Bodemeister: Colt Will Dominate Field at Preakness

Bodemeister will go from bridesmaid to bride in the the second leg of the Triple Crown: the Preakness. This is assuming he runs in the grand event, and there is no reason to think that he won't.

The colt ran a wonderful race at the Kentucky Derby, finishing second to I'll Have Another, but ultimately he burned off a little too much energy early and faded down the home stretch. 

It was a valiant effort just to hang onto second, as the pack was charging hard and Bodemeister was clearly hitting the wall. He showed he was a true competitor. 

However, it was not in the way he ended the race that pointed to his potential to dominate the Preakness, but in the way he led the race early. 

Bodemeister set the fastest time in the history of the Kentucky Derby for the first five splits. This is clearly a fast and strong horse that likes to jump out in front of the field. 

His jockey, Mike Smith, had this to say, as quoted by the Associated Press, after his ride: 

"

I wasn't going to take away anything that came easy and, man, making the lead came awful easy to him. Otherwise, I probably would have chosen to step behind him, but he did it so easy. You know, his whole career, which has been short so far, he's been on the lead or right off of it. 

"

Unfortunately for Smith and his horse, they were not able to hold the lead. They won't have that problem at the Preakness—the shortest of the three Triple Crown races. 

The Preakness checks in at 9.5 furlongs. This is ideal for Bodemeister. That is going to cut off that last stretch that was his downfall at the derby. 

It will allow Bodemeister to flash his speed and build up an insurmountable lead. This is a horse that likes to run in front, and he will be able to do so freely at this race. 

This will lead to Bodemeister finding the winner's circle he narrowly missed out on in Kentucky.