By David Blicksilver
Two-time graded stakes winner Wit drew away from five rivals to post a 2 3/4-length score Sunday in the $135,000 Better Talk Now, a one-mile inner turf test for sophomores that have never won a stakes other than state-bred at a mile or over.
A Practical Joke colt trained by Hall of Famer Todd Pletcher for Repole Stable, St. Elias Stable, and Gainesway Stable, Wit was patiently handled by jockey Jose Ortiz en route to his first career win on the lawn in just his second attempt on the surface.
Breaking from post 3 as the 3-5 betting favorite, Wit sat comfortably in third position as longshot Fluid Situation and Legends Can't Die broke on top and battled for early position through an opening quarter-mile of :22.93 over the firm footing.
Fluid Situation went around the clubhouse turn in front and increased his margin to as many as eight lengths down the backside through a half-mile in :46.98 before his lead began to diminish as the field rounded the far turn with three-quarters in 1:12.12.
At the quarter pole, it was Legends Can't Die who got the first run at the lead from the two-path under jockey Manny Franco, but Wit followed with a three-wide move and was able to draw away from the rest of the field in the stretch to post the victory in a final time of 1:36.87.
Ohtwoohthreefive, who was last for most of the race, split rivals down the lane under jockey Eric Cancel and got up for place honors 3 1/2-lengths ahead of the Chad Brown-trained Napoleonic War.
Rounding out the field was Legends Can't Die, Emboite and Fluid Situation. Serifos, Camp David, Riot House and main-track only entrant Seal Beach were scratched.
Ortiz said the early jump from Fluid Situation didn't concern him.
“Going into the first turn, the pace developed very fast and I was very happy to see that and go to the backside with great position,” Ortiz said. “The grass is soft so the pace he was running, I knew there was no way. At that point, I only worried about the horses behind me. Chad's horse and I felt like the gray horse in front of me [Legends Can't Die] was the other horse to beat.”
Wit made his first six starts on the main track, taking the six-furlong Grade 3 Sanford here last summer ahead of on-the-board efforts in the Grade 1 Hopeful at the Spa and Grade 1 Champagne at Belmont to close out his juvenile campaign.
He captured the seven-furlong Grade 3 Bay Shore at Aqueduct in April in his seasonal debut before finishing a distant fourth to Jack Christopher in the Grade 1 Woody Stephens in June at Belmont.
Wit made his turf debut in the Grade 2 National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame, closing four-wide to finish second.
“He was very good early on, on dirt,” said Ortiz. “He was a very good horse, but he found Jack Christopher in and it was hard for him. Todd decided to work him on the turf a couple of times and he found another life. He likes it and the two times he ran on turf have been great.”
Pletcher said Wit looks like a new horse since he moved to the turf.
“We feel like he kind of sprung to life when we put him on the turf, and I think for right now we'll probably keep him on it,” Pletcher said. “It was really just about kind of looking for an opportunity and when we worked him on it, it was obvious that he took to it.”
Cancel said he was proud of the effort Ohtwoohthreefive made to close from so far back.
“Once I started asking him getting close to the quarter pole, he started responding little by little,” Cancel said. “By the time he took off, the other horse already opened up a few lengths on me but he gave me a big kick. He's a really big grinder and has a really big heart.”
Bred in Kentucky by Rosilyn Polan from the Medaglia d'Oro mare Numero d'Oro,, Wit banked $74,250 in victory, increasing his earnings to $500,250, while improving his record to 4-2-1 from eight career starts. He returned $3.30 for a $2 win wager.
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