WinStar Farm President and CEO Elliott Walden confirmed on Tuesday that Quip is headed to the Grade 1 Preakness Stakes for a showdown with Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve winner Justify, who is also co-owned by WinStar.

Quip, winner of the Grade 2 Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby and second in the Arkansas Derby, was kept out of the Kentucky Derby to point for the Preakness after Keeneland-based trainer Rodolphe Brisset thought the colt needed extra time.

“He deserves the opportunity,” Walden said. “We purposely skipped the Derby pointing for the Preakness. We looked at it at that time and asked the question, if we did win the Derby, would we still run Quip in the Preakness? We all kind of answered, ‘Yes.’ But I wanted to take a fresh look at it after the race and make sure.”

Quip and Kentucky Derby winner Justify share ownership through WinStar and China Horse Club. SF Bloodstock is a partner in Quip but sold its racing rights for Justify to Starlight Racing while retaining breeding rights. Quip will race with jockey Florent Geroux wearing WinStar’s silks.

“Justify is going to be the prohibitive favorite,” Walden said. “If you’re looking at it with a Quip hat on, you would think he would be a very difficult horse to beat but that you’re as live as anybody else.”

Good Magic (Eclipse Sportswire)

Trainer Chad Brown said Tuesday morning that he is still considering a start in the Preakness for Kentucky Derby runner-up Good Magic — setting up a possible rematch with Justify — at Pimlico Race Course.

“I’m not sure,” Brown said about his plans for the son of 2007 Preakness winner Curlin, who is co-owned by e Five Racing Thoroughbreds and Stonestreet Farm. Brown added there was no pressure to make a quick decision on whether to send the Sentient Jet Breeders’ Cup Juvenile winner and champion 2-year-old male to the Preakness. The morning after the Derby, the trainer said he would watch how the colt came out of the race and discuss how to proceed with the owners.

Good Magic was shipped from Louisville Monday to Brown’s Belmont Park barn. Brown said the colt will go back to the track May 9. In the Derby, Good Magic and jockey Jose Ortiz stalked 5-2 favorite Justify and made a run toward the front on the second turn, missing by 2 1/2 lengths.

Undefeated Justify had another routine walk day Tuesday at Churchill Downs.

“Justify is going to walk one more day, I believe,” Jimmy Barnes, who is overseeing Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert’s small contingent in Louisville, said of the Derby champ’s expected return to the track Thursday. “That’s what Bob said. He may change his mind and go tomorrow, but he said we’re probably going to walk four days.”

WinStar has won the Kentucky Derby twice and the Belmont Stakes twice, but the Central Kentucky farm has never won the 1 3/16-mile middle leg of the Triple Crown. During his training career, Walden was second twice in the Preakness, with eventual Belmont winner Victory Gallop in 1998 and Menifee in 1999.

“We’re looking forward to the Preakness,” Walden said. “We haven’t won a Preakness, except that we had secured [2016 winner] Exaggerator for stallion duty. We didn’t have any ownership in the horse until he retired. But yeah, that’s the one race we haven’t had a win it yet. So it would be exciting to actually do that.”

Other 3-year-olds being considered for the Preakness are Calumet Farm’s Kentucky Derby sixth Bravazo and Robert Baker and William Mack’s Sporting Chance, fourth in the Pat Day Mile Stakes Presented by LG and E and KU on the Kentucky Derby undercard; G M B Racing’s Lone Sailor, who finished eighth in the Derby; Cash is King’s, D.J. Stable’s, and LC Racing’s Diamond King, the winner of the Federico Tesio Stakes at Laurel Park; Winchell Thoroughbreds’ Tenfold, fifth in the Arkansas Derby; and Valene Farm’s Givemeaminit, who finished third in the Pat Day Mile.