A hale and hearty Napoleon Solo tracked hometown favorite Taj Mahal into the far turn, took charge in the stretch and held off Iron Honor to win the $2 million Preakness Stakes on Saturday at Laurel Park.
Napoleon Solo. MJC Photo.In perhaps the most wide-open field in the 151 editions of the second leg of the Triple Crown, it was Napoleon Solo – the only Grade 1 winner in a full field of 14 – who came through.
Sent off at 7-1, the 3-year-old gray colt owned by Al Gold’s Gold Square, Napoleon Solo covered the 1 3/16 miles in 1:58.69 over a fast track at Laurel. It was the first time the race was held at the track located between Baltimore and Washington, D.C. as Pimlico is being rebuilt.
It was the first Triple Crown race win for jockey Paco Lopez, who has ridden more than 4,000 winners.
“Paco rode an absolute perfect race,’’ Gold said.
Taj Mahal, sent off as the 9-2 favorite as Brittany Russell looked to become the first female trainer to win the Preakness, got off to the great start from the rail, but was outclassed by Napoleon Solo.
As trainer Chad Summers said after the race, the colt was bothered by a bruised foot this year and ran fifth in both the Fountain of Youth Stakes (G2) at Gulfstream Park and the Wood Memorial (G2) at Aqueduct in an effort to qualify for the Kentucky Derby (G1).
He didn’t make the field, but with Derby winner Golden Tempo bypassing the Preakness, the race belonged to Napoleon Solo.
“We’ve had everything go wrong his 3-year-old year, and we just kind of stayed the course and stayed the course,” Summers said in his Triple Crown race debut. “We had a lot of critics out there that told us to just ‘Shut up,’ and we just kept with it. It worked out today.”
Summers bought Napoleon Solo for $40,000 at the Keeneland Yearling Sale for Gold, who was more than happy with the purchase.
“Mr. Gold let me pick him out … and to get the job done on this stage it’s unbelievable,’’ Summer said.
Napoleon Solo was a 2-year-old sensation, winning his first career start at Saratoga and then rolling to a 6 ½-lenght win in the Champagne Stakes (G1) at Aqueduct on Oct. 4. Since then, he has not been fully healthy until the weeks leading up to the Preakness.
“After the Wood, I didn’t think he could go this far,” Gold said. “Chad was worried about this for days, whether he could go the distance. But it was the perfect scenario.”
Iron Honor, winner of the Gotham Stakes (G2) as a 2-year-old, also bypassed the Derby and ran a strong race to finish second for trainer Chad Brown.
Chip Honcho was third and winless Ocelli was fourth two weeks after finishing third in the Derby at 70-1 odds.
Incredibolt was fifth, followed by Bull by the Horns, The Hell We Did, Great White, Robusta, Taj Mahal, Corona de Oro, Talkin, Crupper and Pretty Boy Miah
aBefore the Preakness, though, Summers predicted Napoleon Solo was ready to roll. “This will be his best race of the year,” Summers said. “Where that puts us, we’re going to find out. We’re excited. We feel like he’s a lot better than his two fifth-place finishes have shown.”
He sure is.
No Derby winner in Preakness for third time in five years
This marked the third time in five years, fifth in eight years, that the Derby win skipped the Preakness for one reason or another. The past three, though, the others being Rich Stike in 2023 and Sovereignty in 2025, were for the same reason: The two-week turnaround was too fast, once again raising questions about spreading out the Triple Crown dates.
While we know Golden Tempo is Belmont bound, there will likely be many familiar Derby rivals.
Looking ahead to the Belmont Stakes
The Belmont Stakes (G1) will be held again at Saratoga Race Course on June 6 at 1 ¼ miles on June 6. The race returns to the reimagined Belmont Park at the traditional 1 ½ miles for the 2027 edition.
The field is already lining up to take on Golden Tempo, and it’s likely Napoleon Solo will be up for the challenge, along with Derby runner-up Renegade and several other Derby runners, including Chief Wallabee (fourth), Commandment (seventh), Emerging Market (10th), Further Ado (11th) and Albus (14th). Also possible is Peter Pan Stakes (G3) winner Growth Equity.
On the Preakness undercard:
Gallorette Stakes: Warming for the win
Warming ($19.80), back on turf for the first time since last fall, surged past Austere inside the eighth pole and held off Child of the Moon by a length to win the $150,000 Gallorette (G3).
Winning time for the 1 1/16-mile race for 3 and up fillies and mares was 1:41.16. H. Graham Motion trains Warming, who was ridden by John Velazquez.
Dinner Party Stakes: Fort Washington delivers again
Fort Washington ($7.80) outran A Bourbon for Toby in the deep stretch for a three-quarter length victory in the $250,000 Dinner Party (G3).
The 7-year-old trained by Shug McGaughey became just the second horse to win the race two years in a row. Winning time for the 125th running of the 1 1/8-mile turf race for 3-year-olds and up. Junior Alvarado was aboard the winner.
James W. Murphy Stakes: Turf Star rebounds with win
Calumet Farm’s Turf Star ($10.40) closed steadily through the stretch under Jorge Ruiz and topped My Favorite Bird by a half-length in the $100,000 James W. Murphy. The winner is trained by Motion.
Maryland Sprint Stakes: Bring the Smoke by a neck
Bring the Smoke ($16.50) brought home the victory in the $150,000 Maryland Sprint Stakes (G3), getting up in the final jump to edge Faust by a neck. The winning team was trainer Whit Beckman and jockey Tyler Gaffalione.
Sir Barton Stakes: Big Cuddle comes through
Maryland-bred Big Cuddle ($12.80) caught favorite pace-setter Final Story in mid-stretch and edged clear for a half-length victory in the $100,000 Sir Barton for 3-year-old non-winners of an open sweepstakes.
Richard Rosenblatt is an award-winning journalist and former Associated Press Horse Racing Editor. Currently, he serves as the news editor at US Racing, overseeing exclusive content from contributors worldwide.
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