At least one Preakness Stakes ticket could be punched in Maryland on Saturday with the traditional local prep to the middle jewel of the Triple Crown. The 1-1/8 miles Federico Tesio Stakes tops a card that includes 4 stakes at Laurel Park, and the main event includes an automatic berth to the winner in the Preakness with all expenses paid.
Let’s meet the contenders for the Federico Tesio (Race 10):
#1-SPEEDYNESS: Rail speed won nearly wire-to-wire in the Miracle Wood Stakes in February and set the pace before a narrow, third-place finish in the Private Terms in March. Maryland-bred has 6 straight top-3 finishes, 5 of which have come in open company at Laurel for high-percentage trainer Jamie Ness and leading jockey Jaime Rodriguez.
#2-CELTIC CONTENDER: Lightly raced son of Irish War Cry has found trouble in all 3 starts to date and seeks cleaner sailing under regular pilot Jevian Toledo. Dominated maidens by 10-1/2 widening lengths in February before a disappointing trip when eighth in the Private Terms. Veteran trainer Hamilton Smith has won more than 2,000 races since 1977.
#3-CIRCLE P: Penn National-based gelding has beaten the path to Laurel and makes his sixth straight appearance locally. The Maryland Juvenile winner in December has followed up with top-4 showings in the Miracle Wood and Private Terms. Trainer Flint Stites adds blinkers for the first time. Jockey Sheldon Russell won the 2011 Tesio aboard Concealed Identity.
#4-STARTSWITHADREAM: Son of 2017 Kentucky Derby winner and Preakness eighth-place finisher Always Dreaming extends distance for the fourth time in as many starts. Fourth in the Miracle Wood and fifth in the Private Terms, he’s been double-digits odds in each start and a longshot again Saturday.
#5-CLASSIC JOKE: Sprint speedster stretches out a full-quarter mile from his previous long race. Wire-to-wire sprint winner in a Tampa Bay Downs allowance, he made the front in Aqueduct’s Bay Shore before fading to ninth 2 weeks ago. Jockey Daniel Centeno won the 2019 Tesio aboard Alwaysmining.
#6-MISSION BEACH: Like Classic Joke, also would be contesting the Tesio on only a 14-day break, finishing a credible fourth in that road trip to New York. $450,000 Curlin colt rallied to win his only local appearance at Laurel in a December allowance after beginning his career in California with Bob Baffert. Brittany Russell trains for many of the same owners as last year’s Preakness champ National Treasure.
#7-LAT LONG: Third-place finisher in Fair Grounds’ Lecomte Stakes looks to bounce back from a disappointing effort when ninth in the Blue Grass at Keeneland just 2 weeks ago. That was his first finish out of the trifecta from 7 starts, though he owns a single victory in maiden company at Oaklawn in December. Trainer Kenny McPeek successfully shipped 3-year-old Hayes Strike to Laurel to win the 2023 Private Terms, who pulled an 8-1 upset off a similarly disappointing prep as Lat Long.
#8-MALINOIS: Speedster has won 3 straight on the front end vs. lesser competition since being claimed in December by Phil Capuano. Sire Dortmund finished third to American Pharoah in the 2015 Kentucky Derby and fourth to that Triple Crown champ in the Preakness. Grandsire Big Brown won the 2008 Kentucky Derby and Preakness. His participation adds to an already quick pace on paper for the Tesio.
#9-CAROLO RAPIDO: Regally bred son of 2007 Preakness winner Curlin and 2016 Kentucky Oaks heroine Cathryn Sophia. Graduated through the maiden ranks in his third lifetime start with a trip to Laurel March 22 from his Belmont Park winter base. Trainer Todd Pletcher is a 2-time Tesio winner (2002, 2020). Will be tested for class Saturday; note his February 18 maiden conqueror Unique Insight since returned to win an Aqueduct allowance for Chad Brown.
#10-INVEIGLED: Consistent gelding has been in steady training since last summer and hasn’t missed a beat, finishing second in Laurel’s James F. Lewis III and Private Terms, sandwiched around a Gulfstream Park winter that included an allowance victory and fourth-place finishes in the Mucho Macho Man and Holy Bull Stakes. Beaten only 2-1/2 lengths by champion Fierceness in the Holy Bull and was outkicked late by only a neck vs. Copper Tax most recently in the Private Terms. Trainer Jane Cibelli gets Mychel Sanchez back in the saddle, who also rode Tesio rival Carolo Rapido to victory last out.
#11-COPPER TAX: Three-time stakes winner possesses pace versatility, witnessed by victories wire-to-wire and first-to-last at high levels. Laurel-based colt has made only 2 of 9 starts locally, winning the James F. Lewis III and Private Terms Stakes. Favored in all 7 starts in the Mid-Atlantic expected to be well-backed again. Fast pace projection could help his finishing ability despite a difficult post draw. Trainer Gary Capuano won the 2003 Tesio with Cherokee’s Boy, an eventual Preakness starter.
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