Nick is Slick

[albany]

I believe that Jackson Bend may offer some value on Saturday. His 46 3/5 work demonstrates that he came out of the Derby without any issues. From 5/3 through 5/12, that was the fastest work at CD out of 423 horses who worked at 1/2 mile. This was the same type of work Nick put into Ice Box before both the Florida Derby and Kentucky Derby. It is also similar to the work Fly Down had before his big race.

Going into the Derby, Jackson Bend never ran worse than second (9 -- 5-4-0) and 2 of his seconds were behind Eskendereya. In the Derby, he made, according to the chart, a good middle move before  being steadied and cut off. Nick, who was generally pleased with the effort, believed that this trouble came at a critical juncture. Concomitantly, Mike Smith stated that he didn\'t \"beat him up\" after the trouble. There is also some question as to whether being reserved off the pace in the Derby served him well and whether he cared for the off track. All in all, there are a number of reasons to believe that his Derby effort was not that bad.

There is considerably less pace in the Preakness. This should allow Jackson Bend to return to his close up style that served him well prior to the Derby. His post draw inside the two favorites and First Dude will also help. This game little horse may offer some real value in the exotics.

Albany