Zayat wants shot at Derby and Oaks winners for Pioneerof the Nile
Enticed by the potential opportunity
to face the Kentucky Derby Presented
by Yum! Brands (G1) and Kentucky
Oaks (G1) winners in the same race,
Ahmed Zayat has confirmed Pioneerof
the Nile for the Preakness Stakes (G1).
Jess Jackson and Harold T.
McCormick have not yet announced
plans for Oaks winner Rachel Alexandra,
but Zayat is convinced her new
owners will enter her in the Preakness
against Derby winner Mine That Bird and his Derby runner-up.
Rachel Alexandra would be the first Oaks winner to compete in the
Preakness.



“I am a very competitive guy by nature and I would love to beat her,
so now I can come and if he wins, my colt would have beaten the Oaks
winner and the Derby winner,” said Zayat, the owner and breeder of
the CashCall Futurity (G1) and Santa Anita Derby (G1) winner. “That
would automatically make him the best three-year-old in the country.
It’s an incredibly exciting opportunity. It would be a huge achievement.”
Zayat acknowledged that he could throw a curveball by entering
enough horses to exclude Rachel Alexandra from the Preakness. She
was not nominated to the Triple Crown and would have to be supplemented
to the Preakness for $100,000, and she would have no preference
over nominated horses if the race draws more
entries than the maximum of 14 starters.
Zayat led all owners to the Triple Crown with 22 nominees.
“Can I theoretically fill the field out? Yes,” Zayat said. “I have enough
colts that are nominated that have a legitimate shot to run. Can I get
her out? Yeah, I can, but I’m not really sure that’s what I want.”
Zayat said he was not pleased with the maintenance of the Churchill
Downs dirt surface on Derby day. The track was sloppy and sealed
throughout the day after heavy overnight rain.



“I felt we were beat by the track and the weather, to say the least,”
Zayat said. “I think there was a huge inside bias, and I was concerned
about that. I wasn’t at all happy with the way the track had been all day.
I think we really suffered because of them being less aggressive about
it because they were concerned about what happened last year with Eight
Belles. They were wanting to be more conservative than aggressive.
“That’s my feeling about the track; what beat me was the track. I
don’t know if [Mine That Bird] is legit or not legit; time will tell.


Certainly, I’m looking forward for the Preakness to be able to prove
who’s the real deal here.”
Zayat said he watched the Derby replay over and over trying to
make sense of the result.
“I’m not talking about the fact that [Mine That Bird] won, I’m talking
about the margin and the way that he won,” Zayat said. “He ran
by the other horses like they were tied to a pole. How do you get this
performance? I just don’t know.



“My horse ran a very courageous race. He refused to be passed and
held second. He proved himself to be very versatile. … He’s done very
well since the race. We’re going to take our shot.”—Jeff Lowe

Mine That Bird = Fluke

Fluke or not will make the horse worth alottttt of breeding money lol. do I think he was a fluke? He wasnt on my tickets lol

Did anyone think that Pioneerof the Nile was NOT going to run in the Preakness?

Still an interesting read though, as FB mentioned. Thanks.

Originally Posted by hue21998

Fluke or not will make the horse worth alottttt of breeding money lol. do I think he was a fluke? He wasnt on my tickets lol

He is a gelding!!!!