Jerome Winner Courvoisier Tops 11-Strong Field For Withers

The Road to the Kentucky Derby will go through New York when a field of 11 sophomores assemble for Saturday's 148th running of the Grade 3, $250,000 Withers at Aqueduct Racetrack.

The nine-furlong Withers is a qualifying event for the Grade 1, $3 million Kentucky Derby on May 7 at Churchill Downs, offering 10-4-2-1 points to the top-four finishers in the two-turn test.

Courvoisier will look to build on a 10-point triumph last out in the Jerome on New Year's Day at Aqueduct. The regally-bred son of Tapit, out of 2014 Champion 2-Year-Old Filly Take Charge Brandi, secured outside stalking position in the one-turn mile Jerome and matched strides with pacesetter Hagler around the far turn before pulling away to a 1 1/4-length triumph over the sloppy and sealed main track.

Courvoisier, currently 12th on the Kentucky Derby leaderboard, boasts winning experience at the Withers distance having graduated at 14-1 odds on December 2 in his first start at the Big A.

Trainer Kelly Breen said the sizable Courvoisier, who is owned by Hill 'n' Dale Equine Holdings and James Spry, will appreciate a return to two turns.

“He's always been a big boy. He was a big boy at birth and he's filling in,” Breen said. “He's a nice horse and I think that the longer the better for him. We have high hopes for him – let him show it on the track.”

Courvoisier will attempt to add his name to a list of a dozen horses that have captured both the Jerome and the Withers, including Hall of Famers Housebuster [1990], Hill Prince [1950] and Duke of Magenta [1878].

Ruben Silvera will pilot Courvoisier for the first time, breaking from post 5.

Looking to contest Courvoisier once more are Jerome second, third, fourth and sixth-place finishers Smarten Up, Cooke Creek, Unbridled Bomber and Mr Jefferson.

Trained by Alfredo Velazquez, the consistent Smarten Up was twice placed at maiden level before a nine-length romp on November 22 at Parx Racing. The son of American Freedom made his first venture away from Parx in the Jerome, launching a late turn-of-foot to finish second at 21-1 odds.

Smarten Up will be ridden by returning pilot Anthony Salgado from post 3.

Cheyenne Stable's Cooke Creek, a son of Uncle Mo trained by Jeremiah O'Dwyer, was in pursuit from the four path in upper stretch in the Jerome, but was passed up by Smarten Up's late kick, finishing two lengths behind Courvoisier.

Cooke Creek graduated at first asking in September sprinting 5 1/2-furlongs at Delaware Park. He is the only horse in the field with a stakes win at two turns, having captured the one-mile Rocky Run on October 16 at Delaware Park, three weeks before finishing second in the Grade 3 Nashua traveling a one-turn mile at Belmont Park.

“I was very proud of his run last time in the Jerome on a track I didn't think he'd like,” O'Dwyer said. “Pedigree-wise and the way he's built with his style of running, two turns is exactly what he wants. He won going five and a half the first time, but I think that was just his class showing through. When he ran in the Jerome, it was either that or going a one-turn mile at Laurel.

“He's just progressed from race to race and is getting bigger and stronger,” O'Dwyer added. “The owners are good people and have given me some nice horses. It's nice to see him do something nice for them on the track.”

Cooke Creek will break from post 11 under Manny Franco, a two-time Withers winner.

Unbridled Bomber, owned in partnership by Edward Potash, Brad Yankanich and trainer Jimmy Ryerson, finished fourth at second asking when traveling nine furlongs around two turns in August at Saratoga. He graduated two starts later traveling a one-turn mile on November 7 at Belmont.

Ryerson said he is looking forward to getting the dark bay Upstart colt back to two turns.

“We've always wanted to try him longer. When I ran him a mile and an eighth, he actually looked like he was going to do well and he got to lugging in that day,” Ryerson said. “He straightened that out and his last two have been good. He's definitely [going] in the right direction. He's a nice, big horse. He's attractive and has ability and we're excited about giving him a chance here. We'll see what happens.”

Jorge Vargas, Jr. will have the call from post 6.

R. L. Johnson's Mr Jefferson will make his third straight appearance at the Big A for trainer Michael Trombetta. The Maryland-bred Constitution chestnut finished a distant fourth in the nine-furlong Grade 2 Remsen on December 4 ahead of his sixth-place finish in the Jerome.

A two-time winner, Mr Jefferson broke his maiden going six furlongs at Colonial Downs in August two starts before defeating winners in November at Laurel Park.

Eric Cancel has the call from post 10.

Among the fresh faces is Klaravich Stables' Early Voting, who will see added ground following a triumphant career debut going a one-turn mile on December 18 at Aqueduct. Early Voting was forwardly placed from the outside down the backstretch and opened up in the stretch before fending off a late rally by Matt Doyle to win by 1 1/2 lengths as the heavy favorite.

“He had some quality going into the maiden,” said Brown's Belmont-based assistant Dan Stupp. “Win or lose, we thought the maiden race would move him up both physically and mentally, which I think it did. We saw glimpses of talent from him in the mornings. Fitness wise, he could have used a race to move him forward.”

A son of 2021 leading freshman sire Gun Runner, Early Voting will attempt to give trainer Chad Brown his second straight Withers win, a feat that has not been accomplished since the late Hall of Famer Allen Jerkens saddled Spite the Devil [2003] and Medallist [2004]. Brown captured last year's Withers with Risk Taking, who also is owned by Klaravich Stables.

“It really seems like he's progressed well off his first race. His works have been excellent and I'm excited to see him run back,” Stupp said. “He's bred to run all day and we thought the longer the better since we've had him. He's coming off just a maiden win so it's a big ask first time against winners off one race, but he's given us every indication that he'll show up with a good effort.”

Purchased for $200,000 at the 2020 Keeneland September Yearling Sale, Early Voting is out of the unraced Tiznow mare Amour d'Ete – a half-sister to 2004 Champion Sprinter and influential stallion Speightstown.

Jose Ortiz will ride Early Voting from post 9.

Constitutionlawyer will make his stakes debut following a nine-furlong maiden win on January 2 at Aqueduct. The Ray Handal-trained Constitution colt displayed frontrunning tactics for the first time in his maiden victory, which took place over a muddy and sealed track. Constitutionlawyer built on his advantage through every point of call to win by 3 1/2 lengths and registered a field-best 85 Beyer Speed Figure.

Jose Lezcano will ride Constitutionlawyer from post 1.

Hall of Famer Bill Mott will send out Grandview Equine and Don Alberto Stable's Gilded Age, who returns off a three-month respite following a two-turn maiden score on November 19 at Churchill Downs. Prior to distant efforts behind subsequent graded stakes winners Major General and Rattle N Roll, Gilded Age made a last-to-first move to graduate at fourth asking by 2 3/4 lengths.

Gilded Age, who attempts to give his influential sire Medaglia d'Oro a second straight Withers winner, will break from post 4 under Kendrick Carmouche.

Completing the field are Turfway Park maiden winner Grantham [post 2, Victor Carrasco], two-time Parx winner Noneedtoworry [post 7, Silvestre Gonzalez], and Un Ojo [post 8, Trevor McCarthy] – a narrow second in the NYSSS Great White Way.

The Withers honors David Dunham Withers, one of the most successful thoroughbred breeders of the 19th century. Withers was one of the founders of Monmouth Park in New Jersey, and was also a member of both the New York Jockey Club and the Coney Island Jockey Club. Throughout its rich history, the Withers has been won by 29 horses that have also won an American classic, including Triple Crown winners Sir Barton [1919] and Count Fleet [1943].

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Cooke Creek On Target For Rematch With Courvoisier, Smarten Up In Feb. 5 Withers

Cooke Creek on target for G3 Withers; Undefeated Jet Force set for stakes debut

Cheyenne Stable's Cooke Creek breezed a half-mile in 50.58 over the Belmont dirt training track Jan. 19 in preparation for the Grade 3, $250,000 Withers on Feb. 5 at Aqueduct in Ozone Park, N.Y. The nine-furlong test for sophomores offers 10-4-2-1 Kentucky Derby qualifying points to the top-four finishers.

Cooke Creek is one of three Jeremiah O'Dwyer trainees stabled in New York at the barn of Belmont-based trainer Natalia Lynch along with Jet Force and Sibelius.

A dark bay son of Uncle Mo, Cooke Creek finished third as the mutuel favorite last out in the one-turn mile Jerome, contested over a sloppy and sealed main track on New Year's Day.

“Cooke Creek came back here [to Laurel] after the Jerome and I sent him back up to Belmont last week and he breezed there Wednesday,” O'Dwyer said. “He'll have one more breeze at Belmont – I'd love it to be Saturday, but I'll have to see how the weather is going to be. If all goes well, he'll have a nice five-furlong breeze next week and then run in the Withers.”

Cooke Creek made his first two starts at Delaware Park, winning a 5 1/2-furlong maiden special weight in September ahead of a driving half-length score around two turns in the one-mile Rocky Run in October.

He entered the Jerome from a runner-up effort to Rockefeller in the one-turn mile Grade 3 Nashua on Nov. 7 at Belmont.

Cooke Creek will enjoy a rematch in the Withers with Jerome-winner Courvoisier and runner-up Smarten Up. Although Cooke Creek garnered two Kentucky Derby points for his third-place Jerome effort and is currently 24th on the leaderboard, O'Dwyer said he's not thinking about the first Saturday in May just yet.

“The Withers is going to be another test. You're always hoping you might have a Derby horse, but they have to progress along to get there,” said O'Dwyer, whose past Derby trail success includes a win in the 2019 Grade 2 Remsen with Shotski. “This is the path we're taking and I think it's a good spot for him, going two turns up there. He seems to be fit and well and I think the two turns will help him.

“But the first three that ran in the Jerome are all going to be thinking the same thing – the further they go, the better they'll be,” O'Dwyer added. “The winner of the Jerome broke his maiden going a mile and an eighth up there and the [connections of the] second horse are adamant their horse wants to go further as well, so we're all thinking along the same line. That's why we run them – to find out.”

Orpen Horses' Jet Force, a sophomore daughter of Jimmy Creed, boasts a perfect record through two starts at Penn National. She breezed a half-mile in 53.06 Jan. 19 over the Belmont dirt training track.

A $17,000 purchase at the Keeneland September Yearling Sale, the Pennsylvania-bred chestnut graduated sprinting 5 1/2-furlongs on December 8 and followed up nine days later with a 2 3/4-length score in a six-furlong allowance sprint.

O'Dwyer said Jet Force is nominated to Saturday's $100,000 Xtra Heat, a six-furlong sprint for sophomore fillies at Laurel Park but could also consider the $100,000 Ruthless, a seven-furlong sprint for sophomore fillies on Feb. 6 at the Big A.

“She's going to sprint for now. She went an easy half and had a nice gallop out after,” O'Dwyer said. “We'll probably enter in the stakes at Laurel and see how it comes up and we have the Ruthless as a backup.”

Sibelius, a 4-year-old son of Not This Time owned by Jun. H. Park and Delia Nash, has made his last two starts at the Big A, winning a seven-furlong allowance sprint last out on Jan. 8.

“He's ran two nice races up there in New York,” O'Dwyer said. “We'll try and run him through his conditions first of all. There's one for him at the beginning of February going seven-eighths again.”

Bred in Kentucky by Taylor Brothers Properties and Pollock Farms, Sibelius graduated at second asking sprinting 6 1/2-furlongs in April at Keeneland ahead of off-the-board efforts in the off-the-turf Grade 3 Penn Mile in May, the six-furlong Concern in July over the Pimlico main and the seven-furlong Robert Hilton Memorial on August 27 at Charles Town.

O'Dwyer said Sibelius benefited from the more than three-month layoff out of the Charles Town effort.

“He was immature mentally more than anything else and a little bit physically, I guess,” O'Dwyer said. “When he threw in a couple of clunkers, there was nothing wrong with him physically and he was sound, but we just decided to take a step back. We gave him a little turn-out time and let him re-group. Thankfully, it worked. He came back really good and is after running two decent races off the layoff. We hope there's a bit more progression in him.”

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Veteran Velazquez Looking Smart for Withers

When you have been in the game as long as Alfredo Velazquez, nobody has to tell you quite how long a journey divides slop-splattered defeat at Aqueduct on the first day of the year from Churchill Downs on the first Saturday in May. By the same token, however, the length of perspective opened by six decades on the racetrack gives persuasive substance to the Parx stalwart's excitement over Smarten Up (American Freedom), who graduated from a nine-length maiden romp at his home track to mount a storming finish for second in the Jerome S.

Unlike his son Danny, who got Brooklyn Strong (Wicked Strong) to the race last year after similarly developing his candidacy at Aqueduct during the winter, Velazquez has never sampled the GI Kentucky Derby trail. “But you never know, in this business, when the day might come,” he says. “When I was a groom in New York, I worked for some very good trainers. And they could buy a horse for the Derby but by the time they got to the Derby, they had no horse. So you never expect a small guy like me to find one. I'm at the end of the road now, I'm 77. But I went to a sale and I was lucky, I picked the right horse. And now I feel like I'm 18 years old again!”

The sale in question was OBS April, last year, where Velazquez considered the son of Airdrie rookie American Freedom to have more potential than he could show in the clock-crazed environment of an under-tack show.

“I go to that sale in Ocala every year,” Velazquez explains. “I was looking for a horse that can go long. And when I saw this horse by American Freedom out of a Smarty Jones mare, and then when I saw the way he worked, I said: 'You're coming home with me.' Actually the mother used to be a sprinter, but I knew he was going to go long, both sides. He did :21 4/5 that day, but the farther he goes, the faster he goes.”

Having been pinhooked through the same ring as a $20,000 short yearling by Blue River Bloodstock, the colt was acquired for $50,000 by Happy Tenth Stable, which has supported Velazquez with a horse or two through the past seven or eight years. And though Smarten Up was initially offered time to regroup on a farm, he was very soon clamoring for action and brought to the track ahead of schedule.

Nowadays Velazquez only has a dozen or so animals in his care, the majority operating in claimers, but he has always been able to find a horse's level. With 1,168 winners to date, at a career clip of 16%, “Freddie” was inducted into the Parx Hall of Fame in 2019. His resume is capped by the peripatetic Private Zone (Macho Uno), who won the GI Vosburgh and GI Cigar Mile during his stay in the barn in 2014; but perhaps Velazquez deserves still greater credit for the 10-for-23 career of Traffic Light (Peace Rules), a $13,000 Pennsylvania-bred who banked over $600,000.

It's often more challenging, after all, to get any kind of race out of a fragile, low-bred horse, than to push the buttons on a beautiful yearling with a big pedigree.

“Sometimes we have done well with cheap horses that needed time, which people don't always want to give a horse,” Velazquez reflects. “But with a claiming horse, you've got to find out what they like. Sometimes they have problems and don't want to train too hard. A lot of horses, you just have to play with, try to keep them happy. With better ones, though, you see a race coming up and you can train them up for it. They let you know what they're ready to do, and you don't have to be too smart to see that. But even with Private Zone, when we had him, he was a tough horse to train: you never knew what he was going to do, he might put on the brakes any time. But Smarten Up is different.

“This is a horse you can do whatever you want to do with. His temperament is first-class. Whatever you ask him to do, he'll go out there and do it. You could walk him all the way around the track if you wanted. Yet when we first worked him, we were looking to go :38, :39; and he went :36 and change. I asked the rider what happened and he said he never even moved his hands.”

On debut, over seven furlongs in September, Smarten Up was drawn on the rail in a field of 12 and flew from off the pace for second. Velazquez blames himself for fitting an unsuitable pair of blinkers when the horse finished third next time, but everything fell into place with that runaway maiden win over a mile and a sixteenth in November.

“That day he wasn't even running, he just galloped,” Velazquez says. “So I was very happy to go to the Jerome, he was doing so good. Everybody here told me good luck, you've got a good-looking horse there, hope he runs good. And he did. I wanted to be like three lengths off the pace, because he's got plenty of speed, but he got bumped at the gate and cut on the left front leg. He was unlucky, but as it happened I've been very lucky because he's come back good. He had all that mud in his face, as well; he'd never had that before.”

For much of the race, indeed, Smarten Up appeared to be floundering out the back. But then, switched to the outside by Anthony Salgado into the stretch, he found his stride and came bearing down powerfully on the blue-blooded winner Courvoisier (Tapit). Having reduced the gap to barely a length at the line, he looked as though a few more strides more would have taken him clear. Velazquez is duly eager for a rematch over a ninth furlong back at Aqueduct in the GIII Withers S. Feb. 5.

“Salgado did a good job, he knows the horse, knows what he's got, he had to go five or six wide but then he finished strong,” he says. “And the longer he can go, the better he will be. That's why I can't wait for the next race. One, the pace will be different as he goes farther. And he never gets tired. If you don't pull him up, he'll just keep going. He has so much power, he'll never stop.”

If able to collect some additional starting points in the Withers, then, Velazquez would be entitled to hope that Smarten Up could step up again for the extreme test of the Derby. As he remarked, that whole prospect is a rejuvenation–even if he has had to halve a scheduled Florida vacation, to keep monitoring a colt with the potential to vindicate so many years of toil.

Velazquez left Puerto Rico as a teenage groom, in 1965, having been invited to come and stay with compatriot Eddie Belmonte who was then making his name as a jockey in New York. He worked under a variety of Hall of Fame horsemen, including Woody Stephens, Angel Penna, Sr. and his great mentor P.G. Johnson.

“I worked for good people, for many years, but he was the best for me,” Velazquez recalls. “I worked for him five years. A lot of them trained all horses the same way, but that guy trained each one different. He used to come in real early and check how much they had eaten, how much water they'd had. He knew when a horse was ready. I learned a lot from him, and when I started training [in 1984] I used to call him all the time about what to do.”

Now it's his own phone that keeps ringing, often with bigger players sniffing around Smarten Up. “Every day, seven eight people call,” says Velazquez. “I say: 'Listen, this is the guy who owns the horse, you call him. If he wants to sell, then I'll tell you about the horse. But right now you got to talk to him first.'”

And who can put a price on the chance to ride the Derby trail? The quest has animated Velazquez for 56 years since his buddy Belmonte become the first Puerto Rican to ride in the race.

“For any owner, any trainer, the dream is the Derby,” he says. “We were there with my son, and we had a lot of fun. Now maybe it can be my turn to take him, if everything works out. I can't wait for this horse's next race. I hope he doesn't make me a liar, but I can't wait to run him a mile and eighth. I can close my eyes and see the race. I know he can lay up there, whatever way they're going. You run against him, believe me, he's going to be tough.”

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Top Three Finishers In Jerome Expected To Run Back In Feb. 5 Withers

Regally-bred Courvoisier rang in the New Year with authority, passing his first stakes test in Saturday's $150,000 Jerome at Aqueduct Racetrack in Ozone Park, N.Y., earning a 73 Beyer Speed Figure with a 1 ¼-length victory in the one-turn mile for sophomores.

Courvoisier, a son of multiple champion-producing stallion Tapit and out of 2014 Champion 2-Year-Old Filly Take Charge Brandi, showed similar tactics from his maiden coup at Aqueduct one month prior.

Courvoisier pressured pacesetter Hagler from the outside down the backstretch over the sloppy and sealed main track, remaining in battle with his foe in upper stretch, ultimately coming out on top while fending off a late rally from Smarten Up. In capturing the Jerome, Courvoisier earned 10 qualifying points toward the 2022 Kentucky Derby.

Finishing in the money in his first three starts at the maiden level at Monmouth and Delaware Park, Courvoisier graduated at fourth asking going nine furlongs before turning back in distance for the one-turn mile Jerome.

Trainer Kelly Breen said Sunday morning that Courvoisier will most likely return to nine furlongs in the Grade 3, $250,000 Withers on February 5 at the Big A, which also offers 10-4-2-1 Kentucky Derby qualifying points to the top-four finishers.

“That's the plan,” Breen said. “Right now, he seems to like the track and the Withers is there, so we're staying home with him for now.”

John Sikura of Hill 'n' Dale Farms, who owns Courvoisier in partnership with James D. Spry, expressed delight in seeing the newly turned 3-year-old chestnut win his stakes debut.

“It was very satisfying to see him win,” Sikura said. “It was rather frustrating in his initial starts. We went from having high hopes to moderate expectations, but he ran very determined yesterday. Now the question is will he continue to improve, and we hope that he will.

“We want to be realistic and not get too over the top too early. Every race is a new test,” Sikura added. “The water gets deeper and some 3-year-olds get better with each start. Everyone finds their level. We'll just let the horse do the talking and hope that he does so loudly.”

Sikura praised Breen for managing the horse effectively.

“Kelly has done such a great job with this horse,” Sikura said. “The best trainers are intuitive people that don't feel pressure from an owner or other things. So, I'll let Kelly map out the schedule, but the Withers would be the next logical step.”

Courvoisier hails from the prestigious Take Charge Lady broodmare line, a family which also includes 2013 Champion 3-Year-Old Will Take Charge, as well as Grade 1-winners Take Charge Indy and Omaha Beach. A multiple Grade 1-winning multimillionaire in her own right, Take Charge Lady also produced As Time Goes By, who captured her fourth graded stakes win in the Grade 3 La Canada at Santa Anita on Saturday.

Smarten Up's Bad Start Changed Jerome Tactics
Trainer Alfredo Velazquez said Happy Tenth Stable's Smarten Up, a rallying second behind Courvoisier, will also return to Aqueduct from his Parx Racing base.

With regular pilot Anthony Salgado up, Smarten Up was bumped leaving the gate – hampering an expected prominent trip – and forced to track behind horses near the back of the pack over the sloppy and sealed main track, before rallying six-wide down the lane to complete the exacta,  1 1/4 lengths behind Courvoisier.

“We were supposed to be two-to-three lengths off the pace, but when he got bumped leaving the gate, he got cut on his left front and that backed him up,” Velazquez said. “He had never had mud in the face before and that intimidated him for a little while. The jockey had to get after him a little bit because when the mud hit the face, he didn't want any part of that. But as soon as he took him outside, he started to run. He's a nice horse.”

Smarten Up, who boasts a perfect in-the-money record of 4-1-2-1, made his first three starts at Parx, finishing second on debut sprinting seven furlongs in September. He followed with a pair of two-turn starts, pressing the pace in a one-mile event in October when third in a race won by Eloquist, who exited that effort to run fifth in the Grade 2 Remsen in December at the Big A.

Smarten Up entered the one-turn mile Jerome from a romping nine-length score traveling one mile and 70 yards on November 22.

Velazquez said he is looking forward to stretching Smarten Up back around two turns at the Big A in the Grade 3 Withers.

“The longer he goes the better it is for him. I can't wait to run him two turns. If everything goes good, I'll be there,” Velazquez said.

Velazquez said Salgado is also likely to return for the Withers aboard Smarten Up, who earned 4 Kentucky Derby qualifying points in the Jerome.

“He rides the horse good. It's better to take the guy that knows the horse,” Velazquez said.

Velazquez conditioned the Canadian-bred Private Zone to Grade 1 wins on the NYRA circuit in 2014, capturing the Vosburgh Invitational at Belmont and the Cigar Mile Handicap at the Big A.

“We were lucky to win the Cigar Mile and Cigar was my favorite horse,” Velazquez said.

The veteran conditioner said he is hopeful of another graded stakes win at the Big A when Smarten Up returns in February.

“He's going to be tough in that race. If everything goes well, they're going to have to run to beat him,” Velazquez said.

By American Freedom and out of the stakes-winning Smarty Jones mare Sarah Cataldo, Smarten Up is a half-sibling to multiple sprint stakes winner Tiger Blood. Smarten Up, who matched a career-best 71 Beyer in the Jerome, was purchased for $50,000 from the OBS Spring Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training.

Cooke Creek Looking For Fast Track After Third In Slop In Jerome
Cheyenne Stable's Cooke Creek will hope for a fast track when he makes his next start in the Grade 3 $250,000 Withers at Aqueduct on February 5. Trained by Jeremiah O'Dwyer, the 3-year-old son of Uncle Mo finished third as the post-time favorite in Saturday's Jerome going a one-turn mile over the sloppy and sealed Big A main track.

Cooke Creek wrapped up his juvenile campaign with a runner-up effort to Rockefeller in the Grade 3 Nashua at Belmont Park on November 7, ridden from off the pace by Manny Franco to be beaten 2 ¾ lengths.

In Saturday's Jerome, Franco was forced to keep Cooke Creek closer to the pace than the dark bay colt typically prefers.

“We had to take him out of his comfort zone after watching the earlier races,” O'Dwyer said. “It was very hard for horses to close over that track and the surface became faster and harder throughout the day. We decided that we had to put him closer to the lead to have a chance to win.”

Despite less-than-favorable track conditions and needing to adjust his running style, Cooke Creek was beaten just two lengths in the Jerome.

“He's got a ton of class and he wasn't tired afterwards,” said O'Dwyer. “He's a very honest horse. He did not disappoint us – he ran really well. I just think he'd be better on a fairer track and also going two turns.”

Cooke Creek, who won the Rocky Run around two turns in October at Delaware Park, will again have the chance to run two turns in the nine-furlong Withers, a race O'Dwyer hopes will offer more favorable conditions.

“The extra furlong in the Withers will help him,” O'Dwyer said. “The pace of the race and the dynamic will be different compared to a one turn mile. They go a little steadier and he'll get a chance to settle in. We can just let him break and get a little time to find his rhythm. Hopefully, it's just a regular fast track and we see him in a better light.”

O'Dwyer said Cooke Creek, who picked up 2 Kentucky Derby qualifying points in the Jerome, will make his preparations for the Withers at his home base of Laurel Park.

“He might have one or two breezes at the most,” said O'Dwyer. “He just needs maintenance and a light couple of weeks to freshen up and enjoy himself. He's happy and he knows his job. He's a forward training horse and we have to be careful he doesn't overdo it. He'll do what you want and is a very good horse.”

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