Lookin At Lucky 3-1 second choice in Preakness 135

Bob Baffert is looking for a reversal of fortune for Lookin At Lucky when the 3-year-old takes on a field of 11 other sophomores in the $1 million Preakness (G1) at Pimlico on May 15. The star-crossed colt drew post 7 for the middle jewel of the Triple Crown and is the 3-1 second choice behind Kentucky Derby (G1) winner Super Saver at 5-2. The Preakness will be shown live on NBC-TV from 4:30-7 p.m. ET. Post time is 6:12. p.m.

Lookin At Lucky, the reigning 2-year-old champion, galloped at Churchill Downs on Tuesday, the eve of the colt’s departure for Baltimore.

Baffert said all was well with the son of Smart Strike, who will bid to provide the three-time Kentucky Derby-winning trainer with his fifth victory in the Maryland classic.  Baffert notched earlier wins in the 1 3/16-mile race with Kentucky Derby winners Silver Charm (1997), Real Quiet (’98) and War Emblem (2002), and with Point Given, who also won the Belmont Stakes in 2001 after a fifth-place finish in the Derby.

Baffert said 26-year-old Martin Garcia is confirmed to ride Lookin At Lucky in the Preakness.  It will be the first Preakness ride for Garcia, who will replace Garrett Gomez in the saddle after Lookin At Lucky endured troubled journeys in the Santa Anita Derby (G1), where he finished third, and the Run for the Roses, where he was sixth following several bumping incidents in the first quarter-mile of the race.

“The thing with Martin is that he’s been on him; he’s worked him a lot,” Baffert said.  “And he wins for me.”

Garcia and Baffert teamed up to win the Santa Anita H. (G1) two months ago with Misremembered. Garcia also rode Conveyance in the Derby for Baffert.

Baffert has said that his decision to replace Gomez is not a reflection on the rider’s talent, but an effort to reverse the recent run of bad luck for the horse.