Nobody wants to be lost in the crowd, especially not Xchanger. The Maryland colt will be part of the nine-horse field at the 132nd Preakness Stakes Saturday after backing out of the Kentucky Derby earlier this month.
Xchanger will be owner and Baltimore County resident Domenico Zannino?s first horse in the Preakness. Zannino and trainer Mark Shuman said that the 20-horse field at the Derby was major factor in why the horse did not run in the first jewel of the Triple Crown.
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“He came out of the [Federico] Tesio Stakes as though it was a workout,” Zannino said. “Being prepared was not the issue. Getting lost in that 20-horse shuffle was the issue. It could have left us empty for the Preakness.”
The colt will have two days of training before a walk Friday at the Fair Hill Training Center in Elkton. Keeping the 3-year-old out of the Derby has given Xchanger four weeks of rest, while the Derby’s top three finishers ? Street Sense, Hard Spun and Curlin ? will be running at Preakness on two weeks? rest.
Zannino and trainer Mark Shuman see an advantage. Timing is everything in thoroughbred racing, and both men feel the timing is right for the Preakness.
“I was very happy not to run against them,” Shuman said. “It was probably the best decision we could have made. We watched the race ? it was a hard race like it always is.”
Heading into Wednesday?s post-position draw, Zannino said the ideal spot for Xchanger would be anywhere from five to seven. The colt’s position does not matter as much as his jockey, Ramon Dominguez, who rode the colt to victory in the Tesio. Dominguez (118 wins) has ridden for Zannino in the past, and Xchanger reacts well to the 30-year old jockey.
“The horse is training well, and we are not just going here to run and get our name in the paper,” Shuman said. “If that was our intent, we would have run in the Derby. We want to compete. This is notan ego trip.”
