Trainer Daniel Velazquez, who secured his first graded stakes win with New York-bred Brooklyn Strong in Saturday's Grade 2, $150,000 Remsen at the Big A, is considering a next spot with the son of second-crop sire Wicked Strong.
Brooklyn Strong battled gamely to the outside of Ten for Ten down the Aqueduct stretch, getting the better of his foe by a neck under jockey Joel Rosario.
With a triumph in the nine-furlong event for juveniles at the Ozone Park, N.Y., track Brooklyn Strong earned 10 qualifying points toward the Grade 1 Kentucky Derby scheduled for May 1, 2021, at Churchill Downs.
Brooklyn Strong returned to Delaware Park following the win and will eventually ship to Parx Racing in Bensalem, Pa., where the conditioner keeps a stable of about 20 horses.
Velazquez said he will consider all options for Brooklyn Strong, including the nine-furlong Grade 3, $250,000 Withers on February 6 at Aqueduct, which offers 10-4-2-1 Kentucky Derby qualifying points to the top-four finishers.
“We were so excited. We knew going in that it would be a step up in class against open company and he proved us right,” Velazquez said. “Right now, we just want to make sure we come back healthy. We'll give him a week or two to decompress, maybe Florida, maybe the Withers. We have options, it's just a matter of figuring out what's best.”
Velazquez learned the ropes under his father Alfredo Velazquez, who saddled Private Zone to Grade 1 victories in the 2014 Vosburgh and Cigar Mile.
Prior to the Remsen, he saddled Brooklyn Strong to a victory in the Sleepy Hollow on Empire Showcase Day, October 24 at Belmont Park and won the Maid of the Mist with Laobanonaprayer the same day.
“It's been getting better and better. A lot of hard work going into it,” Velazquez said. “It's almost unbelievable, we're all still shell shocked. We're excited.”
Brooklyn Strong, bred in New York by Cheryl Prudhomme and Dr. Michael Gallivan, was purchased by owner Mark Schwartz for $5,000 from OBS April 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale from the Coastal Equine consignment. He is out of the Medaglia d'Oro mare Riviera Chic.
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