Napoleon Solo captures Preakness; top 3 did not run in Kentucky Derby

Al Gold, the owner of Napoleon Solo, said he was not sure if the horse had what it took to win the Preakness Stakes.

Fortunately for him, the colt’s connections listened to jockey Paco Lopez, and as a result, the two men, along with trainer Chad Summers, found themselves Saturday in the Laurel Park winner’s circle with each celebrating their first triumph in a Triple Crown race.

Napoleon Solo stalked hometown hero Taj Mahal from the start of the 1-3/16-mile race until they hit the second turn at the Laurel, Md., track. That’s when Lopez kept his mount in control and breezed past the betting favorite. As they turned toward the wire, Napoleon Solo had more than enough to stave off a challenge from Iron Honor to win by 1 1/4 lengths.

Leading up to Saturday, that second turn prompted questions about whether the horse named for a character from the 1960s television show “The Man from U.N.C.L.E.” from could win one of the sport’s top races. Liam’s Map, Napoleon Solo’s sire, won the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile 11 years ago, and many felt the progeny would be better suited for shorter-distance races that featured just one turn.

Napoleon Solo also won the Champagne Stakes, which like the Preakness is a Grade 1 race, last October at Aqueduct in Queens. However, back-to-back fifth-place finishes in the Fountain of Youth and Wood Memorial Stakes led his connections to move him off the Kentucky Derby trail.

Even leading up to post time, Gold told NBC Sports he was worried about the distance. However, Gold said Lopez urged Summers to go to Maryland.

“I didn’t want to come here,” the owner said. “I didn’t think this horse could go this far, and Paco, it’s you, baby. You did this.”

There were a slew of other questions about the race as well. Kentucky Derby winner Golden Tempo skipped the race, as did Renegade, who finished second. While the Preakness featured a full field of 14 horses for the first time in 15 years, the headline attraction was Taj Mahal, a colt who won his first three races and all at Laurel, a smaller track located between Baltimore and Washington hosting the classic for Pimlico Race Course while workers finish a $400 million overhaul of the Baltimore track.

Going off at 7-1, Napoleon Solo paid $17.80 on a $2 win ticket, $9.80 to place and $7.40 to show. Iron Honor, who was the 9-2 morning-line favorite but went off as the 8-1 fifth choice, paid $9.20 and $6.60. Chip Honcho came in third, 4 1/2 lengths back of the winner and paid $8.20.

None of the top three ran two weeks ago in the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs, and the winning time of 1:58.69 was more than three seconds off Journalism’s time last year. The Preakness has been run at 1-3/16 miles since 1925, and the last time a slower winning time was recorded was in 1950.

Taj Mahal, trained by Brittany Russell who was seeking to become the first female to prep a Preakness winner, finished 10th. Ocelli, who finished third in Louisville on May 2, came in fourth, followed by Incredibolt.

–Field Level Media