Sports

No Triple Crown again: Oxbow upsets Orb in Preakness Stakes

BALTIMORE — Dashing the hopes that Kentucky Derby winner Orb would head back to New York with a chance at the Triple Crown, 15-1 shot Oxbow led gate-to-wire under Hall-of-Fame jockey Gary Stevens to win Saturday’s 138th Preakness Stakes at Pimlico by 1 ³/₄ lengths on a chilly, cloudy day in Baltimore before a crowd of 117,203.

The victory was the third in the Preakness for Stevens, who came out of retirement in January at age 50, and the sixth for Hall-of-Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas, who is 77. It also was Lukas’ record 14th win in a Triple Crown race, breaking a tie he held with the legendary “Sunny Jim” Fitzsimmons.

“I get paid to spoil dreams,” said Lukas, who hadn’t won a classic race since Commendable upset the Belmont Stakes in 2000. “You can’t mail it in. It’s a different surface, a different time. You got to line them up and run them.”

Oxbow, rebounding from a sixth-place finish in the Kentucky Derby, paid $32.80 after running the 1 3/16 miles in 1:57.54 — the slowest Preakness since 1961. Itsmyluckyday, second at 8-1, and Mylute, third at 10-1 under Rosie Napravnik, finished 15th and fifth, respectively, in the Run for the Roses. They completed a $301.40 exacta and a $2,061.60 trifecta.

Orb, racing in traffic much of the way after breaking from post 1 under Joel Rosario, never was a threat. After backing up when he should have made his rally on the far turn, he just got up for fourth in a disheartening effort as the 3-5 favorite in a field of nine.

“I thought we were laying in a good position,” trainer Shug McGaughey said. “The pace was slower than I anticipated. He was never comfortable down in there. I’m disappointed. My hat’s off to Wayne.”

Oxbow, winless in four starts since he won the Lecomte in January by 11 ½ lengths, shot right to the front at the break, and when the speedy Goldencents didn’t press him for the early lead, Stevens was able to shake loose while slowing the pace down to 48.60 seconds for the first half-mile and 1:13.26 for six furlongs. With no one closing the gap, he then kicked away turning for home.

“When they threw up that :48 and 1:13, I said ‘watch out,’ ’’ said Lukas, whose two other horses in the Preakness, Will Take Charge and Titletown Five, finished seventh and last, respectively. “When Gary turned the corner and got that little bit of spurt, I got to feeling pretty comfortable.

“Is this a great country or what?”

For Stevens, who quit riding for seven years before mounting his comeback, it was the ninth win in a Triple Crown race, and his first since he won the Preakness and Belmont Stakes with Point Given in 2001.

“I didn’t expect to be on the lead,” he said. “[But] in these classic races, you don’t give up anything you get for free [and] they gave me a free three-quarters of a mile today. I couldn’t believe no one challenged me.

“I was smiling pretty good midway down the backside. I actually thought about Wayne up in the grandstand. I knew he would be pleased with what he was seeing.”

Oxbow, a $250,000 purchase as a yearling, is a son of Breeders’ Cup Classic winner Awesome Again, out of the mare Tizamazing, a full-sister to two-time Breeders’ Cup Classic winner Tiznow. He is owned by Brad Kelly, a newcomer to thoroughbred racing who is trying to revive the fortunes of Calumet Farm, a powerhouse stable of yesteryear. In its heyday, Calumet won the Preakness seven times from 1941-68.

As for June 8 Belmont Stakes, Oxbow likely will try to give Lukas his fifth win in the “Test of the Champion.”

“One of the things that really impressed us was, [Oxbow] was not even blowing when he walked into the winner’s circle,” Lukas said. “He didn’t hardly turn a hair and showed no stress lines whatsoever. I’ve got to talk to Mr. Kelly, but you know me, I like to rack them up in the big events. So I’ll probably go.”

ed.fountaine@nypost.c