COLUMN: Jay Richards

     Silver Charm vs. Captain Bodgit.
      Will posterity enshrine the memory of these nearly inseparable Kentucky Derby warriors in the same manner it has preserved recollections of Affirmed and Alydar, or Sunday Silence and Easy Goer?
      That question could be answered in Saturday's 122nd running of the Preakness, the second jewel in thoroughbred racing's Triple Crown, when 10 3-year-olds travel 1-3/16 miles in the Grade I classic at Baltimore's Pimlico Race Course.
      Silver Charm, who stubbornly held off Captain Bodgit to win the Kentucky Derby two weeks ago, needs victories in the Preakness and the June 7 Belmont Stakes to fulfill Bob Baffert's dream of training the first Triple Crown winner in 19 years.
      Citation's sweep of the 1948 Triple Crown was followed by a 25-year drought until Secretariat duplicated the feat in 1973. Seattle Slew turned the trick in 1977, as did Affirmed the following year.
      Silver Charm may be no cinch to win the Preakness, let alone the Triple Crown, but he is the colt to fear most.
      Andy Beyer, nationally renowned professional handicapper, author and racing columnist for the Washington Post, sees no reason why Silver Charm shouldn't be wearing the wreath of black-eyed Susans in the Pimlico winner's circle.
      "Repeat? Why not?" Beyer said in reply to the query about Silver Charm's prospects for an encore in the Preakness.
      "Normally, after the Derby with its usually oversized fields, you can say the winner got lucky, that he enjoyed a good trip while several others had trouble, and that a little luck could have reversed the order of things.
      "But this year, nobody had any excuses. The three best horses ran one-two-three. I didn't see any subtleties in the running to alter the outcome.
      "Because of Silver Charm's (tractable pace) versatility, he'll always have a better chance to win."
      There are many who believe Captain Bodgit is too close in ability to Silver Charm not to win at least one of the Triple Crown classics, but Beyer isn't convinced.
      "That might be the simplistic view," he said. "Even-paced horses like Silver Charm tend to do better in the Belmont (than come-from-behinders), too."
      Captain Bodgit isn't exactly a dawdler, even though he's most effective coming from off the pace.
      Although he made up 19 lengths after a terrible start to finish third in the Fountain of Youth at Gulfstream Park, and despite the fact he won the Florida Derby from 10 lengths off the early pace, he's capable of showing early speed on a track hospitable to front-runners, such as Pimlico.
      It's interesting to note Captain Bodgit's only race at Pimlico produced his first career victory last August in which he led wire-to-wire.
      Free House, who beat Silver Charm by a head in the Santa Anita Derby and then ran third to the top pair after never changing leads in the Run For The Roses, remains the variable in the Preakness puzzle.
      Jockey Kent Desormeaux, who guided Free House in the Santa Anita Derby, regains the mount Saturday from David Flores, who rode the grey colt in Louisville.
      However, a blazing half-mile workout in 45 3-5 seconds Tuesday was considerably faster than trainer Paco Gonzalez had wanted Free House to train just four days before the race, leading to concerns the rapid drill may take something out of the colt.
      A new player in the Preakness cast will be Touch Gold, whose last race produced an 8 1/2-length victory in the Grade II Lexington Stakes at Keeneland on April 20.
      Here's the Preakness post position draw and track morning line odds:
      1- Jack at the Bank (entry, 50-1); 2- Wild Tempest (20-1); 3- Hoxie (entry, 50-1); 4- Free House (9-2); 5- Touch Gold (5-1); 6- Concerto (12-1); 7- Silver Charm (9-5); 8- Frisk Me Now (15-1); 9- Captain Bodgit (2-1); 10- Cryp Too (30-1).
      -- SUPER SPEED -- Beyer, whose speed ratings for every race and horse in North America are published in the Daily Racing Form, confirmed the phenomenal 126 figure given to Gentlemen for his victory in last Saturday's Grade I Pimlico Special was no misprint.
      "No question, it was a monster race and a legitimate number," Beyer said.
      "They (Gentlemen and runner-up Skip Away, who lost by a half-length) beat very good horses by decisive margins, (third horse) Tejano Run by 6 1/2 lengths and (fourth horse) Isitingood by eight lengths."
      The 1 3/16-mile clocking of 1:53 was 3-5-seconds off the track record.
      "It was the best two-turn (route race) number I've given a horse since Precisionist got a 128 for winning the '86 Woodward (at Belmont Park)," Beyer said.
      "In sprints, Groovy topped 130 twice, with a 133 and a 131 in '87."
      As a point of reference, retired two-time Horse of the Year Cigar's highest pair of Beyer ratings were 121 and 118.
     
      Jay Richards' horse racing column is published Friday and Sunday.