gotham Stakes | Horse Racing Free Tips

Deterministic Fine after Gotham Win

Deterministic (Liam's Map) exited his victory in the GIII Gotham S. at Aqueduct Saturday in fine shape and connections are still mulling a possible next start for the sophomore.

“He came back in good order. We're very much enjoying the fact that he won the Gotham yesterday. It was a very strong performance and we're happy with the way he looks this morning,” trainer Christophe Clement said Sunday. “We will probably ship him to Florida this week. He's done very well in Florida and the weather is more under control. He's been here for the last three months and training well here, so no need to change too much at the moment.”

A debut winner at Saratoga last August, Deterministic was making just his second lifetime start in the Gotham.

“No decision whatsoever made for the next start,” Clement said. “At the moment, the only worry is the well-being of the horse and we'll go from there. We'll get him to a work and the work will tell us what to do with him.”

Clement, who won the 2014 GI Belmont S. with Tonalist (Tapit), said he would only enjoy a first GI Kentucky Derby starter, but only if his charge had a decent shot at victory on the First Saturday in May.

“To run, no–to win, yes,” said Clement, with a laugh. “Running is not very exciting, but winning is. If he was to go that route, that would be very exciting. At the moment, we need to evaluate a next start and I believe, most probably, he would need to run before the Derby.”

Clement also saddled Capital Idea (Classic Empire) in the Gotham. The bay colt, a maiden winner at Aqueduct in January, had a wide trip in his stakes debut while finishing fifth.

“I thought he ran OK. He had a very bad post and he was carried wide all the way, but he actually tried and he finished,” Clement said. “We'd love to go a mile and an eighth and two turns with him next time, but where, I don't know. I think the longer the better. He came back in good order. He trained in New York all winter, so I left him in New York.”

Clement agreed the Apr. 6 GII Wood Memorial might be an option for Capital Idea, as well as for stablemate Pandagate (Arrogate), who captured the Gander S. at Aqueduct Feb. 25. Other options for Pandagate include the Apr. 20 Federico Tesio S. at Laurel Park or the Mar. 30 G2 2 UAE Derby at Meydan Racecourse.

“He came back last week and we'll get to a work at the end of this week. We're very happy with him. He's another one that we'll leave eligible for everything,” Clement said of Pandagate.

Also exiting a stakes win at Aqueduct Saturday in fine shape was Jody's Pride (American Pharoah), who earned 50 qualifying points to the GI Kentucky Oaks with her victory in the Busher S.

“She came back great, everything is great,” said trainer Jorge Abreu. “It's very exciting for us. Going to the Breeders' Cup was such a fun ride for us and she showed up over there. To see the performance she put in on that day, we were like, 'Wow,' so we gave her 30 days [off], and then she grew up and got bigger and stronger. Yesterday, she showed it.”

Jody's Pride was second, beaten just a neck by Just F Y I (Justify), in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies last November. She is likely to remain in New York and make her next start in the Apr. 6 GIII Gazelle S., according to Abreu.

“I don't want to keep moving her around,” said Abreu. “She's already run four races at three different tracks and four different distances. She likes Aqueduct, too.”

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Slider to Miss Gotham With Bruised Foot

Slider (Jimmy Creed), third last out in the GII San Vincente S. to Nysos (Nyquist), will miss Saturday's Gotham S. at Aqueduct with a bruised left front foot, according to part-owners Rob Murphy and West Point Thoroughbreds' Terry Finley.

Murphy, one of the West Point Partners, said that Slider had shipped to New York on Tuesday to prepare for the race, but came up with the issue Friday morning.

Finley, a partner in the horse, said that X-rays of Slider's foot and ankle had come up negative.

Slider broke his maiden in his second start at Del Mar on Sept. 9, before winning the Speakeasy S. at Santa Anita. He was 9th in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint before making his 2024 debut in the Jan. 6 San Vincente.

The partners had no word on Slider's next start.

Murphy pitched in the major leagues for 11 years and was one of the most effective left-handed relievers in the game, playing primarily for the Cincinnati Reds and the Boston Red Sox.

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Slider Heads East for Gotham

Hall Racing, Pearl Racing and West Point Thoroughbreds' Slider (Jimmy Creed) will ship east in search of additional qualifying Kentucky Derby points in Saturday's GIII Gotham S. at Aqueduct. Winner of the Speakeasy S. over the turf at Santa Anita last October, Slider was ninth in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint. He returned to the main track to be third in the Jan. 6 GII San Vicente S. last time out.

Trained by John Sadler, Slider turned in bullet five-furlong work in :59.00 (1/121) at Santa Anita Sunday.

“He worked very well,” Sadler said Sunday. “He ended up catching a couple horses that broke off in front of him, but for me, it was more about how he galloped out since this will be the furthest he's ever run. If he looks good tomorrow, he gets on a plane early Tuesday to be there Tuesday afternoon to run Saturday.”

Sadler said timing was the main reason Slider was making the 2,792-mile journey from Santa Anita to Ozone Park for the Gotham.

“The spacing is good from his last race and we like a one-turn mile with him, so there's a lot of things to like for him [in the Gotham],” said Sadler.

Jose Lezcano, who won last year's Gotham aboard Raise Cain (Violence), will pick up the mount Saturday.

Sadler nominated two other colts to the Gotham, but said the duo will have other Derby prep assignments.

West Point Thoroughbreds' Scatify (Justify) returned from a debut win at Los Alamitos in December to be third behind the runaway winner Nysos (Nyquist) in the GIII Robert B. Lewis S. at Santa Anita Feb. 3.

“He might be looking at the [Mar. 2 GII] San Felipe or the [Mar. 9 GIII] Tampa Bay Derby,” said Sadler. “We were anxious to get him started and he was a little later getting to me than some of the other ones. We were pleasantly happy with his first race, and missed a little time before the Bob Lewis. He wasn't going to beat the winner that day, but I think if things had gone a little differently, he could have been second.”

Hronis Racing's Tapalo (Tapiture), most recently second in the Feb. 10 El Camino Real Derby at Golden Gate, will likely remain on the synthetics and make his next start in the Mar. 23 GIII Jeff Ruby S. at Turfway Park.

“Tapalo will probably go to the Jeff Ruby,” said Sadler. “That was synthetic at Golden Gate and he ran a really nice race up there. I think he's a developing horse and it was a close race. He's progressing.”

Maximus Meridius Set to Make Stakes Debut in Gotham

Trainer Butch Reid is pointing Maximus Meridius (Maximus Mischief) to the Gotham. The bay colt worked four furlongs in :47.68 (2/33) at Parx Saturday.

“He breezed beautifully in :47 and change like breaking sticks. He's ready to go,” Reid said. “He did it on his own, he tends to get a little keyed up in company.”

Owned by LC Racing, Cash is King and Wellesley Stable, Maximus Meridius romped to a 10 1/2-length debut victory at Parx last November. He was third, beaten two lengths by Frankie's Empire (Classic Empire), who exited that race to win the Swale S. at Gulfstream Park, in a Dec. 26 optional claimer. Adding blinkers for his third start, Maximus Meridius returned to the winner's circle with a front-running victory going 6 1/2 furlongs at Parx Jan. 30.

Reid said the colt came to him via his brother, the retired Pennsylvania Hall of Fame trainer Mark Reid, who is known by the family as 'Uncle Heavy.'

“He's been very impressive from the beginning,” Reid said of Maximus Meridius. “He's a big, strong horse that we found out of a field in Chester County, Pennsylvania at my brother's place. He's been very forward the whole time we've had him.”

Reid said Uncle Heavy (Social Inclusion), a last-gasp winner of the GIII Withers S. Feb. 3, will aim for the Apr. 6 GII Wood Memorial S.

Due to an Equine Herpesvirus quarantine at Belmont Park, Uncle Heavy was shipped to a farm in Pennsylvania following his Withers victory, but was able to return to his Parx base Sunday with the quarantine now lifted.

“He was on the jogging machine and he didn't lose any fitness. He looks fantastic,” Reid said. “We'll have time for three or four good breezes. I'm not worried about fitness at all.”

Reid said he was impressed with Uncle Heavy's late-running win in the Withers.

“The key was the way he finished up. His last five strides were huge, big strides and he gobbled that horse up,” Reid said. “That was very impressive his first time going a mile and an eighth and we'll see if we can confirm that coming back in the Wood.”

Owned by Michael Milam, Uncle Heavy was bred by Reid's sister-in-law Barbara Reid and named for his brother.

“It's a great story and he's been a real find so far,” Reid said.

Uncle Heavy has banked $293,580 with a 4-3-0-0 record.

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Clement Duo Eye Gotham

St. Elias Stable, Ken Langone, Steven Duncker and Vicarage Stable's Deterministic (Liam's Map), off since earning 'TDN Rising Star' status with a debut victory at Saratoga last August, could make his return to the races in the Mar. 2 GIII Gotham S., according to trainer Christophe Clement.

“He won very impressively as a 2-year-old. We put him aside and he's on his way back,” Clement said. “He's a very exciting horse to have, but the question is, where should we bring him back? He might come back in the Gotham. I will make my mind up later this week.”

Purchased for $625,000 at the 2022 Keeneland September sale, Deterministic has worked six times at Payson Park since mid-January. Most recently, he went five furlongs Saturday in 1:01.80 (1/8).

Clement is also considering Reeves Thoroughbred Racing's Capital Idea (Classic Empire) for the Gotham. The bay colt romped to an 8 1/4-length maiden score going one mile at Aqueduct Jan. 28. He worked five furlongs in 1:02.90 (6/12) over the Belmont Park dirt training track Friday.

“He's doing well. If he works well next week, we'll go for the Gotham,” Clement said. “He's getting more mature and better. It's the right time of the year. He's learning his job.”

The Gotham offers Kentucky Derby qualifyng points of 50-25-15-10-5.

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