One of the longshots in Preakness Stakes odds on Saturday is the Richard Dutrow Jr. trained Yawanna Twist. He will get his shot at Kentucky Derby winner Super Saver on Saturday though in Preakness Stakes betting.
Preakness Stakes odds list Super Saver as the favorite while Yawanna Twist has double-digit odds. Yawanna Twist was the runner-up in the Gotham and Illinois Derby so he could be competitive on Saturday. His jockey will be Edgar Prado who has had a lot of success in his career, except in the Preakness. Prado has had 12 mounts in the Preakness in the past and never won. To win in Preakness Stakes betting on Saturday, Prado will have to beat the Derby winner, Super Saver.
Yawanna Twist was second to American Lion in the Illinois Derby. He has been competitive in all of his starts. “We’ve had this on our minds for a while,” Dutrow said, “He’s run big every time we’ve run him, he’s never been disappointing. We’ve always been happy with the horse after his races. I’m happy he ran that big last time. We didn’t get the win, but we were happy. If you gave me another second in the Preakness, we’d be disappointed we didn’t win, but we’d be very happy with our horse.”
Yawanna Twist is the son of Yonaguska who won multiple stakes races. He is the first foal out of stakes winner Twist and Pop. Yawanna Twist broke his maiden in his debut in December at Aqueduct and then won an allowance race in February. His stakes debut was in the Gotham where he was second to Awesome Act. He was very game in that race as he had to go five wide to finish just a length behind the winner. He then finished second in the Illinois Derby at Hawthorne. He was even with American Lion in that race before fading to second. His best Beyer Speed Figure is 96.
Yawanna Twist only had graded earnings of $147,000 and those were not enough to make it into the Kentucky Derby. In most years that figure would easily have made the field but not this time. Yawanna Twist had a strong six-furlong work at Churchill Downs in preparation for Preakness Stakes odds. He went the six furlongs in 1:17.20.