Once the storms had passed, it was a beautiful Monday morning in late May. Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas rode to his stable nearby after leaving the track at Churchill Downs.
He talked about Seize the Grey, the Preakness winner who is headed to the Belmont, and other stakes winners for the newest instalment of Horse Racing Nation's Barn Tour feature.
Seize the Grey
After winning the Grade 1 Pat Day Mile on the Kentucky Derby undercard, the Arrogate colt led at every call in the Preakness to win by 2 1/4 lengths. “He actually rebounded from the Preakness better than we could have hoped,” Lukas said. “His energy level is really well up there, and he's been very, very sound and working towards that next race in three weeks. I think it's going to be no problem for him. We feel really good that we're going to get another good effort. We should be optimistic about what we see. The mile and a quarter I always thought was a better distance anyhow. I never was a fan of the mile-and-a-half, so I definitely think that will help us.”
Lukas said Seize the Grey is laid back and really easy to be around. “That paddock at Pimlico is really bad, the glass is right there and people get excited and are pushing on the glass, right on top of the horses and everything. And he handles all that kind of stuff beautifully. They go across to get up on the infield grass course, and he walked over there flat-footed and probably thought we were going to graze him. He really is a joy to be around.”
Just Steel
The Justify colt started the Kentucky Derby having finished second to Muth in the Arkansas Derby (G1), but he was badly banged early on and finished in seventeenth place. Following his fifth-place performance in the Preakness, he underwent successful surgery to treat a condylar fracture, according to Dr. Larry Bramlage. “Dr. Brumlage was very optimistic that he will be OK. … Sixty days and we're going to re-X-ray. It's a pretty quick turnaround, not bad at all. … If he comes back like they think he will, we'll put him in back into a race career.”
Lemon Muffin
After finishing ninth in the Kentucky Oaks (G1) and fifth in the Black-Eyed Susan (G2), the Collected filly emerged victorious in the Honeybee (G3). “Lemon Muffin has been in and out. I'm not sure what causes that. She's inconsistent. If she brings her A game, she's very good. But she hasn't always shown up, and I don't know really why that is. She will go ahead and have a brilliant work in the morning. And you would say she's on her target to put her in the race, and she gives half that effort. So we're still trying to put the keys together on her. She's a nice filly and has got a lot of talent if I can get it directed in the right direction. She's right here, she's training every day – she worked today … I'm going to go a little further along with her and then probably pick out her race. I might even run her in her conditions, see if that gives her a little confidence.”
Similar to many trainers, Lukas was hesitant to talk about his two-year-olds. “I don't like putting them out there and bragging on them until they show me a little something more,” he said. However, he claimed to have two more juveniles coming in and 14 already at Churchill Downs. Justify, Into Mischief, and Gun Runner are some of their sires. “We're optimistic and feel great about them.”