Pair Of "House Horses" Await War Emblem In Baltimore
By, William F. Reed
May 16, 2002

BALTIMORE, Md. (May 16, 2002) - When the Kentucky Derby (GI) winner comes to Pimlico race course for the Preakness Stakes (GI), his connections have many worries. Will he like the track here? Did the Derby take too much out of him? What's the weather going to do? And, especially, is there a "house horse" in the field who can ruin another Triple Crown dream?

A "house horse" is a Maryland-based runner who has skipped the classic at Churchill Downs in the hope of ambushing the Derby winner on his home track. In 1972, for example, Derby winner Riva Ridge was upset by non-Derby starter Bee Bee Bee, an 18-to-1 longshot that was bred in Maryland and ridden by local jockey Eldon Nelson.

Elocutionist pulled the same stunt on Bold Forbes in 1976, and the "house horse" won again in 1979, except that Spectacular Bid - owned, trained, and ridden by Marylanders - had won the Derby and was easily the best horse of his generation.

In 1982, veteran trainer Henry S. Clark, a Maryland institution, won the Blue Grass Stakes (GI) with the impressive Linkage, who probably would have been the Kentucky Derby favorite. However, Clark took him back to Pimlico to await the Preakness, the race he wanted to win more than any other.

The presence of Linkage may have been one of the reasons that the connections of Derby winner Gato Del Sol decided to skip the Preakness and point for the Belmont Stakes (GI). As it turned out, the Preakness was, indeed, won by a "house horse," but it was Aloma's Ruler, not Linkage, who finished second. Aloma's Ruler was owned by Nathan Scherr, trained by Butch Lenzi, and ridden by "Cowboy" Jack Kaenel, all regulars on the Maryland circuit.

A year later, Deputed Testamony made it back-to-back wins for "house" horses. He and stablemate Parfaitement were sent off at odds of 15-to-1. But while Derby winner Sunny's Halo struggled home sixth, Deputed Testamony, a Maryland-bred, delighted owner F.P. Sears, trainer Bill Boniface (a former writer for the Baltimore Sun) and local jockey Donnie Miller by winning one for the home team.

In a variation of the "house horse" theme, Derby winners Lil E. Tee (1992) and Sea Hero ('93) finished up the track in the Preakness. However, Alydeed in '92 and Cherokee Run in '93, each finished used the Derby Trial (GIII) as their final preps for what turned out to be respectable second-place finishes in the Triple Crown's second jewel.

The most recent "house horse" to have an impact on the Preakness was Oliver's Twist, who barely held off Derby winner Thunder Gulch for second in the 1995 Preakness won by Timber Country. He was owned by Charles M. Oliver, trained by Boniface, and ridden by local favorite Alberto Delgado.

Which brings us around to the question of the day: Who is the "house horse" that might upset Derby winner War Emblem in Saturday's 127th Preakness?

Well, it could be Equality, whose trainer, Graham Motion, is a fixture on the Maryland-Delaware-New Jersey circuit. The colt won the Tampa Bay Derby (GIII) in near-record time, then had a troubled trip while finishing second in the Apr. 6 Aventura Stakes at Gulfstream Park. After that race, the colt lost enough weight that Motion decided against running him in the Derby.

"We tried to do the right thing by this horse by not going to the Derby," Motion said. "This is the more conservative way. But I think at this time we're doing the right thing by taking a shot."

With all due respect to Equality, the best "house horse" story would be a Preakness victory by Magic Weisner. Breeder-owner-trainer-exercise rider Nancy Alberts, 56, bought the colt's dam for $1. Her name is Jazema, a crooked-leg mare that was headed for some awful fate before Alberts rescued her, trained her to 14 wins, and bred her to Ameri Valay.

Last Dec. 31, Magic Weisner won the $100,000 Maryland Juvenile Championship at Laurel, easily the biggest win of Alberts' career. He also won his first three starts this year to take a five-race winning streak into the April 6 Federico Tesio Stakes, where he finished second. By then, however, Alberts already had decided to skip the Derby because of the cracked left shoulder she sustained when a horse threw her.

"With my health, I didn't feel like doing a lot of shipping," Alberts said. "I guess I'm a homebody."

The main case for Magic Weisner is that all 10 of his races have been in Maryland (four at Pimlico, six at Laurel). He's also the only horse in the Preakness field that has competed at Pimlico, and none of his competitors have surpassed his six wins. The downside, of course, is that he has yet to face horses nearly as good as War Emblem, Harlan's Holiday, Proud Citizen, and Medaglia d'Oro.

Look for Magic Weisner to battle War Emblem, Booklet, and Table Limit for the lead in the early going. The question is whether he can sustain his speed for the Preakness distance of a mile and 3/16ths.

Win or lose, however, Alberts is thrilled to have a Maryland-bred son of a $1 mare in the Preakness. It's almost too much for her to imagine how she would feel if Magic Weisner became the next "house horse" to win the Preakness while also making her the first female trainer to win the race that Marylanders covet most. Native Kentuckian William F. "Billy" Reed has been a sports writer in various capacities for 42 years and has missed covering the Kentucky Derby a mere two times since 1966. He has been a high-profile sports writer in Kentucky for the Commonwealth's two largest daily newspapers, the Louisville Courier-Journal and the Lexington Herald-Leader and was a national columnist for Sports Illustrated, covering among other sports, Thoroughbred horse racing and college basketball. Reed currently pens a column for the Louisville Sports Report , contrbiutes features to the Keeneland program and will be, among varied other assignments, filing Kentucky Derby installments on www.kentuckyderby.com.

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