BY PREAKNESS PRESS OFFICE (Edited)
LAUREL, MD – Aside from adding some extra cameras, 24-hour security and having a smattering of reporters and television crews intermittently filtering by throughout the mornings this week, life has been pretty much the same around Barn 5 on the Laurel Park backstretch.
As in, hectic. It is the home of trainer Brittany Russell, and ground zero from where she launched her career eight years ago and has been the foundation of meteoric success that will reach a high point Saturday when she saddles undefeated two-time stakes winning Florida-bred Taj Mahal for the 151st Preakness Stakes (Grade 1).
“Barn 5, right here. It’s where it all started,” she said. “I keep thinking about it. Just watching him train it’s like, ‘Man, this horse is doing so good.’ We feel like he’s live. It’s a different feeling. I feel like he’s going to run a good race. I don’t know what we would do if he won. It’s a feeling that I’m sure I haven’t felt yet.”
Unlike the other 13 horses in the Middle Jewel of the Triple Crown, housed in the Preakness Stakes barn 250 yards away, Taj Mahal will be led from his own stall on race day. He is based year-round and has trained and raced exclusively at Laurel, where he has a perfect record having won all three of his races. None of his rivals had even seen the track until this week with the exception of The Hell We Did, who has been on the grounds since arriving April 28 from Keeneland, where he ran second in the April 11 Lexington (G3).
“[Taj Mahal has] taken everything in stride. He’s enjoying it, I think. He’s enjoying the attention. He’s been able to stay in our barn, so nothing’s changed for him, honestly. We’re just trying to keep everything as normal as possible,” Russell said. “I think just being here, he hasn’t had to ship, he’s familiar with the surface. All those things I think will play on our side. He loves this racetrack. They’re all positive things.
“I’ve had some people ask some questions about Laurel, but I don’t think there’s anything in particular about shipping here vs. somewhere else,” she added. “I think it’s just a matter of what horses take to the racetrack. We’ll find out on Saturday.”
Taj Mahal drew the rail and was assigned 5-1 morning-line odds for the mile-and-three-sixteenths Preakness, making him the co-second choice with Chip Honcho and Incredibolt behind 9-2 program favorite Iron Honor. Russell’s husband, six-time Laurel meet-leading rider Sheldon Russell, will be aboard.
Before schooling in Laurel’s historic paddock during Thursday’s second race, Taj Mahal jogged and galloped a mile over the main track at his usual time just after 6 a.m.
“I feel like I’m feeling better the closer we get. Each day that goes good [leading] into it is like one day checked off. We just have a couple days to get through,” Brittany Russell said. “I think he’s tighter now. I think he got a lot out of that last race. His breezes have been good. I’m optimistic that we can see another step.”
Owned in a partnership led by Tom Ryan’s SF Racing, Taj Mahal exits a dominant eight-and-a-quarter-length victory in the mile-and-an-eighth Federico Tesio April 18 that earned him an automatic berth in the Preakness. All three of his starts have been this year, the first two just 15 days apart – overcoming a slow start to graduate by open lengths Feb. 6 and fighting for a front-running neck triumph in the one-mile Miracle Wood.
“He was working well going into his first run, but every time he’s raced he’s progressed. You’ve seen a progression in the afternoon; I’ve seen a progression in the morning. He has a beautiful pedigree. He’s a nice, classy horse. He’s supposed to do this. It’s all positive things that give us hope that this is where we should be,” Russell said. “Just watching how he’s done since [the Tesio], I do feel like he’s taken a step forward. He’s trained like he’s taken a step forward. Obviously, it’s going to be his biggest test, but I think he’s the right kind of horse.”
While her husband has ridden in the Preakness three times, his best finish being a fifth on Chase the Chaos in 2023, Russell will be making her Triple Crown debut. Maryland’s champion trainer each of the past three years, she has won six graded stakes since going out on her own in 2018 including the 2023 Carter Handicap (G1) with Doppelganger.
Doppleganger now stands in Florida at Pleasant Acres Stallions.
Two of Brittany’s Russell’s graded wins have been with millionaire Post Time, who also ran second in the Met Mile (G1) and Big Ass Fans Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile (G1) and third in the Whitney (G1) in 2024.
“That’s the thing. We’re running in our first Triple Crown race. It feels pretty incredible,” she said. “That’s what you want every year when the 2-year-olds come in. You’re hoping for one that’s going to be a really good 3-year-old. We’re here and we’re trying to enjoy it. Hopefully we can get the job done.”
Taj Mahal is by Nyquist out of Oola Gal, by Quality Road and was bred in Florida by Vegso Racing Stable. He was a $525,000 purchase by bloodstock agent Donato Lanni for SF Bloodstock, Starlight Racing and Madaket Stable at the 2024 Keeneland September Yearling Sale. He was then sent to Eddie Woods in Ocala for early training.
He is currently owned by a large group made up of SF Racing, Starlight Racing, Madaket Stables, Stonestreet Stables, Bashor Racing, Determined Stables, Golconda Stable, Waves Edge Capital and Catherine Donovan.
Return to the May 14 issue of Wire to Wire
