Paradise Equine Farm, Bradley Kleven and Sharon Kleven’s stakes winner Express Kid, unraced since a runner-up finish in the Sunland Derby Feb. 15, breezed Thursday at Lone Star Park in Grand Prairie, Texas, in preparation for the 151st Preakness Stakes (G1).
Working with 3-year-old stakes-placed gelding Forty Seven, Express Kid went five furlongs from the gate in 1:00.71 over a fast main track. It was the second-fastest of 10 horses at the distance, with Forty Seven credited in 1:00.85.
“I was really happy with the work this morning. Really happy,” trainer Justin Evans said. “The other horse is a pretty decent horse but he outworked him pretty easy. I thought the work was great. He left there like we wanted him to and had a big gallop-out, showed good energy [and] came back out of it good. I couldn’t be more pleased.
“We’ve got to be on our ‘A’ game for a race like the Preakness,” he added. “I thought it was a really good work he turned in. He handled everything well, came back great and happy and looked really good after. It was just what we wanted to see.”
Express Kid made his first five starts for trainer Wade Rarick, winning the Springboard Mile Dec. 20 at Remington Park in his last start before Brad Kleven purchased the son of Bodexpress for $800,000 out of a one-horse Fasig-Tipton digital flash sale Jan. 9.
In the 1 1/16-mile Sunland Derby, his two-turn debut, Express Kid set the pace as the favorite and wound up beaten a nose by Pavlovian, who went on to run second in the Louisiana Derby (G2) and compete in the Kentucky Derby (G1).
“I wish maybe that we’d had a race since then but we ran into some issues. He got a little sick on me there for a few days where all that stuff was kind of going around everywhere it seemed like,” Evans said. “He spiked a fever for a few days. He came out of it fast, but it eliminated us from kind of getting a race where we wanted to be.”
Despite the gap between starts, Evans felt it allowed him and his staff to get to know the latest addition to their barn.
“We got a little time with him in barn and got him to fit in and go into our routine, so that is a definite plus,” he said. “You’ve got look on the bright side of it. He’s fresh, he’s doing good, he’s had a couple of nice works over this Lone Star track and seems like he’s going in the right direction.”
Evans said he expects Express Kid to arrive Monday at Laurel Park, where the Preakness is being held for the first time during the reconstruction of Pimlico Race Course. He has yet to firm up a rider.
“We feel like we’re coming in with confidence,” he said. “We’re happy where we’re at and hopefully ready to come with the ‘A’ game, for sure.”
‘Not Much Downside’ to Preakness for Bull by the Horns
Peachtree Stable and Mark Corrado’s Bull by the Horns, an eye-catching winner of the March 21 Rushaway last time out, will work this weekend with designs on running in the 151st Preakness Stakes (G1) May 16 at Laurel Park.
Bull by the Horns was entered to run in Saturday’s Peter Pan (G3) at Aqueduct but was withdrawn when Gulfstream Park-based trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. was unable to breeze the Essential Quality colt before the race.
“He was going to run but it rained Sunday and when I tried to work him again Monday, it rained again,” Joseph said Thursday. “When we looked at the Preakness, we thought there’s not much downside. He’s going to like the distance, so I would say there’s a strong possibility he’s going to run in the Preakness.”
Joseph is leaving his options open when it comes to the next work for Bull by the Horns, whose most recent timed breeze of 47.45 seconds for four furlongs came April 26 at Gulfstream.
“He’s going to work, I would say, either Saturday or Sunday. It could even be tomorrow,” Joseph said. “He’s doing good. He’s ready to run.”
Bull by the Horns graduated second time out in a one-mile maiden special weight last November at Gulfstream. He ran third in a Jan. 16 optional claiming allowance at Tampa Bay Downs to kick off his 3-year-old season, then ran seventh in Gulfstream’s Coolmore Fountain of Youth (G2) Feb. 28.
In the Rushaway, contested at 1 1/16 miles over Turfway’s all-weather surface, Bull by the Horns trailed by as many as 9 ¾ lengths and was still last after six furlongs before uncorking a wide rally through the stretch to emerge from a four-way photo a head in front of runner-up Steel Imperium. Third-place finisher Trendsetter came back to upset the April 11 Lexington (G3) at odds of 32-1.
Two horses from the Lexington, respective second and third-place finishers The Hell We Did and Corona de Oro are also pointing to the 1 3/16-mile Preakness.
“It was a good win visually. He was way, way back, and to win from that far back, you have to have some kind of ability to do that,” Joseph said. “Obviously, his [speed] number didn’t come back that fast, but the race came up productive. The horse that ran third came back to win the Lexington. Visually, it was very important, and the productivity of the race is even more important than numbers, in my opinion. That gives me a little confidence to go forward.”
This story was originally published by Paulick Report on May 7, 2026, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Paulick Report as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
