Mike Brunker Horse racing editor • Profile • E-mail

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Can Mine That Bird soar as high in the Preakness as he did in winning the Kentucky Derby?

The most likely answer to that question is “no.”

The central question about Mine That Bird’s Derby victory — the second biggest upset in the race’s 135-year history at 50-1 — is whether it was a fluke. The gelding received a brilliant rail-skimming ride by jockey Calvin Borel, and the evidence suggests he also benefited from the wet track at Churchill Downs.

But it’s also possible that Mine That Bird is really that good and only needed to be ridden correctly — taken back in the early stages, then unleashed in time for his ferocious rally to overpower the competition.

His trainer, Bennie “Chip” Woolley Jr. and owners Mark Allen and Dr. Leonard Blach decided Monday to go for the second jewel in the Triple Crown, to be run May 16 at Baltimore’s Pimlico Race Course.

Woolley said he was concerned about Pimlico’s speed-favoring racetrack, which he feels wouldn’t suit his horse’s come-from-behind style. He said he never planned to run Mine That Bird in the Preakness because he never imagined he’d win the Derby.

Mine That Bird probably will face at least a couple of his Derby opponents and a few new shooters at the Preakness.

Trainer Bob Baffert said Sunday that Derby runner-up Pioneer of the Nile would be sent back to California for evaluation, with a Preakness decision expected in about a week. But he said the colt had come through the race with only a “couple nicks” and seemed to be fine.

Derek Ryan, who trains third-place finisher Musket Man, said the Preakness was “under consideration.” The discussion will take place at Ryan’s base of operations at Monmouth Park in New Jersey, where Musket Man was bound Sunday. Ryan said he would ship the colt to Baltimore on the eve of the Preakness if he and the owners elect to run.

The only Derby trainer willing to commit his horse to the Preakness was Gary Stute, whose Papa Clem finished fourth, right behind Pioneerof the Nile and Musket Man.

“I’m going to be making travel arrangements today,” Stute said Sunday morning at Barn 10A. He said Papa Clem came out of the race with just “one little scratch” despite being bumped pretty hard in deep stretch.

Also possible for the Preakness is Derby favorite Friesan Fire.

But Cindy Jones, assistant trainer to her husband, Larry, said the colt will have to do some quick healing as he suffered “a lot of cuts and scrapes” and “grabbed a quarter” in the Derby. (“Grabbing a quarter,” similar to a torn fingernail in a human, occurs when a horse’s hind foot hits the back of a front foot, tearing away a chunk of the outer hoof wall.)

Possible new contenders for the Preakness include Mr. Fantasy, a speedy New York-bred who won the Withers Stakes on April 25; Big Drama, a sprinter who also won the Delta Jackpot last year around two turns; Take the Points, a Todd Pletcher-trained colt with plenty of speed; and the Nick Zito-trained Miner's Escape, who captured Pimlico's $75,000 Federico Tesio on Saturday.

A few others probably will emerge as the race draws nearer.

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So on to the second and grander question: Can Mine That Bird win the Preakness and Belmont Stakes three weeks later, becoming the first Triple Crown winner since Affirmed swept the series in 1978?

Despite his shocking victory Saturday, I just don’t see that happening.