Martin Garcia rode to victory at the Preakness 2010 aboard the bay colt Lookin At Lucky in only his second Triple Crown race, giving trainer Bob Baffert his fifth win. He ran 1-3/16 miles in 1:55:47.
Lookin At Lucky won by three quarters of a length over First Dude. Jackson Bend finished third. Lookin At Luck paid $6.80, $4.60 and $3.80 as the 2-1 second choice. First Dude returned $16.60 and $9.20, while Jackson Bend paid $6.60 to show.
On Wednesday Lucky drew the No. 7 post. Trainer Baffert said, “The draw is so important. He came out here today and he was so cool and calm. He rode a perfect race. Martin can get a horse to settle really well, and I could see he had the horse in a nice rhythm.”
Garcia, 25, came to the U.S. in 2003 and worked in a deli in San Francisco. The owner introduced him to a jockey and two years later he was one himself. His first Triple Crown race was just two weeks ago at the Derby.
Within the last two weeks Baffert made a gutsy decision to swap out veteran jockey Garrett Gomez for Garcia and it paid off for the trainer, who is now tied for second all-time with D. Wayne Lukas in Preakness wins.
Garcia beat veteran Calvin Borel, who brought his colt Super Saver to victory in the muck of the Kentucky Derby and predicted a Triple Crown sweep. The colt faded to eighth as the 9-5 favorite in the 12-horse field. Affirmed was the last to sweep the Derby, Preakness and Belmont in 1978.
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Photos: PicApp