BY PREAKNESS PRESS OFFICE (Edited)
LAUREL, MD—Undefeated multiple stakes winning Florida-bred Taj Mahal enjoys his role as the rising star in a deep stable of talented horses trained by Brittany Russell based at Laurel Park, where the 151st Preakness Stakes (Grade 1) will be held May 16.
Taj Mahal earned an automatic entry to the Middle Jewel of the Triple Crown for his dominant eight-and-a-quarter-length victory in the nine-furlong Federico Tesio April 18, which improved the bay colt’s record to three wins in as may lifetime starts. All his races, including a determined front-running neck triumph in the $100,000 Miracle Wood at a mile February 21, have come at Laurel.
“After he ran in the Tesio, he seemed to know. He had that air [about him]. We all came back to the barn and he was just posing,” Russell said. “He’s funny in the morning. [Regular exercise rider] Alex [Beitia] spoils him a little bit, as all the good horses seem to get. He takes his time walking to the track, stops, looks around, loves for everyone to have a look at him. He’s that guy.”
The plan is to give Taj Mahal a second work since the Tesio on Saturday at Laurel, weather permitting. Russell moved last weekend’s work from May 3 to May 2 to give her some wiggle room.
“He came out of the last work good,” Russell said. “I do plan on working Saturday. If I had to push it back to Sunday, it wouldn’t be the biggest deal.”
Taj Mahal had a regular jog and gallop day Wednesday with Beitia, who was up for a bullet five-furlong breeze in 1:00.40 last Saturday, fastest of 12 horses including fellow Preakness contender The Hell We Did.
“We’ll have a couple mile-and-a-halfs at the end of the week into his work. That was kind of my plan,” Russell said. “He does a lot in his gallops and that was a pretty good work the other day, not that it took anything out of him.”
SF Racing, Starlight Racing, Madaket Stables, Stonestreet Stables, Bashor Racing, Determined Stables, Goldconda Stable, Waves Edge Capital and Catherine Donovan’s Taj Mahal shares identical ownership to another Preakness contender, Cherokee Nation, a $1.15 million yearling trained by Hall of Famer Bob Baffert.
Taj Mahal began his career on the West Coast with Baffert but was later moved to Russell—a move the connections have made with several other horses in recent years—and won his February 6 unveiling just 15 days before the Miracle Wood. The ease with which Taj Mahal put in and exited his breezes got Team Russell excited.
“That’s kind of what caught our attention from the beginning,” she said. “Then I started putting him up beside some good horses and I’m like, ‘Hmm, is that other horse just not doing good or is this horse stepping up?’ He’s just always kind of handled everything we’ve thrown at him.”
After breezing solo last weekend, Taj Mahal is scheduled to have a workmate this weekend. His sire, 2015 juvenile champion Nyquist, was third in the 2016 Preakness after winning the Xpressbet.com Florida Derby (G1) and Kentucky Derby presented by Yum! Brands (G1).
“I plan to work him in company, but I’m still sorting out who I’m going to send with him,” Russell said. “It’s tricky because I probably only have a select few where it would be beneficial for both horses.”
Taj Mahal is out of Oola Gal, by Quality Road and was bred in Florida by Peter Vegso of Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina in the name of his Ocala-based Vegso Racing Stable. He was a $525,000 purchase by Donato Lanni as an agent for SF Bloodstock, Starlight Racing and Madaket Racing at the 2024 Keeneland September Yearling Sale where he was consigned by Eaton Sales.
Taj Mahal looks to join a distinguished list of Florida-bred Preakness winners going back to Carry Back in 1961 and Triple Crown-winner Affirmed in 1978. Codex gave Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas his first victory in a Triple Crown race in the 1980 Preakness and two years later, “Cowboy” Jack Kaenel guided Aloma’s Ruler to victory in the Preakness. Hooded dynamo Gate Dance won the 1984 Preakness and Silver Charm won the 1997 edition of the Preakness. Afleet Alex produced one of the more memorable Preakness wins after dropping his knees at the top of the stretch before jockey Jeremy Rose gathered him and won in 2005.
— Brock Sheridan contributed to this report
Return to the May 8 issue of Wire to Wire
