Bodexpress is a potential longshot worth an investment in Saturday’s 144th Preakness Stakes (6 p.m., NBC). MetroBet will dive into his racing résumé, human connections and pedigree below.
Bodexpress, winless in six starts to date, was overtly impeded in the much-discussed incident on the far turn in the Kentucky Derby that cost Maximum Security the win. Once he had to check, jockey Chris Landeros had a hard time finding clear running room to attempt a re-rally on Bodexpress, and the pair faded back to 14th (placed 13th after the DQ).
“He was one of the affected ones,” Gustavo Delgado Jr, training assistant to his father, told Bloodhorse. “We think he could have hit the board if it wasn’t for that, the way he was developing. The most important thing is that the horse came back in good shape and is doing well.”
The wet track in the Kentucky Derby certainly did Bodexpress no favors, as his only other race on an ‘off track’ was a dismal fourth-place effort at Gulfstream back in January. Prior to the Derby debacle, Bodexpress was a respectable second behind Maximum Security in the Florida Derby. That was the third runner-up placing of his career.
Bodexpress was sired by Bodemeister, who was a gutsy second to I’ll Have Another in both the Kentucky Derby and Preakness in 2012. Bodemeister has already produced a classic winner, as Always Dreaming took the 2017 Kentucky Derby. The dam of Bodexpress, Pied A Terre, never raced but is by City Zip, a sire that has passed on talent across all surfaces and distances. Her dam, Lady Auchamore, was productive in her own right, foaling $1 million earner Stormy Lord.
A win in the Preakness would be a crowning achievement for trainer Gustavo Delgado, who has just one previous Grade I win (Paola Queen, 2016 Test Stakes). Jockey John Velazquez has never won the Preakness but finished second in 2011 (Animal Kingdom) and 2013 (Itsmyluckyday).
