Yawanna Twist Racehorse Preakness Stakes Preview

Yawanna Twist
2-2-0, 4 Races

Notable Past Performances

Race
Illinois Derby (G3)
Gotham Stakes (G3)

Distance
1 1/8
1 1/16

Odds
1.30
3.85

Post
4
2

End Result
2
2

The good news for Yawanna Twist (aside from the fact that he clearly has the best name of any horse in this field) is that he has finished in the money all four times that he has taken to the track. The bad news is that no one is going to believe that he finishes in a pair of stakes races, the Gotham, and the Illinois Derby are worth much of anything.

The fields in both of the graded races were subpar at best, and though other colts like American Lion, Awesome Act, and Backtalk, who all ran in the Kentucky Derby, were in those races, he has never faced one, let alone an entire field's worth of legitimate Triple Crown contenders.

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Trainer Rick Dutrow Jr. last won here with Big Brown, but aside from his massive colt that won the first two legs of the Triple Crown, he really hasn't had a major horse even race here. This is probably no exception.

Yawanna Twist is probably going to be one of the horses right out of the blocks to head to the front of the field, much like Noble's Promise did at the Kentucky Derby. However, just as Noble's Promise did that day, it won't be overly surprising to see this horse finish 30+ lengths off of the pace.

Jockey Edgar Prado will be riding in his own backyard, but that doesn't necessarily bode well for Yawanna Twist. Prado has never finished better than fourth in any of his 13 attempts at capturing the Preakness Stakes, and he was aboard Barbaro when he broke down in this race four years ago.

It's never a ringing endorsement when your trainer says that he'd be "thrilled with a second place" finish, but that's what Dutrow said about Yawanna Dance. Don't even except that much from him.