Bravazo gallops, looks to improve on Preakness finish

by NYRA Press Office

According to Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas, Belmont Stakes contender Bravazo has settled in nicely and taken well to "Big Sandy" since arriving by van on Monday. Early Wednesday morning, he resumed his light, local preparation for the "Test of the Champion" with a routine gallop as he continues to assert himself as a legitimate threat to thwart Justify's Triple Crown bid.

"The trip was easy and he had a good day on the track," said Lukas, who trains Bravazo for Calumet Farm. "He just galloped and did very well. He won't do anything of any consequence between now and the race. He's fit. Now I just need to keep him happy the rest of the way."

No horse has come closer to besting the undefeated Justify than Bravazo in the Preakness - in which he fell short by a half-length over a sloppy, sealed track at Pimlico - and if things had gone a bit differently, Lukas said his horse may have been the one to wear the Black-eyed Susans.

In the early stages of the Preakness, Bravazo was sitting in the catbird seat as Justify and Good Magic, the Kentucky Derby top-two finishers, duked it out on the lead. Around the far turn, the Calumet color-bearer dropped back a few lengths with no apparent mishap, only to re-emerge from the fog in deep stretch and nearly nail Justify on the wire.

"He had a very good trip in the Preakness," said Lukas. "What we would change if we could change it, to make the outcome a little better, would be to maybe move a little earlier. When Justify came off the [far] turn, he moved and then we moved. If we moved when he moved we might have been able to upset him."

Bravazo - the only horse in the Belmont other than Justify to have contested both the Kentucky Derby and Preakness - is tied with Blended Citizen as the most experienced horse in the field, with 10 starts under his belt, including five this year. This added seasoning may be just what he needs to turn the tables on his ballyhooed rival, according to Lukas.

"The foundation, just being fit, is going to help his chances," said the trainer. "They're all doing well; I've watched them all train. With the big configuration of the racetrack and the sweeping turns, we should have a good trip. I think it'll get down to which horses have the pedigree and the stamina to finish."

As far as whether or not he believes his charge has the necessary pedigree, the Hall of Famer simply offered, "on paper it looks that way, we'll see what happens."

Should Bravazo run according to his pedigree and navigate the 1 ½ miles of the Belmont oval faster than his nine rivals, it would give Lukas a record 15th victory in a Triple Crown race.