Zipse: Preakness result further muddles 3-year-old division

Magic mirror on the wall, who's the fairest sophomore of all?

It's a reasonable question after watching Seize the Grey take the Preakness Stakes field gate to wire on a muddy Pimlico main track Saturday.

In the year's eight most prestigious races in America's glamor division so far, the Kentucky Derby, Preakness, Florida Derby, Arkansas Derby, Blue Grass, Santa Anita Derby, Wood Memorial and Louisiana Derby, we have seen eight different winners.

In my top 10 ballot, which I submit weekly to the National Thoroughbred Racing Association, I once again will have Mystik Dan in the top spot. I've liked the son of Goldencents for some time, and I believe he deserves the ranking after winning the Kentucky Derby and running second in the Preakness.

Although I was right all along about Mystik Dan, I was equally wrong about Seize the Grey. Unable to get past a few of his poor performances along the way, I did not see him as a major factor among the crop's best horses.

His strong Preakness win, on the heels of a decisive score in the Grade 2 Pat Day Mile, proved that the D. Wayne Lukas-trained son of Arrogate belongs in the discussion among the best 3-year-olds in the land.

Mystik Dan and Seize the Grey won the first two legs of this year's Triple Crown, but if you were to tell me that it will be another who is crowned champion at the end of the year, I could hardly argue.

Certainly, the two horses who battled hip-to-hip down the Kentucky Derby stretch are prime candidates to prove best when all is said and done. With a little better racing luck, either Sierra Leone or Forever Young could have won the 2024 edition of the Run for the Roses.

The winner of the Blue Grass (G1) and the Risen Star (G2), Sierra Leone is two noses short of a perfect record, having also lost last year's Remsen Stakes (G2) by a dirty nose. The strapping son of Gun Runner looms as the likely horse to beat in next month's Belmont Stakes at Saratoga.

As for Forever Young, we will not see him again in the U.S. until the Breeders' Cup Classic in November, but I don't know whether any sophomore in the world is more deserving of respect, considering his accomplishments.

The Japan-bred colt has proven himself not only in his homeland, but also by traveling for impressive wins in Saudi Arabia and Dubai. Adding greatly to his frequent flier miles, the son of Real Steel then traveled to America and did everything but win in a courageous third-place effort in the Kentucky Derby.

It seems like trainer Bob Baffert always has a say in the 3-year-male division, and this year should be no different. His Arkansas Derby (G1) winner Muth is clearly a horse of quality and would have been a red-hot favorite for the Preakness had he not been stricken with a fever after traveling to Baltimore.

Baffert also has Nysos, who could be something special but has not run since his win in the Robert B. Lewis Stakes (G3) in February. It was the third romping win in as many starts for the son of Nyquist. I eagerly await his return, but with no recent works, there's no telling when the unbeaten colt will return.

No American horse has run more good races this year than Catching Freedom, and he did little to sully his last-to-first win in the Louisiana Derby (G2) with solid efforts in both the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness. Unfortunately, for the Constitution colt, he has not quite been able to get over the hump against the very best competition.

Resilience, as the winner of the Wood Memorial (G2), and Stronghold, the hero of the Santa Anita Derby (G1), also deserve mention here, but both will have to improve off their sixth- and seventh-place finishes in the Kentucky Derby, respectively, to move up the sophomore ladder. 

And let's not forget the enigma that is Fierceness. The well-beaten Kentucky Derby favorite and 2023 juvenile champion is the definition of up and down. When he is good, he is very good, but in every other race to date he has floundered. Still, his demolition of the Florida Derby (G1) field stands out on the eye-catching scale.

So, who is the best 3-year-old out there? As you can see, the list of potential candidates is a long one, and it only gets longer when you consider up and comers such as Antiquarian and Mindframe.

I offer no answer to the question at this time, but I am intrigued to see how important races such as the Belmont, Haskell, Travers, Pennsylvania Derby and Breeders' Cup Classic unfold and declare a champion.

Oh, and have I mentioned there is a really good filly out there named Thorpedo Anna?