Trained by Jimmy Jerkens, Friday's breeze followed up on a bullet five-eighths in 59.63 last Friday on the training track.

“He did well. We just wanted to give him a little stamina today,” Jerkens said. “He worked really fast last week and we didn't want to do that again. I was happy with how he did it.”

The Ontario homebred son of Pioneerof the Nile finished fourth in the nine-furlong Grade 2 Wood Memorial in April at the Big A and followed two months later with a close second to Grade 1 Kentucky Derby runner-up Mandaloun in the 1 1/16-mile Pegasus on June 13 at Monmouth.

Last out, the dark bay colt tracked the pace from third in the nine-furlong Grade 2 Jim Dandy on July 31 at the Spa, but failed to make up ground in the stretch run finishing fourth.

Jerkens said Weyburn, a resurgent Gotham winner under Trevor McCarthy off a three-month layoff, is at his best racing fresh.

“He's got a lot of talent. He's just a little quirky,” Jerkens said. “His two best races – the Gotham and the Pegasus – he had two to three months between starts.”

Paco Lopez will pilot the quirky colt for the first time and Jerkens said the veteran rider will need to keep Weyburn to task.

“He wants to be forwardly placed and then you have to get after him. He'll spit the bit after he's run a long ways and you have to try and beat him to the punch a little bit,” Jerkens said. “Trevor kept riding him the whole time in the Gotham and he came back on. He can be stubborn switching to his outside lead but when he does, he comes back on again.”

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The 162^nd Queen's Plate will take place on Sunday, Aug. 22 at Woodbine Racetrack. Canada's most famous horse race will launch the 2021 OLG Canadian Triple Crown, which includes the Prince of Wales on September 14 at Fort Erie and the Breeders' Stakes on October 3 at Woodbine.

The Power Rankings highlight the most talented 3-year-old Thoroughbreds eligible to enter for a spot in the $1 million race. Votes are cast by expert horseplayers and racing personalities from Woodbine and the Daily Racing Form: Jeff Bratt, Robert Geller, Ron Gierkink, Jason Portuondo, Monique Vág and Mark McKelvie. The rankings are based on votes following a points system (five points for a first-place vote, four points for second-place vote, etc.) for top five selections, and honourable mentions.

After receiving all first-place votes in Woodbine's first power rankings, Weyburn remains in top spot on the list, receiving five of the six first-place votes. The Jimmy Jerkens trainee ran last weekend in the Grade 2 Jim Dandy at Saratoga, finishing a disappointing fourth in a five-horse field. The Chiefswood Stables Limited homebred was making his first start since a runner-up effort in the TVG.com Pegasus Stakes on June 13 at Monmouth.

Weyburn now sports a career record of two wins, two seconds and $343,520 earned in seven career outings. The G1 Travers was on the radar for Weyburn, but his most recent outing does open the possibility of his connections changing paths and considering an appearance in the $1-million Queen's Plate.

Keep Grinding moves up from number three to two in the latest rankings. The Tino Attard trainee has not run since a runner-up finish in the Grade 3 Marine Stakes on July 11. Keep Grinding most recently breezed six-furlongs in 1:15.60 over Woodbine's tapeta surface on August 1.

Woodbine Oaks winner Munnyfor Ro makes her first appearance on the power rankings at number four following a strong performance in last Sunday's $500,000 event. Raroma Stable and trainer Kevin Attard are considering supplementing the filly to the Queen's Plate.

Sam-Son Farm's Dance Some Mo (number three) and WellSpring Stables' Safe Conduct (number five) are also part of the latest power rankings. A total of 12 different three-year-olds received votes in the latest power rankings.

The entry box for the 162^nd Queen's Plate closes the morning of Wednesday, Aug. 18.

The 162^nd Queen's Plate is scheduled for Sunday, Aug. 22 at Woodbine Racetrack. Tickets are currently on sale and Woodbine will be announcing further event details next week. Fans can track the Power Rankings and all information regarding the Queen's Plate by visiting QueensPlate.com and on Woodbine Entertainment's social media platforms via @WoodbineTB.

Queen's Plate Power Rankings (Week 2 – August 6, 2021) 

Rank – Horse – Career Record – Earnings – Trainer – Points – First Place Votes – Previous Ranking

1 – Weyburn – 7-2-2-0 – $343,520 – Jimmy Jerkens – 25 – 5 – 1^st
2 – Keep Grinding – 5-1-1-1 – $87,982 – Tino Attard – 15 – 0 – 3rd
3 – Dance Some Mo – 5-1-2-0 – $54,175 – 11 – 1 – NR
4 – Munnyfor Ro – 9-2-2-2 – $320,985 – 11 – 0 – NR
5 – Safe Conduct – 6-2-1-0 – $135,250 – Philip Serpe – 6 – 0 – NR

Honourable Mention: Hombre, Tio Magico, Avoman, Harlan Estate 

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The Godolphin homebred's victory in the 58th running of the Jim Dandy stamped him as the favorite for Saratoga's signature race, the $1.25 million Grade 1 Runhappy Travers on August 28. In June, the handsome gray son of Tapit was the decisive winner of the Grade 1 Belmont Stakes presented by NYRA Bets.

Essential Quality, who has been piloted by Luis Saez in seven of his eight career starts, defeated four rivals after the scratch of Risk Taking.

Dr Jack broke sharp from his rail post and was followed by Masqueparade, Weyburn, and Keepmeinmind. Saez had Essential Quality in the clear on the outside in fifth, not far off the leaders. Following sharp fractions of :23.81, :47.41, and 1:11.13 on the fast main track, the pacesetter was retreating while Masqueparade and Weyburn were taking up prominent positions as the field turned for home.

But Essential Quality, with a sweeping outside move, bore down on those rivals, while Keepmeinmind, whose sire Laoban won the 2016 Jim Dandy, was snaking his way up on the rail. It then became a race down to the finish line between those two, with Essential Quality pulling clear in the shadow of the wire, stopping the clock in 1:49.92.

It was a nail-biter for Essential Quality's trainer, Brad Cox.

“When they straightened up, I thought, 'Wow we've been wide both turns,' and then we see a horse slip up the inside [No. 4, Keepmeinmind] who looked like he had some run left,” Cox said. “It made for some anxious moments down the lane. Overall, he's a very determined horse. He has the heart of a champion. He's a good horse, he stays on.

“There was a lot of ground lost today,” Cox added. “Luis obviously had to work to win. He got something out of it, I do think that. I think he's carrying a little more weight now than he was leading up to the Derby or Belmont. I think this was a good tightener for him, four weeks out [from the Travers].”

The win marked a second straight and third overall Jim Dandy win for Godolphin, whose royal blue colors scored last year with Mystic Guide as well as with Alpha in 2012. The last time a Jim Dandy winner connected with a victory in the Travers was 2012 when Alpha finished in a dead-heat for the win with Golden Ticket.

Jimmy Bell, president of Godolphin operations in the United States, said, “The really good horses just show up and find a way to get things done and he has seemed to do that every start. Consistency has been his hallmark and it was a battle down the stretch. It was probably good for him, which is easier to say after the race than when they're at the sixteenth pole.”

For his part, Saez said, he felt confident he was sitting aboard the winner.

“I saw him [No. 4, Keepmeinmind], but I had a lot of horse and I knew he was going to finish,” the meet's leading rider said. “The plan today was not to take too much away from him. He always fights and he always wants to win.”

Essential Quality returned $2.80 for a $2 win wager. Find this race's chart here.

Masqueparade finished third, 2 1/4 lengths behind Keepmeinmind, and was followed under the wire by Weyburn and Dr Jack.

The win elevated Essential Quality's earnings to $3,545,144 and brought last year's 2-year-old champion's record to 7-0-0 from eight starts. His lone career loss came in the Kentucky Derby when he crossed the wire in fourth place.

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The 58th running of the Jim Dandy, contested at 1 1/8 miles, is slated as Race 9 and is one of three graded stakes on Saturday's 11-race card, joining the Grade 1, $350,000 Alfred G. Vanderbilt Handicap for 3-year-olds and up sprinting six furlongs in Race 8 and the Grade 2, $250,000 Bowling Green for 4-year-olds and up going 1 3/8 miles on the inner turf in Race 10.

The Jim Dandy, a prep race for the Grade 1, $1.25 million Runhappy Travers at 1 1/4 miles on August 28, will mark the Saratoga debut of Godolphin's Essential Quality. The reigning Champion 2-Year-Old for trainer Brad Cox has already proved he was more than a talented juvenile, starting his sophomore campaign with wins in the Grade 3 Southwest and Grade 2 Blue Grass while on the Kentucky Derby trail this spring.

Following a competitive fourth in the “Run for the Roses” on May 1 in which he earned his first triple-digit Beyer Speed Figure, Essential Quality outdueled Hot Rod Charlie to post a 1 1/4-length victory in the Grade 1 Belmont Stakes presented by NYRA Bets on June 5 at the Triple Crown race's famed 1 1/2-mile distance. The Tapit colt earned Cox his first career win in an American Classic and has registered three works at Saratoga since shipping from Churchill earlier this month.

“He likes it up here big time,” Cox said. “We take him out in the afternoons when it's not raining and let him graze. He's a lawnmower. He's real focused here. He's doing well.”

Essential Quality earned a 109 Beyer for his Belmont win and has posted six wins in seven career starts, with five of those victories in graded stakes, encompassing three winner's circle trips in Grade 1s after winning the Breeders' Futurity in his second career start in October at Keeneland before winning the Breeders' Cup Juvenile over the same track in November to close out his 2020 award-winning campaign.

“I'm very anxious to see him race again just for the simple fact of how he's training and how he's filling out,” Cox said. “He's a very intelligent horse. He's been wanting to do more. He came out of last work great. He's been very sharp and his energy has been great. The cooler weather is playing a role in that. But he's ready to run. I'm very excited.”

Jockey Luis Saez, aboard for all six of Essential Quality's stakes races, will have the return call from post 5.

Chiefswood Stables' Weyburn, a resurgent winner of the Grade 3 Gotham going a one-turn mile in March at Aqueduct Racetrack, will be making his first start since running a game second to Kentucky Derby runner-up Mandaloun by a neck in the 1 1/16-mile Pegasus on June 13 at Monmouth Park.

The Jimmy Jerkens trainee's lone off-the-board finish in five starts since his debut in October was a fourth-place effort in the Grade 2 Wood Memorial presented by Resorts World Casino in April going the Jim Dandy distance at the Big A.

Weyburn has worked three times at Saratoga this month since shipping from Belmont and will look to again show a competitiveness that has seen him demonstrate marked tenacity in the stretch run.

“He's a big dude; big and long,” Jerkens said. “He's a massive horse. When they come back fighting like that, that's what you want.”

After stepping up to two turns the last two races, Jerkens said Weyburn is learning how to navigate the longer distances.

“He still acts like he's a little confused by two-turn racing,” Jerkens said. “He breaks on his own and then gets on the bridle and then he was a little keen down the backside [in the Pegasus]. The pacesetter [Lugamo] stopped abruptly and he ended up on the lead by himself, and he looked like he spit the bit out a little bit Mandaloun made a big, sweeping move past him and then he went after him again. He did that in the Gotham, when he lost the lead, he came back on. I guess it's like a little game with him.

“I think the last race did him a lot of good,” Jerkens added. “His only two-turn race before that was the Wood Memorial and there was a big gap from that race. He should get better with more seasoning.”

Irad Ortiz, Jr., the defending three-time Eclipse Award-winning jockey, will ride Weyburn for the first time, drawing post 3.

“Irad is going to have to figure it out. He's got enough natural speed to where you can pretty much put him wherever you want,” Jerkens said. “I just hope instead of running spotty like that, l just hope he runs a little more even all the way and still has it for the end.”

Harrell Ventures' Dr Jack was third in his stakes debut in the Pegasus and will now step up to graded stakes company for the first time. Dr Jack's conditioner is Hall of Famer Todd Pletcher, who has won the Jim Dandy six times, with his last victory with Palace Malice in 2013.

Dr Jack won his debut going 6 1/2 furlongs in April at Gulfstream Park and handled a stretch out to 1 1/16 miles by posting a three-length victory on May 14 at Pimlico. After competing in the Pegasus last month, the son of Pioneerof the Nile will again face talented competition, drawing post 1 with Jose Ortiz aboard.

“He's lightly raced, but he was able to break his maiden first time out and step up into an allowance,” Pletcher said. “I thought he ran a respectable race in the Pegasus and certainly Mandaloun coming back to win the Haskell makes that look to be a good race. It looks like a very competitive field, but not a large field, so we'll take a shot.”

Pletcher said Dr Jack, after facing a string of more seasoned horses, is looking to continue the improvement he's shown throughout his first three starts.

“For his third start and his first try in a stakes, to be beaten a little more than two lengths to a horse like Mandaloun, who has been through a good series of Derby preps, it was a tall ask and he ran credibly,” Pletcher said.

FTGGG Racing's Masqueparade handled the step up to stakes company with aplomb last out, posting a half-length win in the Grade 3 Ohio Derby going 1 1/8 miles at Thistledown on June 26. The Upstart colt has improved his speed figures in four consecutive starts, going from a 74 for a third-place maiden finish in February at Fair Grounds to a 98 for his last-out graded win.

Trainer Al Stall, Jr. said Masqueparade earned an opportunity to compete against the division's upper echelon.

“Our horse is on the upswing, so if he keeps improving, he could be there or thereabouts. He deserves a shot,” Stall said. “His last two races have been very good and he handled graded competition. The numbers are fine but stepping up to those proven competitors is more a test to me than running against the clock. I think he deserves a chance.”

Miguel Mena will ride from post 2.

Klaravich Stables' Risk Taking will be running for the first time since an eighth-place finish in the Grade 1 Preakness on May 15. After starting his sophomore campaign with a 3 3/4-length win in the Grade 3 Gotham in March at Aqueduct, Risk Taking will be competing at Saratoga for the first time.

Risk Taking, trained by four-time Eclipse Award-winner Chad Brown, ran a dull seventh in the Wood Memorial before the off-the-board Preakness effort in a 10-horse field. The Medaglia d'Oro colt has won twice in three starts at the Jim Dandy distance and will look to use that to his advantage with Manny Franco set to ride out of post 6.

Keepmeinmind competed in the first two legs of the Triple Crown, running seventh in the Kentucky Derby and fourth in the Preakness, before garnering a 97 Beyer for a third-place finish in the Ohio Derby. Owned by Cypress Creek Equine, Arnold Bennewith and Spendthrift Farm, the Laoban colt earned black type in two Grade 1s as a 2-year-old, running second in the Breeders' Futurity and third, two lengths back to Essential Quality, in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile for trainer Robertino Diodoro.

Joel Rosario will be in the irons from post 4.

Saratoga Live will present daily television coverage of the 40-day summer meet on FOX Sports. For the complete Saratoga Live broadcast schedule, and additional programming information, visit https://www.nyra.com/saratoga/racing/tv-schedule.

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“We wanted him to go good. I hope it wasn't too fast, but he seemed to handle it really well,” Jerkens said. “He went by the workmate once they passed the quarter pole and galloped out on his own. He had a target in the first part of the work, which is why he probably went so fast.”

Saturday's breeze by the Ontario-bred son of Pioneerof the Nile followed a bullet five-eighths in 1:00.60 on July 16 over the Spa main track.

“We weren't planning on doing that, but the weather was creeping up on us. We gave him a work and the track was heavy and he worked good and he was blowing pretty hard,” Jerkens said. “That work really tightened him up and the work yesterday was no problem at all.”

Centennial Farms' multiple graded stakes winner Rocketry breezed six furlongs in 1:17.70 Saturday on the Oklahoma dirt training track in preparation for the $120,000 Birdstone, a 1 3/4-mile test for older horses on August 5.

“It was a nice long work,” Jerkens said. “We're going to come back and work him in company before he runs.”

The 7-year-old Hard Spun bay was off-the-board last out in the 12-furlong Grade 1 Brooklyn, which was won by emerging marathon star Lone Rock.

Jerkens said he is hopeful that the added distance will suit Rocketry, whose last win came three starts back in the 1 5/8-mile Grade 2 Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance in November at Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, Ky.

“That one horse [Lone Rock] looks like a standout in that category. If ever he's going to beat horses like that, it's going that distance,” Jerkens said. “That's what happened in Kentucky. The pace was just too sharp for going that far and they came back to him and he went by them in the very end.”

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As the second horse under the wire in the Grade 1 Kentucky Derby on May 1, Mandaloun opted to bypass the last two Triple Crown classics in favor of training up to the Pegasus Stakes with the ultimate goal of the G1 Haskell Stakes at Monmouth in July. Six weeks after the Derby, the Juddmonte colt, trained by Brad Cox, showed that he could overcome a troubled trip and a fast-closing Weyburn to win and gain experience over the Monmouth surface.

Entering the as the 3-10 favorite, Mandaloun broke from post two and was squeezed by Brooklyn Strong and Dr. Jack in the first furlong out of the gate, visibly checking as the field got into stride. Lugamo took a one-length lead over Weyburn, with Dr. Jack just behind them and then Brooklyn Strong and Mandaloun another length and a half back. With fractions of :24.67 for the first quarter and then 48.61 for the half-mile, Lugamo's pace set up for Mandaloun to overcome that early trouble.

On the backstretch, Geroux moved his colt into fourth, positioning Mandaloun for a move on the final turn. As Lugamo gave way to Weyburn and Dr. Jack, Mandaloun loomed up on the outside and picked up speed entering the stretch. In the final furlong, Mandaloun put more space between himself and Weyburn and Dr. Jack, but jockey Dylan Davis pushed Weyburn for another go at the eventual winner, closing the gap between them quickly. Geroux and Mandaloun were able to hold them off to cross the wire in front by a neck, with Dr. Jack in third. Brooklyn Strong and Lugamo rounded out the field. The final time was 1:44.63.

View the race's chart here.

Mandaloun paid $2.60, $2.10, and $2.10. Second-place Weyburn paid $3.00 and $2.20. Dr. Jack paid $2.60 to show.

After the race, Brad Cox was pleased with Mandaloun's performance in his first post-Derby start.

“We didn't expect that (being pinched at the start). We thought he might be on the lead or tracking a couple. We found ourselves last going into the first turn. But overall it was a big effort. I think he closed into a soft pace. He probably had to start his run a touch early given the fact that he was last. He ran a big race. Florent (Geroux) made the comment that he may have been looking around late. But he made the lead by himself. Overall it was a good effort for him to ship over here.”

“I think ultimately we're going to figure out what toll it took on him once we get back home (to Churchill Downs). The ship over for the race, the ship back. Things such as that. We'll put it all together and process it and let him tell us where he is over the next couple of weeks.”

“He made the lead and it looked like he was going to go on. Obviously the horse on the lead was setting softer fractions. You kind of expect that (he was forced to fight late). I don't think that's something that is totally unexpected. Overall it was a big race and we're proud of the effort. He responded when asked and was carried a touch wide and floated through the turn. But overall it was a good effort and hopefully he can bounce out of it in good order and be ready in five weeks (for the TVG.com Haskell Stakes).”

Florent Geroux, who has ridden Mandaloun in all of his starts, knew what his colt had left even after that uncertain start.

“Yes (he was pinched) a little bit (at the start). I didn't want to rush him. He was nice and relaxed during the race. It was nice to see that he was able to settle down on his own and everything worked out great. The important thing was not to rush him too hard (after the start).”

“I had a lot of horse. He was passing horses one by one. At the end when he made the lead maybe he was looking around a little. It was a new thing for him not having the whip for encouragement. I saw the other horse (Weyburn) coming inside of us. But he was still running pretty good at the end. He had to work for it but I don't think it was a really hard race on him. He did not come back blowing hard at all.”

Mandaloun is by Into Mischief out of the Empire Maker mare Brooch. He is bred and owned by Juddmonte Farms. His win in the Pegasus brings him to a record of four wins in seven lifetime starts, with $1,051,252 in earnings.

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“The right thing for the horse is to miss the Derby,” Landry told DRF. “I think (trainer) Jimmy (Jerkens) and I are on the same page with that. I think this horse is going to mature a lot more. The family history is they get better with age.”

Fourth last out in the G2 Wood Memorial, Weyburn is a homebred for Chiefswood Stables. He is out of the unraced A.P. Indy mare Sunday Affair, also the dam of multiple graded stakes-winning sprinter Yorkton and mulitple stakes-placed Nipigon.

Jerkens had suggested Weyburn would be a better fit for the Belmont Stakes even before the horse contested the Wood.

“We kind of have that in the back of our head that we'd more apt to aim for something like that than the Derby,” Jerkens told NYRA publicity. “He's a horse that takes some time to get used to new places. He's high maintenance in that regard. We'd like to stretch the year out a little more.”

Read more at the Daily Racing Form.

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The 96th running of the Wood Memorial, offering 100-40-20-10 Derby qualifying points to the top-four finishers, was not contested in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. But Bourbonic, making his first stakes appearance in his sixth start, ensured the 729-day gap between runnings was memorable, rallying from last-of-nine at the top of the stretch before jockey Kendrick Carmouche tipped him out and saw his charge pick off rivals one-by-one.

Calumet Farm's Bourbonic surged through the wire from the middle of the fast main track, besting Dynamic One in the final jumps to complete the 1 1/8-mile course in 1:54.49 and earn the triple-digit Derby points for the Kentucky homebred.

It marked the sixth Wood Memorial victory for Pletcher, who previously won with Eskendereya [2010], Gemologist [2012], Verrazano [2013], Outwork [2016] and Vino Rosso [2018]. Pletcher's 55 Derby starters are a record that could soon be bolstered.

“We always felt this horse would handle added distance,” said Pletcher, who trails only Hall of Famer Sunny Jim Fitzsimmons' record eight Wood Memorial wins for the most all time. “He was able to get a perfect trip and sit back and make one late run. He was able to get there just in time. It was a big effort.

“To have any chance, I think the only way he could be successful was to stay back and make one late run,” he added. “He doesn't have any early speed.”

The Wood Memorial – the signature race for the 126-year-old racetrack – saw a fellow longshot, 70-1 Market Maven, break sharp from the outside post and go to the lead around the near turn, going the opening quarter-mile in 24.88 seconds and the half in 50.18. Weyburn, a nose winner of the Grade 3 Gotham last out, continued to pressure the pacesetter in second position, with three-quarters going in 1:14.98.

Out of the turn, Dynamic One worked to gain the edge to the outside of Weyburn at the top of the stretch, with Bourbonic still bringing up the rear.

But Carmouche said he knew his horse still had plenty left in reserve, and Bourbonic quickly erased the deficit when angled to the outside, capitalizing on the daylight under heavy encouragement by Carmouche to get up at the right time, winning for the third time in his last four starts.

“Todd asked me what I was going to do and I told him I wouldn't move,” Carmouche said. “I was just going to sit, sit, sit, sit and hopefully get out the last quarter of a mile. I knew he would go on from there. My horse was in a good stride. Each pole I was picking them up one by one without even asking.”

The victory was Carmouche's first Wood Memorial win and came one week after the Vinton, Louisiana native completed a winter meet campaign in which he finished second in the standings. Carmouche, who has more than 3,300 wins in his career, has never had a Derby mount.

Carmouche also had another milestone riding for Calumet Farm, building on his win on True Timber in the Cigar Mile in December that marked the 37-year-old's first career Grade 1 win, capping his fall meet that saw him secure his first career NYRA riding title.

“I'm thrilled for Calumet Farm. I won my first Grade 1 with True Timber in the Cigar Mile for them and now I won the Wood for them,” Carmouche said. “These past six months of my career have just been what you dream of.”

Bourbonic, who could have been claimed for $50,000 out of a maiden race on December 6 at Aqueduct, returned $146.50 on a $2 win wager. The victory upped his career earnings to $465,800.

The son of Bernardini improved to 3-1-0 in six starts and three wins in four starts since going back to dirt after running 11th in a turf start on November 14 at Aqueduct.

“Sometimes the worst thing you can have is a hot hand in January and February,” Pletcher said. “We were hoping something would come together and we always thought he had potential to step up. It was good to see him do it.”

Dynamic One, ridden by Jose Ortiz, was also making his stakes bow for Pletcher and garnered the 40 qualifying points by topping Crowded Trade by 1 1/4 lengths for runner-up honors.

Owned by Repole Stable, Phipps Stable and St. Elias Stable, Dynamic One broke his maiden at fourth asking in his previous start going the Wood Memorial distance on March 7 at the Big A. The Union Rags colt, a $725,000 purchase at the 2019 Keeneland September Yearling Sale, handled the step up in class.

“The one thing we were concerned about is if he made the lead he might idle a little bit,” Pletcher said. “Jose said he tried to time it as well as he could and he was hoping the leader would carry him to the wire more than he did. It was another step forward for him.”

Crowded Trade, trained by Chad Brown and ridden by Eric Cancel, picked up 20 points by finishing 1 3/4 lengths clear of Weyburn for third. Weyburn, who earned 50 points for his Gotham win, brought his total to 60.

Updated Kentucky Derby leaderboard.

“It looked for a moment like he had dead aim to maybe even win the race, but he just hung a little bit down the lane and ran a little bit evenly,” Brown said. “I was really proud of his effort. I thought he ran his race despite missing the break a bit and falling a little bit too far back. Watching his race, I think you'd have to be concerned how far he'll run. He had dead aim and didn't really close any ground from the eighth pole home.”

The New York-bred Brooklyn Strong finished fifth, with Prevalence, the favorite Risk Taking, Market Maven and Candy Man Rocket completing the order of finish.

Sunday will not feature racing at Aqueduct because of the Easter holiday. The 11-day Big A spring meet, which runs through April 18, will resume on Thursday with an eight-race card. First post is 1:20 p.m. Eastern.

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After two easy works following the Gotham, Chiefswood Stables' son of Pioneerof the Nile covered the three furlongs in :36.20 – the second fastest of 18 recorded works at the distance. Weyburn worked six-furlongs 1:16.60 five days earlier.

“If I'm running a horse that's going further than they ever have, I like to give them a little something close to the race just to open up their lungs a bit,” Jerkens said. “It was pretty close to his work before that, but he didn't go all that fast that day, so I didn't think it was a big deal with the five days, plus we had a lot of rain the next day.”

In upsetting the Gotham at 46-1 odds, Weyburn displayed tactical speed and fought gamely along the rail to get a nose to the better of fellow Wood Memorial aspirant Crowded Trade. He also earned 50 points on the Road to the Kentucky Derby, currently standing 10th on the leaderboard.

Despite qualifying for the “Run for the Roses,” Jerkens said he might be more inclined to train Weyburn up to the Grade 1, $1.5 million Belmont Stakes on June 5. His best finish in the 12-furlong “Test of a Champion” was Thomas Jo, who finished third behind a thrilling stretch run in 1998 where Victory Gallop infamously spoiled the Triple Crown bid of Real Quiet.

“We kind of have that in the back of our head that we'd more apt to aim for something like that than the Derby,” Jerkens said. “He's a horse that takes some time to get used to new places. He's high maintenance in that regard. We'd like to stretch the year out a little more.”

Jerkens seeks a second Wood Memorial triumph, having saddled Centennial Farms' Wicked Strong to victory in the 2014 edition.

Centennial Farms, graded stakes-winner Rocketry has been back to the work tab since getting some winter rest at the outfits Middleburg, Virginia facility. The veteran son of Hard Spun is possible for the $100,000 Flat Out on April 30 at Belmont Park.

After going three furlongs in 38.21 on March 21, he went an easy half-mile in 50.09 seconds.

“We'll try to make the Flat Out,” Jerkens said. “We were debating on whether to keep him here all winter because he always does well when he's with the rest of us. Sometimes when he gets turned out, he can get a little bored and then he comes back, and it takes a while to get into the rhythm of things.”

Rocketry, a three-time stakes winner, was last seen ending a nine-race slump when coming from ten lengths off the pace to win the 1 5/8-mile Grade 2 Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance on November 6 at Keeneland.

The post Jerkens ‘More Apt’ To Aim Gotham Winner Weyburn At Belmont Than Kentucky Derby appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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That said, the juvenile champion gets a home game, round a circuit where he has already won two Grade Is. It will be on the margins of East and West, then, that we seem more likely to see a breakout after the manner of Known Agenda (Curlin) last week. Not that anyone in the Greatest Honour (Tapit) camp is too downbeat after he had to settle for third behind that old rival in the GI Florida Derby. I was heartened by the fidelity of colleague T.D. Thornton to Greatest Honour, who retained the No. 1 spot in his Derby Top 12 this week. Because these adolescent horses seldom crown a curve of relentless improvement under the Twin Spires: very often, they will need to have soaked up some adversity on the way, to have absorbed a tough lesson or two before regrouping. Greatest Honour has been on the punchbag all winter and was entitled to drop a glove this once, especially with such a messy trip. We know that his trainer will always have been working back from one date, and one date only.

With that date now looming so large, however, there's a kind of exquisite tension for all these horsemen, trying to achieve an equilibrium between their own restraint, and the fitness and seasoning of their charges. Remember that's exactly what they do every day, with horses at every level. It's just that the whole process is so much more visible here, because of the extremity of the test and the depth of the associated lore.

Many of us profess a sentimental attachment to the old school, with an emphasis on grounding, but modern trainers make their own rules. Obviously last year's race was an outlier, its postponement as ruinous to other horses as it was helpful to the raw Authentic (Into Mischief). But in 2018 we had a Triple Crown winner unraced before February 18; and the following year the first past the post had started off in midwinter under a $16,000 tag, and his works might have been as usefully clocked with a sundial as a stopwatch.

Medina Spirit has only been beaten by Life Is Good | Benoit

Bob Baffert's mastery of the definitive challenge of his calling now puts him within reach of a seventh Derby, and an outright record, even after losing the services of Life Is Good (Into Mischief). In that colt's lamentable absence from the GI Runhappy Santa Anita Derby, we have a twist in the astonishing tale of Medina Spirit (Protonico), the $1,000 short yearling who somehow found his way into the most lavishly stocked barn in the land. But nothing should surprise us with the genius of his trainer. Remember that Medina Spirit, having been pinhooked to a giddy $35,000, was actually twice as expensive as Real Quiet (Quiet American)!

He would be unbeaten but for Life Is Good and he's been working the house down since a minor throat procedure. Baffert plus Medina Spirit is like Goliath teaming up with David, but this race does offer romantics the option of Rock Your World (Candy Ride {Arg}), bred by Hall of Famer Ron McAnally.

Undefeated Rock Your World switches to dirt | Benoit

You imagine John Sadler has not been short of humorous counsel on the backside, especially as the veteran McAnally, who nowadays supervises just with a handful of animals, managed a graded stakes placing for Rock Your World's older sister She's Our Charm during the winter. McAnally trained both the parents, namely Candy Ride (Arg) and dual Grade I-placed juvenile Charm the Maker (Empire Maker); and actually McAnally and wife Deborah bred the first three dams. But Sadler is certainly rewriting Derby rules with this colt, switching from turf after teaching him about dirt with some pretty heavy duty drills.

The last four runnings have been divided between Baffert and John Shirreffs, who intriguingly perseveres with Parnelli (Quality Road) as though he has more ability than we've been seeing of late. Recent works suggest that the blinkers are helping, much as they did Hot Rod Charlie (Oxbow) when Parnelli ran the GII Louisiana Derby winner to a neck in the fall.

Interesting to see a Californian shipper taking on Essential Quality, in Rombauer (Twirling Candy), though the most feasible GII Toyota Blue Grass S. wildcard is surely Known Agenda's raw but devastating barnmate Untreated (Nyquist). In the GII Wood Memorial (presented by Resorts World Casino), meanwhile, a similarly late play from Prevalance (Medaglia d'Oro) will help Godolphin decide whether he's progressing fast enough to join their champion in Louisville. If not, then they will hope that at least Risk Taking (Medaglia d'Oro) can go forward on behalf of their big stallion, who joins Tapit and Curlin in craving the Derby as a seal on all their other success.

A playful Weyburn last month at Belmont | Susie Raisher

Pioneerof the Nile beat those big hitters to that distinction before his premature loss, which would be felt all the more keenly if Weyburn were to emerge as a new Derby force from this race. I can definitely see that happening, the Chiefswood homebred being born for this second turn with first three dams by A.P. Indy, Sunday Silence and Nijinsky. The third dam, indeed, is Maplejinsky, dam of Sky Beauty (Blushing Groom {Fr})–so seeing the name Jerkens on the card gives us that warm glow, too. This is an April 21 foal, paradoxically just the kind of thing we like for the Derby, and I love the gutsy way this horse carried his speed through a demanding mile after a lay-off.

So forget that neat and orderly crossroads. On the day itself, we know it will be chaos out there; and the same applies to the four weeks in between. Some engines stalling, others suddenly roaring into life; lights turning red, lights turning green. And with horsemen like Jerkens, Shirreffs and Sadler trying to weave into the traffic, with all their skill and experience, for now it still feels like we don't even know which way round to hold the Derby map.

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