Preakness 2012: Biggest Threats to I'll Have Another's Triple Crown Hopes

When the 137th Preakness Stakes is run at Pimlico Race Course on Saturday, Kentucky Derby winner I'll Have Another will attempt to get one race closer to becoming the first horse to win racing's fabled Triple Crown since Affirmed in 1978.

The very fact that no horse has done it in 33 years—and counting—shows just how difficult a feat it is for a horse to accomplish, but as I'll Have Another's trainer, Doug O'Neill, recently told ESPN's Gary West, he's confident the colt can keep the dream alive this week.

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"I get goose bumps just thinking about it," said O'Neill, speaking Sunday morning at his barn in the Churchill Downs stable area. "I think this is the kind of colt who can maintain his form and keep it going."

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However, I'll Have Another and jockey Mario Gutierrez won't have the track to themselves Saturday in Baltimore, and there are a few horses that could derail I'll Have Another's Triple Crown aspirations fairly easily at the Preakness.

Bodemeister

To the surprise of very few, the New York Post reported Tuesday that Bodemeister, who set a record pace in the Kentucky Derby before fading down the stretch and being overtaken by I'll Have Another, will participate in the Preakness. Trainer Bob Baffert decided the horse wasn't too fatigued to make the trip to Maryland, saying that, "He deserves a shot to run. I see no reason not to take him."

Bodemeister shot through the first half mile at the Derby in a ridiculous 45.39 seconds. Given the shorter distance at the Preakness (one-and-three-sixteenth miles versus one-and-a-quarter), expectations of a fast track and the fact that I'll Have Another ran a nearly perfect race in Louisville, Bodemeister has to be considered the favorite this weekend.

Creative Cause

Creative Cause ran a disappointing fifth at Churchill Downs, but at the Santa Anita Derby, Creative Cause ran nose-for-nose with I'll Have Another. After shipping the horse back home to California after the Kentucky Derby, Creative Cause is ready for a successful East Cost road trip, according to what trainer Mike Harrington told the Philadelphia Inquirer.

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"Everything's fine," said the 71-year-old Harrington, who is scheduled to arrive by plane in Baltimore on Wednesday afternoon. The colt will be on an earlier flight that will stop in Louisville to pick up the Churchill Downs contingent heading to the Preakness.

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Being forced outside early caused Creative Cause to run a much longer race (relatively speaking) than many of the other horses in the Derby, and even then, he finished only three lengths back. If jockey Joel Rosario can prevent a similar mishap in the Preakness, Creative Cause should be right in the thick of things at Pimlico, especially since he has beaten Bodemeister in the past.

Went the Day Well

Went the Day Well, who finished fourth in the Kentucky Derby, may not have his performance limited by the weather in Baltimore, but it has put a crimp in his travel plans. Trainer Graham Wilson, who had hoped to ship the horse to Pimlico Tuesday, instead waited until Wednesday due to heavy rains that saturated Maryland. 

Went the Day Well is riding a lot of positive momentum after running a fantastic race as a 20-1 shot at the Kentucky Derby. It would probably take some luck for Went the Day Well to win the Preakness, but if a blistering early pace were to tire the leading contenders, it's possible that the hard charger could pull off an even bigger surprise down the stretch than he did with his solid finish in the Run for the Roses.