BALTIMORE – For a brief instant heading into the short stretch of Keeneland’s Grade 3 Lexington on April 15, Arabian Lion seemingly had First Mission on the ropes. He ultimately fell a half-length short in second, and while First Mission is a popular wise-guy horse in Saturday’s Preakness, Arabian Lion has more modest goals at Pimlico as the headliner in the $100,000 Sir Barton at 1 1/16 miles for 3-year-olds who have not won an open stakes. Trained by Bob Baffert, Arabian Lion enters the Sir Barton as the 2-5 program favorite after earning a 97 Beyer Speed Figure for his Lexington performance. He has lost four consecutive races, however, after capturing his debut in front-running fashion at Santa Anita last fall. A son of Triple Crown winner Justify, Arabian Lion races with Lasix for the first time and looks like the controlling speed for Baffert, who has won the Sir Barton three times since 2015. A 91 Beyer winner of a first-level allowance at Fair Grounds on Feb. 18, his last start with Lasix, late-running Denington then finished 10th of 12 in a paceless edition of the Louisiana Derby on March 25. He improved to place fourth, five lengths behind Arabian Lion, in the Lexington, and will race with Lasix again Saturday. :: DRF's Preakness Headquarters: Contenders, latest news, and more “He’s been a nice, solid horse,” trainer Kenny McPeek said. “It looked like he might take himself to another level after he won the allowance, but he just didn’t fire in the Louisiana Derby. He’s as good as we’ve seen him right now. He should be formidable.” Tapit’s Conquest finished seventh in the Louisiana Derby and is another horse who might have been against the race flow that day. Trained by Brad Cox, the Tapit colt previously made a bold bid into the stretch of the Grade 2 Risen Star only to flatten out and finish fourth behind Angel of Empire. Luis Saez picks up the mount. The locally based, stakes-placed Feeling Woozy also entered along with recent maiden winner Masterwork and six-time maiden Sheriff Ronnie. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.