The talented Gosger earned his first stakes victory by outrunning pace-setting longshot Bracket Buster by two lengths to win the $400,000 Grade 3 Stonestreet Lexington Stakes April 12 at Keeneland Race Course.

With Gosger, trainer Brendan Walsh would appear to now have a candidate for the second leg of the Triple Crown, the May 17 Preakness Stakes at Pimlico.

Commenting on the Preakness, "It's a possibility," Walsh said, though he later added that "we're going to stay calm and pick our spots with him and see how we go."

The 1 3/16-mile Preakness, to be contested five weeks from now, is a sixteenth of a mile shorter than the Kentucky Derby presented by Woodford Reserve and often has a field half the size of the Derby.

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Gosger ran in the Lexington like a 3-year-old with a bright future while still showing signs of inexperience. Stalking the pace in fourth for much of the race on the inside sitting off Bracket Buster's fractions of :23.73, :47.62, and 1:12.27, Gosger was angled out to the three path leaving the second turn and finished strongest when still racing greenly. He collared Bracket Buster with about a furlong remaining and drew away late.

"He's a really nice horse," jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. said. "He ran a little green down the lane, looking around. I tried to stay straight and keep him focused. He was very impressive."

Gosger was timed in 1:44.15 on a fast track, with a final sixteenth of a mile run in a moderate :06.60. A second-out maiden graduate in his last start Feb. 15 when racing a mile at Gulfstream Park, Gosger returned $10.60 for a $2 win wager.

Vicki Oliver, trainer of comebacking runner-up Bracket Buster, said she was pleased with her 3-year-old's performance after a layoff and that the Preakness would be a consideration, along with other stakes.

Praetor, who appeared to poke his head in front briefly between calls entering the stretch, faltered late in his two-turn debut but managed to hold on for third while another 3 1/2 lengths behind the runner-up. Hypnus ran fourth. Bullard was fifth in the seven-horse field.

The Lexington was the final Kentucky Derby prep race this season. The victory earned Gosger 20 qualifying points, which is an insufficient tally to gain entry into the Kentucky Derby field.