Top two set for Preakness Kentucky Derby winner War Emblem and runner-up Proud Citizen look set to clash again in the Preakness Stakes at Pimlico on May 18th. They are the only two runners to be considered as 'definite' possibilities for the second leg of the Visa Triple Crown in America. Trainer Bob Baffert, who secured his third Kentucky Derby victory in three years with The Thoroughbred Corporation-owned colt, has confirmed he will be aiming for the extended nine-furlong contest at the Baltimore track. Baffert reports his charge to be well after his victory, saying: 'It looks good. You can tell he ran hard. He`s a little tired. 'He was pretty wound up after the race, but he`s finally mellowed out a little bit. He can be tough, this son of a gun.' War Emblem was a four-length winner of the 'Run for the Roses' and he will now stay at the Churchill Downs track to train before travelling to Baltimore next week. 'I`ll train him here - this track (at Churchill Downs) is so good this year,'Baffert said. D. Wayne Lukas believes his horse Proud Citizen will progress for his Derby second and is looking forward to reopposing the winner at Pimlico. He explained: 'He is doing well and I think he should move forward off this race and I think he will run well in the Preakness. 'He is getting very good now, and I think we are in the same position with him now that a lot of other guys were in March.' Fourth-placed Medaglia d`Oro and beaten favourite Harlan`s Holiday, who finished seventh, are also possible runners in the Preakness at this stage. But one horse that will not be going to the Preakness is the Claude McGaughey-trained Saarland. The son of Unbridled came out of the Derby with a chipped bone in his left front ankle and the colt is now scheduled to have surgery in Lexington to remove the chip. Buddha, who was a late withdrawal from the race after going lame in his left front leg on Thursday, is also due to undergo a thorough bone scan at a Lexington clinic to try to find the problem.
