The New York road to the GI Kentucky Derby concludes with Saturday's GII Wood Memorial S., featuring the winners of Aqueduct's GII Remsen S., GIII Withers S. and GIII Gotham S., respectively.
Morello (Classic Empire) brings a perfect three-for-three record to the table for Steve Asmussen following sharp, press-and-pounce victories in the Jimmy Winkfield S. Feb. 6 and one-turn mile Gotham Mar. 5. He is the 8-5 morning-line favorite for this first test around two turns.
“We're excited. The horse is doing well, he's super sharp and we think we have what it takes to get the job done,” said Dave Lyon of Blue Lion Thoroughbreds, who owns Morello in partnership with Craig Taylor and Diamond T Racing. “Distance isn't a question mark for me. I think with the way he runs and his patience and class, it shows that he can do it.”
Early Voting (Gun Runner), drawn two inside of Morello in post three, will be on the engine beneath Jose Ortiz. The Klaravich Stables runner sped off to an impressive win in the mud over track and trip at just second asking in a live renewal of the Withers Feb. 5. The Withers field also included subsequent GII Rebel S. winner Un Ojo (Laoban) (second) and GII Tampa Bay Derby second Grantham (Declaration of War) (fourth).
“He went first time around two turns and he passed the test well,” trainer Chad Brown said. “He definitely gained experience and he appears to be training well. He prefers to be forwardly placed, so hopefully he'll be there again.”
The rail-drawn Mo Donegal (Uncle Mo), a narrow winner over Zandon (Upstart) in a roughly run edition of the Remsen Dec. 4, ran on late to be a useful third as the favorite in his comebacker in the GIII Holy Bull S. at Gulfstream Feb. 5. The winner that day White Abarrio (Race Day) backed up that effort with a win in last weekend's GI Curlin Florida Derby. Mo Donegal was forced to miss the GII Fasig-Tipton Fountain of Youth S. Mar. 5 with a temperature.
“I guess it was a blessing to get it out of the way then as opposed to now,” trainer Todd Pletcher said. “He's trained well since then. In particular, I thought his final breeze for this was very good.”
Pletcher continued, “The Wood fits well in the calendar for us and we've been pointing Mo Donegal there for a while seeing as he won the Remsen there. It makes sense to bring him back on a surface we knew he likes.”
Pletcher, also represented by Gotham third Golden Code (Honor Code) and four-start maiden Long Term (Curlin), has saddled six of the last 11 Wood Memorial winners. A victory would put Pletcher on even terms with the late fellow Hall of Fame trainer “Sunny Jim” Fitzsimmons, the all-time leading trainer in the Wood with seven wins.
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