Shug McGaughey’s first time in the shine of horse racing’s brightest spotlight has elicited a trait never before exhibited by the veteran thoroughbred conditioner. Shug has uncharacteristically gushed superlatives about the physical state of Orb since winning the Derby two weeks ago.

Usually reserved, McCaughey (a Hall of Famer) has always been inclined to point out the difficulty of winning big races. He’s never been cocky. He’s as gracious and understated as they come when he wins. But Orb is doing so well, says Shug, it’s hard not to think seriously about taking down the elusive Triple Crown.

A Monday morning workout at Belmont went so fast and so easy for Orb, Shug seems convinced he has a special horse who didn’t empty the tank with the big run the first Saturday in May.

Everybody’s rooting for Orb and it seems like most of what’s left of the racing press is picking the attractive brown colt to win the Preakness.

Orb has won five races in a row. The steady, evenly-spaced improvement progression since first finding the winner’s circle last Thanksgiving weekend at the Big A is what you’d expect from a patient trainer like Shug.

Problem is, the irresistible temptation to attempt capture of the Triple Crown means Orb is being rushed back to the starting gate. Back now on just two weeks rest after a career-best effort at a classic distance, Orb will be asked to repeat that effort in short order.

If McGaughey’s recent trainer-speak is not clouded by Crown fever, perhaps Orb is indeed a super horse who will enjoy an easy win on Saturday evening.

But from the perspective of a gambler, Orb is a bet against at a win pool price of a dollar for a dollar. The jockeys riding the five or six horses ahead of Orb at the mile mark of this race will listen and watch for the favorite’s late rush and may get in the way. Orb’s great trip in the Derby is partly a testament to his versatility and his jockey’s great ability to monitor pace, but there’s nothing automatic about a repeat.

I like Oxbow to win. You’ll get a return in excess of 25 bucks on a two dollar win bet. Oxbow will sit off the honest pace with a jockey who has won the Preakness twice (Gary Stevens) and watch the speed demons shorten stride at about seven furlongs. As Oxbow runs the final three-sixteenths of a mile, he’ll have just enough cushion to stave off stablemate Will Take Charge and a Derby winner who can‘t find the burst button.

Your Preakness triple will look like this:

Oxbow
Will Take Charge
Orb

Mariano Rivera’s sixteenth save of the season Tuesday night at Yankee Stadium followed a pretty good pitching duel between CC and King Felix. A big seventh-inning two ribbie double from Robbie Cano don’t-cha-know negated a cheapie two-run short porch shot by old mate Raul-so-Cool the inning before.

A sac fly by big lug Lyle plating Robbie (after the double) while fans bought last call brewskis was enough for the Robertson/Rivera finish and a 4-3 Yanks final.

I was drawn to the contest by the starting pitching matchup, I ended up getting the added bonus of Curtis Granderson’s first game back from a broken arm and yet another 1-2-3 ninth inning by the greatest closer in the history of the game.

My ticket with fees and special charges cost $7.95 through Stub Hub.

Mo hasn’t blown a save all year. He says he’ll retire at season’s end. A few days ago, Yankee beat writers decided it was newsworthy to reveal a dugout spat between Mo and teammate Joba Chamberlain. As David Waldstein of the Times described it, Mo asked Joba to lower his voice before Saturday’s game in Kansas City. Waldstein says Mo was being interviewed. Nearby, Joba was shouting above a layer of sound coming across the P-A system. Rather than heeding Mo’s reasonable request, Joba mouthed off at #42. “Don’t shush me,” Joba told Mo. “I’m serious. Don’t ever shush me.”

Since Mariano has two decades of accumulated good will with the men and women who cover him, Waldstein and a few others felt compelled (or perhaps horrified at Joba‘s conduct) to write about the incident. It makes Chamberlain look like the immature, disrespectful fool he’s been portrayed as. But more so, it’s a snapshot of the type of interaction between teammates that surfaces occasionally over the course of a long season. It probably didn’t belong in the paper.

King Felix was done after six innings in this one. Just 97 pitches. One earned run. Eight K’s. Before the game, he could be seen trying to loosen his back. On the mound, Hernandez arched backwards to stretch his spine several times an inning. Mariners skipper Eric Wedge said he took the King out when he did because of the back problem. With his hat tilted purposely off-center, Hernandez sported a new tattoo on the right side of his neck. It depicts his zodiac symbol (Aries) although looks more like a sprouting plant to me.

Sabathia also got knocked out earlier than usual although he was effective, too. 10 K’s in 6.1 innings (112 pitches) with the Ibanez short line-driver homer his only real big mistake.

Pollen is at peak levels here the last week or so. My sneeze count during the game exceeded the combined pitch count of both teams. My pockets could not contain all of the crumpled up brown-colored Stadium napkins used to blow my nose. My head felt like a bowling ball. Ten-dollar Buds offered zero temporary relief.

Attendance was announced at 41,267. Jerry Layne’s erratic strike zone helped make it a 3 hour, 21-minute game. The crowd was quiet – especially away from the bleachers. Granderson’s first regular season start in left field since 2007 came as a result of Girardi’s somewhat controversial decision before the season to make Gardner his permanent center fielder. When the Creatures called Cur-tis! Cur-tis! during first inning roll call, the Grandy Man responded with an elaborate demonstration of appreciation.

The only significant change I noticed at the ballpark this year vs. last were newly-painted white lines behind the last row of box seats. The organization apparently wants even greater separation between the haves and have-nots. It used to be such you could stand up close behind the seats to get a good view of the field without being ticketed for the high-priced sections. Now there’s a pretty big buffer zone on the otherwise open concourses. Incursion into the buffer brings a quick verbal reprimand.

The train home was quick. B to the E.