Preakness Results: Napoleon Solo Wins, Iron Honor Places, Chip Honcho Shows

Napoleon Solo, who went off at 7-1, cruised past the fading race favorite Taj Mahal (9-2) at the top of the Laurel Park stretch and fended off Iron Honor and Chip Honcho to take the 151st Preakness in style under jockey Paco Lopez. Trained by Chad Summers, the game roan colt brought a sturdy run to deal with his stretch-duel challengers, beating an oncoming Iron Honor by a length. It was the first Preakness victory for both trainer Summers and jockey Lopez.

The winner paid $17.80 on a $2 bet; Iron Honor paid $9.20 in place; Chip Honcho paid $8.20 in show. The $1 trifecta paid a tidy $597.10.

Taj Mahal, the local favorite because had trained and won at Laurel, began his fade as Napoleon Solo worked by him, and he finished a lackluster tenth. Derby show horse Ocelli, by contrast, actually brought his late running Derby style to finish fourth. Pictured below coming into the first turn after the start of the race, Taj Mahal, third from the right on the rail, with Sheldon Russell up in the light blue silks bearing the post position #1, can be seen taking the lead in the race. At this point the eventual winner Napoleon Solo runs slightly off Taj Mahal’s fast pace a couple of lanes to the left of the frame, with his bright royal blue nose strap padding and the gold square on his black blinders covering his forehead. The #10 post position number is just visible on Paco Lopez’ right arm.

A word about race favorite Taj Mahal’s run: Because the oval at Laurel is slightly shorter than that of Pimlico, the Preakness at Laurel starts about a football field closer to the first turn than at Pimlico. Specifically, at Laurel, the distance from the gate to the first turn is a bit over 700 feet, which is to say, if you’re a front runner at Laurel such as Taj Mahal, a fast start is very much what you want. Once at the front, however, Taj Mahal’s tactical issue was that his desire for speed emptied his tank — his fractions were nothing short of blistering. He ran his first quarter mile in 22.66 seconds and hit the half-mile at 46.66. He did the mile in 1:38.55, and had absolutely nothing left by the time Napoleon Solo and Paco Lopez found him at the top of the final three-sixteenths.

Click here to read article