Napoleon Solo posts Preakness triumph
Rediscovers juvenile form in upset win
Frank Vespe
May 16, 2026
The thing about Napoleon Solo, trainer Chad Summers said a few days before the running of the 151st Preakness Stakes, is that his off-color form this season came with excuses.
Not really cranked up for the Fountain of Youth, “a prep by design,” Summers called it. A heel bruise that caused him to miss the Arkansas Derby and perhaps left him a bit short heading into the Wood Memorial – the “last hurrah to try and make the Derby” – which became a fifth-place finish.
This article contains affiliate links. If you click and buy, we may earn a commission at no extra charge to you.
Pick up reliable and rewarding tickets for major events!
Those excuses ceased to matter today at Laurel Park. Napoleon Solo, ridden by Paco Lopez, seized the biggest opportunity of his career, powering to a 1 ¼-length triumph in the Grade 1, $2 million Preakness that made the struggles of the spring seem distant.
“I’m proud of the horse,” Summers said after the Preakness. “I feel the horse deserved it.”
The victory was the first Preakness triumph for Summers, Lopez, and for owner Al Gold of Gold Square LLC.
Napoleon Solo, named for the James Bond-like character featured in the 1960s television program The Man from U.N.C.L.E., paid $17.80 to win and topped an exacta, with Iron Honor in second, that returned $53.60 for a one-dollar wager.
Napoleon Solo, the lone Grade 1 winner in the field, improved to 3-for-5 in his career and pushed his bankroll past $1.5 million. His prior Grade 1 win had come in a tour de force triumph in the Champagne last October.
Beyond the excuses, there was the question of the 1 3/16-mile distance of the Middle Jewel. Napoleon Solo, by Liam’s Map, has more of a middle-distance pedigree.
“Did anybody think this horse could go this far?” Gold asked the media at a post-race press conference.
Not many, but two that did, apparently, were Gold and Summers.
When the gates opened, local hopeful Taj Mahal was quickest away. Trained at Laurel by Brittany Russell and ridden by her husband Sheldon Russell, Taj Mahal, the lukewarm 9-2 favorite, threw down a 22.66-second opening quarter-mile, with Napoleon Solo in closest attendance.
“That was kind of our plan… his biggest asset is his cruising speed,” Summers said. “We weren’t going to take his biggest asset away from him.”
They remained one-two through a half-mile in 46.66 seconds and three quarters 1:12.08, with Taj Mahal maintaining a one-length lead.
Rounding the turn, Lopez put Napoleon on the attack, and he moved readily past the tiring Taj Mahal nearing the quarter pole.
The Chad Brown-trained Iron Honor loomed a threat at the head of the lane and had the entire stretch to get by. But Napoleon Solo kept finding more, and Lopez kept looking over his shoulder to ensure the cavalry was not coming.
“Eight times he looked over his shoulder,” Gold said. “He was awesome, Paco, great ride.”
“Paco being Paco,” laughed Summers. “He rides every horse with so much confidence.”
“I was confident in the horse today,” agreed Lopez. “It’s special to win races like this.”
Napoleon Solo stopped the timer in 1:58.69 for a 1 3/16 miles and possessed of a 1 ¼-length advantage over Iron Honor. Chip Honcho was another 3 ¼ lengths farther back in third.
“I am proud of the horse. He really ran a big race,” Iron Honor’s trainer, Chad Brown, said. “He had a challenging trip from [Post 9] as it turns out. He was a bit wide on both turns and it probably took the starch out of him a little bit when it mattered late. The winner ran terrific, so hats off to him.”
Taj Mahal faded to 10th.
“He did what we thought he would do; he just didn’t kick on,” Taj Mahal’s trainer, Brittany Russell, said. “You knew he was going to have to run a little faster than he has been, right?”
“Last time I sort of kept him off the rail and he sort of switched off. But no excuses really,” said Sheldon Russell, aboard Taj Mahal. “We got our own way. I could see Paco [Lopez on Napoleon Solo] was right there, right next to me and sort of used me as a lead horse.”
It was the first — and if all goes to plan, last — Preakness to be contested at Laurel Park, making its own sort of history. It also will be the final Grade 1 race contested at Laurel, whose Grade 1 events over the years have included the Laurel Futurity, the Frank De Francis Memorial Dash, and the much-missed Washington, DC International, a race won by many all-time greats, including the remarkable 5-time Horse of the Year Kelso, who also set the still-standing track record for 12 furlongs on turf: 2:23.80.
In the end though, the day belonged to Napoleon Solo
“There’s been a lot of trials and tribulations along the way,” Summers said. “I’ve almost quit about three or four times. Been forced into retirement a few times. But we’re still here, we’re battling and we got the victory done on a horse we bought for $40,000, which I love the most.”
Pick up reliable and rewarding tickets for major events!
LATEST NEWS
