Napoleon Solo held off Iron Honor down the stretch to win the 151st Preakness Stakes on Saturday, rebounding from a pair of fifth-place showings for his first victory of the year.
Kentucky Derby winner Golden Tempo was held out of the race, leaving a wide-open field of 14 horses to contest the middle jewel of the Triple Crown, which was held at Laurel Park in Maryland this year because Pimlico in Baltimore is being rebuilt.
Taj Mahal was the top choice at 9-2 – the longest odds for a Preakness favorite since the race moved to its current one-and-three-sixteenth-mile distance in 1925. Iron Honor had been the morning line favorite at 9-2, but he was an 8-1 shot by the time the horses entered the starting gate.
Taj Mahal broke to the lead early and covered the first quarter-mile in 22.66 seconds, but trainer Brittany Russell’s unbeaten colt couldn’t hold on and was passed by Napoleon Solo (7-1) near the top of the stretch. Iron Honor was a threat late but came up 1 1/4 lengths short.
Chip Honcho (11-1) was third.
It was the first victory in a Triple Crown race for trainer Chad Summers and jockey Paco Lopez. Napoleon Solo paid $17.80 on a $2 bet.
The colt won his first two starts last year by impressive margins, prevailing in the Champagne Stakes by 6 1/2 lengths in October. He couldn’t maintain that form, however, finishing fifth in both the Fountain of Youth and Wood Memorial this year.
Also in the Wood Memorial was Iron Honor. Their rematch was for much higher stakes, and Napoleon Solo again finished ahead.
“All year long, fifth place, fifth place. Everyone said he wasn’t as good as he was in the Champagne,” Summers said. “This was a win here. People will say it wasn’t against the best of the best. We’ll find out the rest of the year.”
The three horses who did race in both the Derby and Preakness this year – Ocelli (7-1), Incredibolt (5-1) and Robusta (25-1) – finished fourth, fifth and ninth Saturday.
The Belmont Stakes, the final leg of horse racing’s Triple Crown, is 6 June in Saratoga, New York.