a real incentive at the time. He puts no pressure on Godolphin at all. Of course, it’s a great outfit that will help you with the job.
McPeak said he wanted to see the triple crown spread on the first Saturday of May, June and July. Before he added the 17th place finish in the render judgment in the Derby, McPeak knew that sovereignty would become a difficult rival.
“I actually thought this was the easiest derby ever,” McPeak said. “He thought it was very easy to see this horse capable of winning. If he basically went to Belmont, he wouldn’t be surprised if he ran a prep (G2), he’ll be back at The Travers (G1).
