Goal Oriented, a first-level allowance winner on the Kentucky Derby Day undercard at Churchill Downs, is now being pointed to the Preakness Stakes, Tom Ryan of SF Racing, which is part owner of the colt, said Thursday.
Goal Oriented will join Grade 2 Wood Memorial winner Rodriguez as trainer Bob Baffert’s Preakness horses. Baffert has won the Preakness a record eight times, most recently with National Treasure in 2023.
Goal Oriented and Rodriguez race for the ownership group of SF Racing, Starlight Racing, Madaket Racing, Stonestreet Stables, and Dianne Bashor. Flavien Prat will ride Goal Oriented in the Preakness.
Goal Oriented, a son of Not This Time, is 2 for 2 in his career as he won his debut going six furlongs on April 6 at Santa Anita. Goal Oriented nearly made it to the races as a 2-year-old but was sidelined by a setback following a gate workout on June 23, his eighth breeze over a two-month period.
“He was ready to run, we had a little deal we had to take care of, and did,” Ryan said. “Being patient has paid off.”
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Goal Oriented won his debut by 3 1/4 lengths, coming from off the pace. In his allowance win, going 1 1/16 miles, Goal Oriented was up on the pace while three wide and won by three-quarters of a length. He earned a 91 Beyer Speed Figure in both races.
“He seems to have come out of his race in great order, he’s touting himself,” Ryan said. “I thought his race on Derby Day was sensational when you look at [speed figures]. He’s a beautiful colt with a good pedigree by a sensational stallion and bred by the right people. We feel like he deserves to take a chance.”
Goal Oriented is out of the Afleet Alex mare Bizzy Caroline, herself a multiple Grade 3 stakes winner on turf. Afleet Alex won the 2005 Preakness and Belmont. Bizzy Caroline is a half-sister to the five-time Grade 1 winner Lady Eli.
“Brilliance in a pedigree is rare and there’s brilliance in this pedigree,” Ryan said.
Meanwhile, there is no final decision yet from the connections of Journalism, the Kentucky Derby runner-up who remains under consideration for the Preakness, according to Aron Wellman, head of Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners, which co-owns the colt.
“It's an important American Classic that, whether there's a Triple Crown on the line or not, holds with it an extreme amount of prestige,” Wellman told Pimlico publicity. “We’re going to monitor Journalism to the best of our ability and then make the best decision for the horse at the end of the day. But we're not saying we're in and we're certainly not shutting the door.”
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