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Derby Prep: Pletcher-Trained Pair Face Off With Capo Kane In Withers

The Road to the Kentucky Derby in the Empire State resumes on Saturday when a field of nine sophomores assemble for the 147th running of the Grade 3, $250,000 Withers at Aqueduct Racetrack.

The nine-furlong event over the main track is the second local prep of the calendar year for the Grade 1, $3 million Kentucky Derby on May 1 at Churchill Downs, and awards the top-four finishers points according to a 10-4-2-1 scale.

Trainer Todd Pletcher will be packing a one-two punch in pursuit of a fourth Withers victory, sending out maiden-winners Overtook and Donegal Bay, both of which will be making their respective stakes debut.

Owned by Repole Stable, St. Elias Stable, Michael Tabor, Mrs. John Magnier and Derrick Smith, Overtook graduated going a one-turn mile at Aqueduct on December 20. The son of multiple champion-producing sire Curlin was 10 lengths behind the pace before making a six-wide move around the far turn, making up considerable ground in the stretch to secure a two-length triumph while recording a 70 Beyer Speed Figure.

“There could be a good pace. Overtook wants to settle and make one run so we'll allow him to do that,” said Pletcher, who trained Withers winners Harlem Rocker (2008), Revolutionary (2013) and Far From Over (2015).

Overtook finished a distant third to stablemate and fellow Curlin offspring Known Agenda on Nov. 8 at the Big A in a nine-furlong maiden event. Known Agenda subsequently ran third in the Grade 2 Remsen and runner-up Greatest Honour was a next-out winner of the Grade 3 Holy Bull at Gulfstream Park.

Sporting blinkers in his first two career starts, Overtook raced without the hood in his maiden victory.

“I think he's learning. He's gained some confidence with the experience and we felt like the blinkers needed to come off,” Pletcher said. “He got a nice hot pace to run at which helped. He's an improving horse that is bred to get better with more distance and more time. We've seen him making progress throughout and fall and winter. This is a big step up, but hopefully he's up for it.”

The royally bred Overtook was purchased for $1 million from the 2019 Keeneland September Yearling Sale.

Jockey Manny Franco seeks his third Withers triumph when piloting Overtook from post 6.

Donegal Bay will be diving into deeper waters as he makes his two-turn debut.

Owned by Jerry Crawford's Donegal Racing, Donegal Bay finished sixth on debut going 6 ½ furlongs at Saratoga. He showed a different dimension in his subsequent start, notching a front-running victory by 4 ¼ lengths going a one-turn mile at Gulfstream Park on Dec. 12.

“I think it was the additional time, having a start under his belt as well as having some good works leading into that,” Pletcher said. “He also got a better start which a lot of horses do in their second race. He has a pretty high cruising speed. Pedigree-wise, he's bred to go that far. It's a big step up from a maiden race, but we're hoping for a big run.”

Donegal Bay has been training forwardly along with Pletcher's string at Palm Beach Downs and went a half-mile in 49.03 seconds on January 29 in his most recent work.

“It's a bit of a tricky race,” Crawford said. “This is the time of year where some horses get better and some don't, and he needs to get better on Saturday if he can turn himself into a contender. Obviously, there's a fair amount of front-end speed and they'll be asked to go a mile and an eighth at the same time. Donegal Racing has always been treated exceptionally well in New York and have had some good success up there.”

A son of 2010 Champion 2-Year-Old and Pletcher alumna Uncle Mo, Pletcher said that he sees a lot of similarities between Donegal Bay and his champion-producing sire.

“Donegal Bay is a little more on the narrow side, but you can see the same head and neck that Uncle Mo stamps his offspring with,” Pletcher said. “What I like is that from the past summer, the horse is starting to fill out. He seems to be doing really well.”

Meet-leading rider Kendrick Carmouche vies for a sixth stakes victory of the meet when taking the reins aboard Donegal Bay from post 7.

Bing Cherry Racing and Leonard Liberto's Capo Kane returns to Aqueduct in pursuit of more Kentucky Derby qualifying points after capturing the Jerome on New Year's Day.

Trained by Harold Wyner, Capo Kane earned 10 points toward a spot in the starting gate on the first Saturday in May when taking the one-turn mile in gate-to-wire fashion under jockey Dylan Davis. After commanding moderate fractions up front, Capo Kane came under a drive at the top of the stretch and extended his advantage to a 6 ¼-length triumph.

The son of Street Sense, who sired 2018 Withers winner Avery Island, broke his maiden going two turns at Parx Racing in identical front-running fashion, hitting the wire a 4 ½-length winner.

With 10 qualifying Derby points from the Jerome, Capo Kane is currently 13th on the leaderboard.

Davis, who rode last year's Withers winner Max Player, will return to the saddle from post 3.

E.V Racing Stable's Eagle Orb will be seeking to turn the tables on Capo Kane after finishing second in the Jerome.

The two-time winning New York-bred captured a stakes win in the Nov. 14 Notebook at the Big A before the runner-up finish on New Year's Day.

Tracking in third from the three path out of the gate, Eagle Orb came under a drive around the far turn and attempted to confront Capo Kane around the three-sixteenths, but was kept at bay at had to settle for second.

Trained by Rudy Rodriguez, the son of Orb is 24th on the leaderboard with four points.

Breaking from post 9, jockey Jorge Vargas, Jr. has the mount.

Klaravich Stables' Risk Taking looks to capitalize off a winning performance at the Withers distance for trainer Chad Brown.

The son of Medaglia d'Oro made amends for two well-beaten performances in his first pair of starts when stretching out to two turns in a Dec. 13 maiden special weight at the Big A. Risk Taking settled in fourth along the rail into the first turn and maintained position behind horses before making a three-wide move at the top of the stretch and taking command outside the sixteenth pole to run home a 2 ¼-length winner.

Purchased for $240,000 from the Lanes' End consignment at the 2019 Keeneland September Yearling Sale, Risk Taking is out of the stakes-placed Distorted Humor mare Run a Risk and comes from the same family as champion-producing sire Seeking the Gold.

Jockey Eric Cancel will be back aboard from post 5.

Rounding out the field are Maryland invaders Shackqueenking [post 1, Trevor McCarthy] and Royal Number [post 2, Pablo Morales], as well as Mr. Doda [post 4, Luis Rodriguez Castro] and Civil War [post 8, Benjamin Hernandez].

The Withers is slated as Race 8 on Aqueduct's nine-race program which has a first post of 1 p.m. Eastern.

The Withers, named in honor of prominent 1800's owner and breeder David Dunham Withers, predates the Kentucky Derby by one year with its inaugural running taking place in 1874. Coincidentally, the following year's Withers was won by Aristides who also captured the very first running of the Kentucky Derby in 1875. Four other horses have both the Withers and Kentucky Derby on their resume including Triple crown winners Sir Barton (1919) and Count Fleet (1943) as well as Zev (1923) and Johnstown (1939).

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Breeders’ Cup Presents Connections: For Trainer Wyner, ‘This Is What I Was Born To Do; It’s In The Blood’

There's nothing quite like having a potential Derby horse in the barn, and 53-year-old trainer Harold Wyner knows he'll never go back to installing satellite television sets after saddling Capo Kane to win the Jan. 1 Jerome Stakes at Aqueduct.

“That was just a phase,” he said, a lilting English accent giving away the Manchester native's heritage. “I was kind of disheartened when I left, but eventually I missed getting on the horses and the thrill of it all. This is what I was born to do; it's in the blood.”

Wyner spent four years in Florida working as a “cable guy,” but by 2010 the horses were pulling him back to the sport he'd loved since childhood. In fact, Wyner left school early to work for a steeplechase trainer in England, learning to groom and ride the racehorses from the ground up, and even tried his hand as a jumps jockey.

Wyner earned a job with champion trainer Michael Dickinson in England, and followed the renowned conditioner to the United States in the late 1980s. Wyner spent a year working for Dickinson at Fair Hill Training Center in Maryland, then he and his new wife moved up to Delaware and became freelance exercise riders.

The jockey bug hadn't quite given up its hold on Wyner, though, and after whittling his weight down from 140 to 119 pounds, Wyner started riding flat races in the United States.

“I'll tell you, I wasn't very good at it,” Wyner said, laughing. “It just wasn't a good fit, because I was always too weak from reducing to keep my weight under control.”

After a three-year career spanning 14 wins from 462 starts, Wyner went back to exercise riding in 1992. He moved around a bit over the next dozen years, learning as much as he could from a number of different trainers including Sam Cronk, Terry Huiet, John Scanlon, Mark Hennig, and James Bond.

By 2004 Wyner was ready to step out on his own, and he launched his stable with two horses at Philadelphia Park. Unfortunately, things didn't take off the way he'd hoped; Wyner saddled just two winners that first year and four winners the second.

It just wasn't enough to make a living, so Wyner stepped away from the game to regroup. When he returned to Philadelphia in 2010, it was with a renewed drive and passion for the sport.

“You know, you have to be in the right place at the right time,” Wyner said. “I'm grateful to Mr. Ted Hoover, who gave me a shot then, and I made Philly my home base because I knew the people there and it felt like home.”

That right place, right time axiom may have felt disingenuous about this time last year. Wyner trained the talented Ny Traffic through his first four starts, then watched the colt achieve multiple graded stakes placings under the care of Saffie Joseph in 2020.

Wyner had helped co-owner John Fanelli select Ny Traffic at the 2019 Fasig-Tipton Midlantic 2-year-old sale, making a deal at the barn after the colt RNA'd at $27,000 in the ring.

“We decided to send him to Florida to Mr. Saffie and thank God we did because COVID hit,” said Wyner. “I told Mr. Fanelli [co-owner of NY Traffic] then that he was a Derby horse.”

Wyner cheered as Ny Traffic finished eighth in the delayed 2020 edition of the Kentucky Derby, but the blue collar trainer was already looking forward to another bargain purchase preparing for his first start.

Wyner (at right) in the winner's circle with Capo Kane after his win in the Jerome

At the same sale in 2020, Wyner watched as a big, good-looking son of Street Sense failed to make his reserve in the ring. He was the first foal out of the unplaced Hard Spun mare Twirl Me, though his dam's half-brother was a multiple stakes winner and his third dam was the millionaire Grade 1 winner Tuzla.

“He had great big size, this big shoulder and big hip, and he looked like the kind of horse that needed to grow into himself,” Wyner recalled. “He RNA'd at $26,000, and I told the owner we should go back and look at him to see if we could make a deal.”

Though the colt had cost $75,000 as yearling at the Keeneland September sale, COVID meant a buyer's market by the time he'd turned two. Wyner made a deal for $26,000 — just below the colt's reserve price of $30,000 — and was thrilled to bring him home.

“He always had a kind attitude,” the trainer said. “He showed a little talent in his breezes, staying head-to-head with everything we worked him with, and trying to get ahead of them at the finish. He has such a long stride; I'd seen it before with Mark (Hennig, in the early 2000s), how those good horses go, and he's one of them.”

Capo Kane was second on debut, but won easily by 4 ½ lengths in his second career start despite drifting out late.

“He was kind of a big baby, really green, but from that maiden win it was like the light bulb went on his head,” said Wyner. “Now, he's a little tougher to gallop.”

The trainer would know, as he rides the colt himself almost every day. Of his 24 head based at Parx, Wyner gallops seven to 10 horses each morning, rotating through the string so he sits on each horse at least a couple days each week.

“I train every horse a little bit different, and I can feel what is going on with them better than I can see it from the ground,” he explained. “I guess it's kind of a European style of training, with longer, slower gallops that finish up a little stronger from mid-way through the turn to the wire. That's where the races are won, after all.”

Capo Kane showed he'd been paying attention to his morning lessons in the Jerome, leading the field by just a half-length early on and pulling away in the stretch to win by a dominant 6 ¼ lengths over the muddy track.

“I really didn't know how to feel when he won,” Wyner said. “I had goosebumps, it was just so incredible. I was like a kid in a candy shop.”

Up next for Capo Kane should be the Feb. 6 Withers Stakes and then on to the Gotham and the Wood Memorial. He hopes to keep the colt close to home, on the New York Road to the Kentucky Derby, but is also willing to ship him around if a different schedule proves wise.

“We'll let the horse tell us what he wants to do,” Wyner said. “That's the thing with these guys; if you know how to listen, you never stop learning from them.”

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Withers Next For Jerome Winner Capo Kane On ‘Long Road To The Derby’

Bing Cherry Racing and Leonard Liberto's Capo Kane registered a career-best 84 Beyer Speed Figure with a frontrunning score under Dylan Davis in Friday's $150,000 Jerome at the Big A, which earned the Street Sense colt 10 Kentucky Derby qualifying points.

The victory also marked the first stakes score for Capo Kane and his Manchester, England-born conditioner Harold Wyner.

“I was happy with how he ran,” said Wyner. “Dylan rode an excellent race and he followed to what I told him in the paddock. I told him to break sharp and if you find yourself on the lead to just ride his race. This horse will dictate where he wants to be.”

Wyner noted following the Jerome win that Capo Kane drifted out a bit in his Nov. 25 maiden score at Parx when traveling a two-turn mile and seventy yards. On Friday, Capo Kane drew off to a 6 1/4-length score in the one-turn mile Jerome, while again using the center of the track down the lane.

“We'll work on it. I asked Dylan if he was drifting out and he said, 'No. I put him out there in the middle of the track,'” said Wyner. “But when I watched the head-on and Dylan switched to his left-hand stick and showed it to him, that's when he shied away. When he hit him right-handed, he straightened up again. So, we'll have to work on that with him. It's just green stuff. He's just learning and I don't think we've seen the full potential of this horse yet.”

Wyner, who gallops many of his own horses in the morning, said he will continue to work with the lightly raced Capo Kane, who has a record of 3-2-1-0.

“I try and get on all of my horses two or three times a week, but I get on him about four times a week,” said Wyner. “When he was a 2-year-old he was very playful and laid back to gallop. When he came off his maiden victory he got to be very tough to gallop and he wanted to find his own speed to gallop in the morning. When a horse came up alongside him, it was game on for him. He just wanted to be in front of that horse.

“He has a high rate of speed when he gallops and a big, long stride,” continued Wyner. “I usually take a long hold and let him dictate to me how he wants to do it. In the morning, the further we gallop the stronger he gets. He just doesn't know when to stop. He wants to run.”

Wyner was previously a steeplechase rider for trainer Michael Dickinson in England. When Dickinson moved his base to America in 1987, Wyner decided to make the journey as well, working as a groom and exercise rider.

“I won a couple races over jumps and then moved over here with Michael and worked for him at Fair Hill,” said Wyner. “I got my weight down to become a flat jockey and I rode on the flats.”

Equibase statistics report that Wyner posted a record of 14-24-27 through 462 mounts from 1990-92.

“I rode at Delaware and I actually rode in a couple races at Belmont against Angel Cordero, Jr., that's my claim to fame. He beat me obviously, but I did get to ride against him,” said Wyner.

Wyner eventually became an assistant trainer for Mark Hennig in New York and also worked with conditioner Jimmy Bond before hanging his shingle at Parx.

The veteran conditioner, who oversees a stable of 24 horses at his Parx Racing base in Pennsylvania, said Capo Kane will look to make his next start in the nine-furlong Grade 3, $250,000 Withers on February 6 at the Big A, which offers 10-4-2-1 Kentucky Derby qualifying points to the top-four finishers.

“I was talking with the owners this morning and that's the step we're going to push him to,” said Wyner. “I ran him two turns at Parx going a mile and seventy in his maiden win and he did it so easy. The further he goes the better.”

Wyner has demonstrated a good eye for selecting potential Derby prospects having picked out Capo Kane for $26,000 at the Fasig-Tipton Midlantic 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale.

“I liked the size of him. He was a big boned horse,” said Wyner. “He had size and substance to him and that's what I look for in a 2-year-old. He was very well built.”

He was also the initial conditioner of Ny Traffic, who finished eighth in last year's Kentucky Derby for trainer Saffie Joseph, Jr.

Ny Traffic made his first for four starts for Wyner in 2019, including a second-out maiden score at Parx ahead of a fourth in the Parx Juvenile and a fifth in the Notebook at the Big A.

Wyner said he spotted Ny Traffic at the 2019 Fasig-Tipton Midlantic 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale where the horse didn't meet his reserve and arranged a private purchase for $22,000. Ny Traffic, who shipped to Joseph Jr.'s care in Florida on the cusp of the COVID-19 pandemic, has now banked $565,470.

“After the sale when he RNA'd, we negotiated and they took $22,000 for him. He was a little lighter framed than this horse,” said Wyner. “Capo Kane is a lot bigger boned and heavier than what Ny Traffic was, but he was still a nice horse. I got lucky. You need a little bit of luck in this game.”

A day removed from his first stakes win, Wyner said he is appreciative of the opportunity to train Capo Kane and is looking forward to a run on the Kentucky Derby trail.

“I knew Capo would run real well, but I didn't expect him to win by the margin he did. It was a very impressive win for him,” said Wyner. “Things are going great, let's hope they keep up. It's a long road to the Derby and anything can happen. Hopefully, we keep moving forward.”

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‘I Think This Is A Derby Horse’: Trainer Wyner Celebrates First Stakes Win With Capo Kane In Jerome

Capo Kane made his stakes debut – and first start in New York – a successful effort, leading gate-to-wire for a 6 1/4-length victory in Friday's 151st running of the $150,000 Jerome for newly minted 3-year-olds at Aqueduct Racetrack in Ozone Park, N.Y.

Owned by Bing Cherry Racing and Leonard Liberto, Capo Kane made his debut on October 28 at Parx, running second in a seven-furlong sprint. He ended his juvenile campaign with a maiden-breaking victory on November 25 on the same track, being stretched out to a mile and 70 yards.

Returning to action on an overcast New Year's Day, the California-bred Capo Kane broke sharp from the inside post under jockey Dylan Davis and led the compact five-horse field through the opening quarter-mile in 23.53 seconds and the half in 47.83 on the muddy main track with 7-5 favorite Swill in close pursuit.

Jockey Manny Franco urged up Eagle Orb out of the turn, making a bid from the outside. But Davis responded to the pressure by keeping Capo Kane alert, and the Street Sense colt responded with a strong stretch drive surge that saw him move out to the center of the track while drawing away to win the first stakes of the year on the NYRA circuit. He completed the one-turn mile in a final time of 1:38.02.

Capo Kane, off at 6-1, returned $15.80 on a $2 win wager and earned 10 qualifying points towards the Grade 1 Kentucky Derby on May 1 at Churchill Downs. The top-four finishers were awarded 10-4-2-1 points.

Updated Kentucky Derby points leaderboard

“He broke sharp for me and I was able to take the lead very comfortably,” Davis said. He responded great all the way to the wire and I was very happy with the way he did it. He galloped out well. It was a very comfortable win and he handled the track real well.”

Conditioner Harold Wyner, a former steeplechase jockey who trained his first winner in 2004, earned his first career stakes win in his 1,679th career starter. Capo Kane, who was running without Lasix for the first time, is now tied for fifth on the early points leaderboard for the “Run for the Roses.”

“I'd like to thank the owners for giving me the opportunity to train this horse and having faith in me,” Wyner said.“The goal was to do what Dylan wanted. I said to Dylan if he breaks good to just leave him alone, take a long hold and let him get in his stride and take the race as you find it. He found himself on the lead and Dylan rode a fantastic race.

“Last time he drifted out a little bit at the head of the lane at Parx, but that was because he switched his lead early. He's still a little green,” he added.

Wyner said stretching back out to two turns could be the next step, with the Grade 3, $250,000 Withers [10-4-2-1 points] going 1 1/8 miles on February 6 at the Big A remaining a possible target, as well as the Risen Star at Fair Grounds on February 13.

“It should be no problem. In the morning, the further he gallops the stronger he gets. He just loves to run,” Wyner said. “He's a racehorse. I'd like to see how he comes back, but I may point him towards the Withers or the maybe the Risen Star.”

Wyner said he's excited to train another horse who has potential on the Kentucky Derby trail, building on a recent experience. He picked out Capo Kane, a $26,000 purchase, at the Fasig-Tipton Midlantic 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale. The Manchester, England, born conditioner was also the initial conditioner of Ny Traffic, who finished eighth in last year's Kentucky Derby for trainer Saffie Joseph, Jr.

“When I first got the horse I breezed him and he breezed real well,” Wyner said about Capo Kane. “I used to have Ny Traffic as a 2-year-old and I won with him and brought him here [fifth in 2019 Notebook at the Big A] and we decided to send him to Florida to Mr. Saffie and thank God we did because COVID hit. I told Mr. Fanelli [co-owner of NY Traffic] then that he was a Derby horse and I think this is a Derby horse, too. I bought Ny Traffic at the sale, and I also bought this one.”

E.V. Racing Stable's Eagle Orb, a New York-bred son of Orb, finished 2 ¾ lengths ahead of Hold the Salsa for second. The Rudy Rodriguez trainee has finished first or second in five of his six career starts.

“I had a good trip,” Franco said. “I was right there, but I have to give credit to the winner. He's a nice horse.”

Swill picked up a lone qualifying point for fourth while Original completed the order of finish.

Live racing resumes Saturday at Aqueduct with a nine-race card highlighted by the $100,000 Gravesend for 4-year-olds and up going 6 1/2 furlongs in Race 8. First post is 12:20 p.m. Eastern.

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