Preakness Profile: Goal Oriented

1. Goal Oriented (6-1)

Post Position: 1
Color/Sex: Dark bay or brown colt
Age: 3
Sire–Dam–Damsire: Not This Time – Bizzy Caroline – Afleet Alex
Owner: SF Racing et al.
Trainer: Bob Baffert
Jockey: Flavien Prat
Record: 2 starts: 2 wins, 0 places, 0 shows
Earnings: $111,960
Typical Running Style: Speed
Last Raced: May 3, 2025 – Allowance – Won by ¾ lengths
Note: Big jump up from allowance company
Quote: “He’s really come into himself. The race the other day, he won that with so much to spare.” – Bob Baffert

Goal Oriented (6-1) takes a big step up from the allowance ranks after a solid win on Kentucky Derby Day, where he controlled the pace and had enough left in reserve. The undefeated colt is trained by Bob Baffert, who is never shy about entering talented but lightly raced runners in big spots. With Flavien Prat aboard and natural early speed, he’ll look to make his presence known early from the rail. Though untested against top competition, he brings upside and momentum into his stakes debut.

BREEDING

By Not This Time, Goal Oriented is out of the Afleet Alex mare Bizzy Caroline.

Bizzy Caroline was a talented turf router, winning four of 17 starts and amassing nearly $350,000 in earnings while winning at distances up to 1 3/16 miles. Which, coincidentally, is the same distance as the Preakness.

Goal Oriented is Bizzy Caroline’s eighth foal to race, but none of the others has accomplished much. Two of them have earned a bit over $100,000, but four that have raced appear to have ended their careers winless.

Popular sire Not This Time stands for $175,000 in Kentucky, and his offspring win at a 19% clip in dirt routes. Better yet, they strike at 25% (16-for-63) in races of 1 ¼ miles and farther. Much of that sterling ledger is due to Next, who over the last couple of years has been the nation’s dominant long-distance dirt horse.

Not This Time’s best dirt runner to date has been Epicenter, who was the beaten favorite in both the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness. He subsequently won the Travers for the top victory of his career, in which he earned nearly $3 million.