Planes, vans, and quarantines.
And on Saturday, British trainer Jamie Osborne will give his daughter Saffie a leg up on Heart of Honor and try to win the $2 million Preakness Stakes (G1) at Pimlico Race Course.
“I suppose for everybody, we’re fresh faces around here, and it looks very different, doesn’t it?” asked Osborne, “An Englishman with a G.B.-foaled horse ridden by his youngest child. OK, fine, it’s different. Yeah, I mean I enjoy working with her. It’s kind of given me a new enthusiasm.”
Osborne has been to America before and nearly won the 2014 Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1), with Toast of New York (Jamie Spencer aboard) coming up a nose short of Bayern.
In the Preakness, his 23-year-old daughter will pilot 12-1 shot Heart of Honor in an attempt to join Julie Krone as the only female riders to win a Triple Crown race (Krone won the 1993 Belmont Stakes aboard Colonial Affair).
Heart of Honor was flown from his home base in Dubai to the United States, then quarantined at Churchill Downs, then vanned to Pimlico. Saffie Osborne, the bay colt’s regular rider, was flying in from England and expected to be at Pimlico on Friday.
“People have said, ‘You’re coming to America. Why don’t you use somebody who has experience at the track, more experience than her on dirt?’ But for us, that’s not an option,” said Osborne. “(Owners) Jim and Claire Bryce, they’re very good friends. They’ve known Saffie for many years; they’ve seen her grow up. She’s part of the team. So for us, there was never a consideration to let anyone else ride him. She knows the horse.”
Last out, Heart of Honor was nosed out by Admire Daytona in the UAE Derby (G2) on April 5. It was a tough defeat for father and daughter.
“The first was painful,” said Osborne, referring to the loss in the BC Classic. “But I think the UAE Derby was more painful, even though the two races obviously don’t have the same sort of prestige. Yeah, for Saffie, it was really tough. I think it brings a whole different dimension to what I’m doing when you’ve got your own child doing the riding. It would have been elating, but it wasn’t. But she’s 23 years old, she’s going to get plenty more chances. But it was a tough one to swallow.”
The early bumping in the Kentucky Derby (G1) didn’t help Journalism, who still ran a strong second to Sovereignty. But that’s in the past, and trainer Michael McCarthy is feeling pretty confident a Preakness win is in the cards.
After Journalism galloped 1 1/8 miles over the wet track at Pimlico on Thursday, McCarthy said: “I have a lot of confidence in my horse. “He's coming back in two weeks. Sometimes with good horses, it's a lot harder to tell when they're not on top of their game, because they can handle it. They handle these things so easily. We'll see on Saturday, but my gut tells me we're in for good things.”
Journalism is the 8-5 morning-line favorite leaving from post 2 under Umberto Rispoli.
“I would have liked to have been talking to you guys with a Derby win under my belt, but it's a tough race to win.,’’ said McCarthy during a media session. “Any of these Triple Crown races, they're not easy to win. So, we've brought a horse here who seems like he's good enough to get the job done on Saturday.”
The writing team at US Racing is comprised of both full-time and part-time contributors with expertise in various aspects of the Sport of Kings.
