Prairie Bayou, fulfilling his promise as the favorite, won the 118th Preakness Stakes on Saturday to end the Triple Crown bid of Kentucky Derby winner Sea Hero.
Prairie Bayou became the first gelding to win the Preakness since 1914, when Holiday captured the race.Bringing Loblolly Stables its second straight Preakness triumph, Prairie Bayou took the lead with an eighth of a mile to go and beat second-place finisher Cherokee Run by half a length in a speed duel - finishing the 1 3/16-mile middle jewel of the Triple Crown in 1:56 3-5 under Michael Smith.
El Bakan finished third.
Sea Hero, the Kentucky Derby winner, finished fifth.
For the second straight race, Personal Hope led into the stretch - this time from the wire - but fell short under jockey Gary Stevens.
Prairie Bayou also won the fourth time in his past five races. He missed only in the Derby, finishing second when his characteristic closing run came from too far out.
John Ed Anthony is the fourth owner to win the Preakness in back-to-back years and Bohannan is the first trainer to saddle two straight since Jimmy Jones in 1947 and 1948. Loblolly Stables is based in Hot Springs, Ark., and the victory adds to a remarkable recent string by those connected with the state that range from President Clinton to the owners and coach of the reigning Super Bowl champion Dallas Cowboys.
Racing from the third post position, Prairie Bayou angled toward the rail, from where Personal Hope and El Bakan, respectively first and second, broke together and set the pace.
Personal Hope took the lead as expected and for much of the race looked like a threat to wire the field. But the Santa Anita Derby winner who made his big push in the Kentucky Derby too early, this time came up short with about a quarter of a mile to go. Meanwhile, Prairie Bayou advanced on the inside, rallied between horses in the second turn and angled wide to make the mid-stretch drive.
Cherokee Run, the winner of the Kentucky Derby Trial and two of three races prior to that, provided the speed that was expected to be negated by his No. 12 post in the 12-horse field. Under Craig Perret, Cherokee Run relaxed behind Personal Hope and El Bakan. He gained the short lead but couldn't contain the winner.
Derby flop, D. Wayne Lukas-trained Union City, broke down in the Preakness at the three-quarter mile mark. The colt, who fractured both sesamoid bones and tore tendons in his right ankle, was destroyed.