Drawn one from the outside over a rain-affected strip that was putting a demand on stamina, the hulking bay, off at 9-1, raced in the four path, but with cover on the back of longshot Khanate (Hightail) as El Grande O fought out the early fractions from the inside.

Asked to improve approaching three furlongs from home, the Butch Reid-trained Uncle Heavy appeared to be running in place as El Grande O and Khanate began to separate themselves at the quarter pole.

El Grande O was finally able to shake off Khanate entering the final eighth of a mile, pinched a break and looked on his way to victory, but Uncle Heavy kept plugging away and was shoved across the line first. El Grande O was second ahead of even-money favorite Lightline (City of Light) in third.

Uncle Heavy, a narrow debut winner going six furlongs versus open company at Parx Oct. 23, dwelt and ducked in at the start and finished fifth as the favorite in the Pennsylvania Nursery S. Nov. 28. He successfully stretched to two turns with a rallying victory going one mile and 70 yards against fellow state-breds in the Wait For It S. last time Dec. 27.

“I have always felt all along with this horse, the further the better,” Reid said. “He certainly proved that today. He looked like he was just hitting his best stride about 50 yards from the wire. He really started stretching out nice.”

He continued, “We haven't had a whole lot of time, and this was only his second time around two turns. For him to go a mile and an eighth and under the circumstances is a testament to him. It worked out great. It's a short ship [from Pennsylvania] and there's a lot of big money up here.”

On a potential next start in the GII Wood Memorial S. Apr. 6, Reid added, “We're going to keep him around two turns from here on out. We'll definitely have a look at the Wood, there's no doubt about that. We're going to sit down with (owner) Mikey (Milam), and start plotting and planning from here on in.”

Pedigree Notes:

Uncle Heavy is the first graded stakes winner for Social Inclusion, who entered stud at Woodford Thoroughbreds near Ocala in 2017, transferred to Diamond B Farm in Pennsylvania after two seasons and now stands privately at Briardale Farm under the stewardship of Joe Imbesi.

Bred in Pennsylvania by trainer Robert Reid's sister-in-law Barbara Reid, Uncle Heavy is out of the winning Tiz Wonderful mare Expect Wonderful, who brought just $1,700 from Milam Racing Stables at the 2020 Fasig-Tipton Midlantic December Mixed Sale while expecting the winner.

A $70,000 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Preferred New York-Bred yearling, Expect Wonderful RNA'd for $15,000 at the 2019 edition of the December Mixed Sale in foal to The Factor. The hammer fell at $70,000 for the resulting foal, later named Roan Burgundy, at the 2022 Fasig-Tipton Midlantic 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale.

Expect Wonderful's 2-year-old colt Beyondexpectations is by Peace and Justice, and she was bred to Weigelia for 2024.

Saturday, Aqueduct
WITHERS S.-GIII, $250,000, Aqueduct, 2-3, 3yo, 1 1/8m, 1:53.79, my.
1–UNCLE HEAVY, 118, c, 3, by Social Inclusion
1st Dam: Expect Wonderful, by Tiz Wonderful
2nd Dam: Holiday Peace, by Harlan's Holiday
3rd Dam: Stilled, by Quiet American
1ST GRADED STAKES WIN. O-Michael Milam; B-Barbara Reid (PA); T-Robert E Reid Jr; J-Mychel J Sanchez. $137,500. Lifetime Record: 4-3-0-0, $293,580. Werk Nick Rating: A+. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree or free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–El Grande O, 119, c, 3, Take Charge Indy–Rainbow's Song, by Unbridled's Song. 1ST GRADED BLACK-TYPE. O-Barry K Schwartz; B-Stonewall Farm (NY); T-Linda Rice. $50,000.
3–Lightline, 118, c, 3, City of Light–Upperline, by Maria's Mon.
1ST BLACK-TYPE, 1ST GRADED BLACK-TYPE. ($600,000 Ylg '22 KEESEP). O-Albaugh Family Stables LLC; B-Town & Country Horse Farms LLC (KY); T-Brad H Cox. $30,000.
Margins: NO, 2HF, HF. Odds: 9.30, 4.10, 1.15.
Also Ran: Deposition, Khanate, Speed Runner, Mission Beach, Society Man, Seminole Chief. Click for the Equibase.com chart or the TJCIS.com PPs. VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV.

UNCLE HEAVY wins the Grade 3 Withers Stakes and 2⃣0⃣ qualifying points toward the @KentuckyDerby with @SanchezMychel up for trainer Butch Reid. pic.twitter.com/Prt6pMtey8

— NYRA () (@TheNYRA) February 3, 2024

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Brilliant as he was in breaking his maiden by better than 11 lengths at first asking in Uncle Mo-esque fashion over the summer at Saratoga, he was equally disappointing when beaten a long ways from home in the GI Champagne S. Those who quickly jumped ship were made to feel the sting of that decision when Fierceness returned a whopping $35 when romping by 6 1/4 lengths in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile, good for a 105 Beyer.

Of his seven rivals, only New Jersey-bred Sea Streak (Sea Siren) has earned a figure within 10 points of Fierceness's debut 95, so barring something unforeseen, he should take this first of two programmed preps on the road to the Kentucky Derby.

“By bringing him back in the Holy Bull we get good spacing to the Florida Derby and like the five weeks from the Florida Derby to the Kentucky Derby,” said trainer Todd Pletcher, whose previous Holy Bull winners include Algorithms (2012) and Audible (2018). “Knock on wood, everything's gone according to plan so far and hopefully continues to go that way. He's had some super breezes leading up to this, and we're super excited about getting him started.”

Candidates for the minors include D J Stable's undefeated rail-drawn Hades (Awesome Slew), an eight-length allowance winner in Florida-bred company Dec. 31 and trying two turns for the first time; and Otello (Curlin), also unbeaten in two starts and a latest half-length winner of the one-mile Mucho Macho Man S. Jan. 1.

Nysos Figures A Handful In Lewis

Speaking of undefeated colts, Baoma Corp.'s 'TDN Rising Star' Nysos (Nyquist) will take all the beating as he looks to give trainer Bob Baffert an eighth victory in the last 10 runnings of the GIII Robert B. Lewis S. and a record-extending 12th overall.

The May foal traded at odds north of 6-1 for his six-furlong debut at this track Oct. 21 and he made light work of nine others, graduating by 10 1/2 lengths in 1:08.97. The bay was a comparatively generous 20 cents on the dollar in a four-horse renewal of the GIII Bob Hope S. at Del Mar Nov. 19 and those that swallowed the skinny odds walked away happy, as did those that took the 11-10 about the exacta over Stronghold (Ghostzapper). The latter returned to be second to GIII Southwest S. entrant Wynstock (Solomini) in the GII Los Alamitos Futurity Dec. 16 and adds blinkers here for Phil D'Amato.

Baffert is taking the eyewear off 'TDN Rising Star' Coach Prime (Quality Road), who turned in a remarkable performance to break his maiden first time long at Del Mar Nov. 1 before finishing third in the Futurity last time. Coach Prime cost $1.7 million at Keeneland September in 2022.

Maycocks Bay Heads West For Southwest

As much as Fierceness stands out in the Holy Bull, Saturday's GIII Southwest S.–easily the richest of the day's four Triple Crown preps at $800,000–shapes as a much more wide-open contest.

Eclipse Award-winning owner and breeder Godolphin sent out champion Essential Quality (Tapit) to win the 2021 Southwest S. en route to the Triple Crown, and Sheikh Mohammed's operation has the potential favorite here in the form of Maycocks Bay (Speightstown). A maiden winner at second asking in the Parx slop on Pennsylvania Derby day last September, the chestnut made no impact in his two-turn debut when a distant sixth at the Fair Grounds Nov. 23, but added Lasix last time and took a rained-off route by 10 3/4 lengths Jan. 7.

Plenty will take a contrarian approach to the 3-1 morning-line favorite and many will land on Liberal Arts (Arrogate). The gray, arguably still under the radar and lightly regarded on the morning line at 8-1, has improved from start to start, with a good third in the GIII Iroquois S. Sept. 13 before racing away to a 2 3/4-length success in a sloppy renewal of the GIII Street Sense S. at Churchill Oct. 29.

The Southwest maps at an above-par pace and it would be surprising if that did not eventuate, given the presence of the speedy 'TDN Rising Star' Carbone (Mitole), GII Los Alamitos Futurity winner Wynstock (Solomini), Springboard Mile hero Otto the Conqueror (Street Sense) and the aforementioned Maycocks Bay.

Looking for a longshot alternative? There are worse choices than Common Defense (Karakontie {Jpn}), a debut second to subsequent GIII Lecomte S. third Lat Long (Liam's Map) here Dec. 13 ahead of a visually impressive graduation Jan. 13. His figs are light, but the race flow could really flatter his style.

Schwartz Homebred Rates 'Grande' Chance In Withers

Take Charge Indy rejoined the WinStar stallion barn in 2020 after a successful stint in South Korea, and the foals from that crop performed well in 2023 to the tune of 22 individual winners. Barry K. Schwartz's El Grande O was one of two to succeed at stakes level, rolling home to best his fellow Empire-breds in the Bertram F. Bongard S. and Sleepy Hollow S. during a busy eight-race campaign. The dark bay will look to carry his speed around two turns for the first time in Saturday's GIII Withers S. at Aqueduct, having finished second to the sidelined Drum Roll Please (Hard Spun) in the Jerome S. over the one-turn mile Jan. 6.

Though far less experienced, Lightline (City of Light) is the 8-5 favorite on David Aragona's morning line. A $600,000 KEESEP acquisition by Albaugh Family Racing, the Brad Cox trainee overwhelmed a field of maidens at Horseshoe Indianapolis in September and has since run second to the well-regarded Stretch Ride (Street Sense) at Keeneland in October and to Carbone last time at Oaklawn.

“I'm happy with what we've seen from him to start his career. He ran a good race at Oaklawn last time and maybe got a little far back. It's a short stretch in a mile race,” said Cox. “He kind of didn't get as involved as we thought, but at the end of the day, I thought he got a lot out of it and it sets him up well for the Withers.”

Mission Beach (Curlin) was a debut winner in three starts for Bob Baffert and recently validated odds of 2-5 to take a first-level allowance sprinting at Laurel for Brittany Russell Dec. 22.

Sophomore Stakes Dot Holy Bull Undercard

Three other age-restricted graded stakes and one listed stakes are carded Saturday afternoon in support of the Holy Bull at Gulfstream Park.

The races are distributed evenly on the dirt and the turf and arguably the most appealing of the quartet is the Swale S. With morning-line favorite Bentornato (Valiant Minister) expected to come out in favor of a start in the G3 Saudi Derby in three weeks' time, the money could come for Legalize (Constitution), who ships in from New Orleans for Cherie DeVaux off a victory in the Sugar Bowl S.

The filly counterpart, the GIII Forward Gal S., drew a field of seven, and the most interesting of the entrants is Gary Barber's Witwatersrand (Connect), who broke her maiden at first asking at Woodbine Sept. 1 and promptly topped the Fasig-Tipton October Digital Sale on Gary Barber's bid of $230,000. Second in the Glorious Song S. five days later, she stretched out to win the GIII Mazarine S. Nov. 4. Witwatersrand needs to prove she can handle a dirt track, but her Palm Meadow breezes are positive enough.

Grass runners owned or co-owned by Repole figure prominently in the afternoon's two graded events on that surface. In the GIII Sweetest Chant S., Life's an Audible (Audible) looks to improve on her running-on second in the Jan. 6 Ginger Brew S., with stiff competition in the form of Milliat (Ire) (Kodiac {GB}), a slow-starting neck second in the Wait A While S. on U.S. debut Dec. 9. Oisin Murphy carries the Qatar Racing colors. In the GIII Kitten's Joy S., 'TDN Rising Star' Agate Road, campaigned in partnership with St. Elias Stable, tries to make amends for a pace-compromised second to Tocayo (Always Dreaming) in the Jan. 6 Dania Beach S. First World War (War Front) was a first-out winner at Kentucky Downs and returns to the turf after finishing narrowly runner-up in the Mucho Macho Man.

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Looking to build on a strong 3 1/2-length allowance victory going Oaklawn's short-stretch mile Dec. 17, the homebred gray was quietly ridden and was content to save ground after a clean break, as Arctic Arrogance–runner-up in the local GII Remsen S. and Jerome S. in his two most recent appearances–set a pressured pace from 80-1 Prove Right (Justify) and 'TDN Rising Star' Andiamo a Firenze (Speightstown) over the heavy surface. Working his way into it nicely with an inside move leaving the three-furlong marker, Hit Show had his sights set on the pacemaker as they hit the stretch, grabbed him at the eighth pole and drew off while weaving in and out to the line.

Hit Show was a fast-finishing, 5 1/2-length debut winner going seven furlongs at Keeneland Oct. 9 and bobbled at the start of his first two-turn try at Churchill Nov. 26, running on some to be fourth as the favorite behind the promising Confidence Game (Candy Ride–Eblouissante)–subsequently third in the GIII Lecomte S.–and Rocket Can (Into Mischief), winner of the GIII Holy Bull S. on his sophomore debut Feb. 4.

“We're all proud of the horse, proud of the performance,” said trainer Brad Cox, whose charge picked up 20 Kentucky Derby points. “He had an opportunity to breeze at Belmont on Monday and we're happy with how the horse was doing leading up to the race. He had plenty of time to recover from his last one at Oaklawn in December and it set up well. He ran a big race.”

Pedigree Notes:

Hit Show is the 109th stakes winner and 52nd graded winner for Candy Ride and is the first graded stakes winner (five stakes winners overall) bred on the cross of Candy Ride over Tapit mares. Twirling Candy is the sire of Grade III winner Gear Jockey, who is out of a Tapit dam.

The Wests also bred and raced Hit Show's dam, winner of the GII Black-Eyed Susan S. and this track's GIII Comely S. at three and placed twice at the graded level in 2018. A daughter of Sovereign Award-winning 3-year-old filly Milwaukee Appeal, herself a three-time stakes winner and placed in the GI Alabama S. and GI Juddmonte Spinster S., Hit Show is kin to the winning 4-year-old filly Hot Rumor (Medaglia d'Oro), a juvenile filly by Curlin and a yearling filly by Medaglia d'Oro. Actress is due for a full-sibling to Hit Show this season.

Saturday, Aqueduct
WITHERS S.-GIII, $250,000, Aqueduct, 2-11, 3yo, 1 1/8m, 1:54.71, ft.
1–HIT SHOW, 118, c, 3, by Candy Ride (Arg)
                1st Dam: Actress (MGSW, $545,150), by Tapit
                2nd Dam: Milwaukee Appeal, by Milwaukee Brew
                3rd Dam: Appealing Forum, by Open Forum
1ST BLACK TYPE WIN, 1ST GRADED STAKES WIN. O/B-Gary &
Mary West Stables Inc. (KY); T-Brad H. Cox; J-Manuel Franco.
$137,500. Lifetime Record: 4-3-0-0, $264,375. Werk Nick
Rating: A+++. *Triple Plus*
Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree. Click for the
free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Arctic Arrogance, 118, c, 3, Frosted–Modest Maven,
by Uncle Mo. O/B-Chester & Mary R. Broman (NY); T-Linda
Rice. $50,000.
3–General Banker, 118, c, 3, Central Banker–Elusive Jozi,
by Johannesburg. 1ST GRADED BLACK TYPE. O/B-Seacoast
Thoroughbreds of New England (NY); T-James W. Ferraro.
$30,000.
Margins: 5HF, 6 1/4, 14 3/4. Odds: 1.30, 1.75, 8.80.
Also Ran: Andiamo a Firenze, Prove Right, Jungfrau, Ninetyprcentmaddie.
Click for the Equibase.com chart and the TJCIS.com PPs. VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.

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Hesitant to get into the starting gate for the 1 1/8-miles affair offering 10 GI Kentucky Derby points to the winner, he had his mind on business once they sprung the latches. Hustled to the front by Jose Ortiz from his outside draw from post nine for this two-turn debut in the mud, Early Voting quickly cleared the field and it was pretty much over from there. The Klaravich Stables colorbearer led comfortably through sharp fractions of :23.57 and :48.04, gave them the slip rounding the far turn and was in a race of his own down the stretch to win by 4 1/2 lengths while becoming the fifth graded stakes winner for last year's champion freshman sire.

Longshot Un Ojo (Laoban) rallied from last of 11 to complete the exacta.

Early Voting, a $200,000 KEESEP graduate, previously dueled free to win on debut as the 4-5 favorite with a 76 Beyer Speed Figure going a one-turn mile at Aqueduct Dec. 18.

“He showed some speed in his first race, so we were pretty confident that he would stretch out even further to a mile and an eighth,” said Dan Stupp, assistant to winning trainer Chad Brown.

“He broke well and Jose [Ortiz] did the rest from there. I was confident in the mile and an eighth. He's out of a Tiznow mare, so he's bred to run all day. We were very confident in the distance.”

Stupp continued, “He's a horse that's going to progress with each race. Each race is going to propel him, and we've seen that in the morning with him. He was very impressive in his works. Especially, in his last two works leading up to this. He's an exciting horse and I was really ready to see him run today. I think he'll move forward nicely in his 3-year-old year.”

Pedigree Notes:

Wunderkind Gun Runner, the runaway leading first-crop sire based at Three Chimneys, kickstarted 2022 the same way he ended 2021, with progeny performances in major races that leave one wondering what might be ahead for sire sensation. Approximately an hour after his sophomore filly Radio Days finished a close second in the GIII Forward Gal S. Saturday, his Early Voting did one better in the Withers. Additionally, his McLaren Vale was second in last week's GII San Vicente S., his Pappacap was recently third in the GIII Lecomte S., and his GISWs Echo Zulu and Gunite have yet to make their 2022 debuts. Overall, Gun Runner has eight black-type winners, with a remarkable five of them graded winners.

Early Voting was bred to be a racehorse. His unraced dam–a $1.75-million KEESEP yearling in 2013–is a full-sister to 2017 GII Blue Grass S. winner and MGISP Irap (Tiznow), as well as a half-sister to champion racehorse and leading sire Speightstown (Gone West). They're all out of Canadian champion Silken Cat and trace back to 1950 Broodmare of the Year Hildene (Bubbling Over), Silken Cat's fifth dam. Amour d'Ete has a 2-year-old full-sister to Early Voting, a yearling filly by Constitution, and was bred back to Volatile, all matings done by Three Chimneys. Amour d'Ete's pensioned sire, Tiznow, is the broodmare sire of 52 black-type winners, including 2020 Classic winner Tiz the Law (Constitution).

Saturday, Aqueduct
WITHERS S.-GIII, $250,000, Aqueduct, 2-5, 3yo, 1 1/8m, 1:55.90, my.
1–EARLY VOTING, 118, c, 3, by Gun Runner
                1st Dam: Amour d'Ete, by Tiznow
                2nd Dam: Silken Cat, by Storm Cat
                3rd Dam: Silken Doll, by Chieftain
1ST BLACK TYPE WIN, 1ST GRADED STAKES WIN. ($200,000
Ylg '20 KEESEP). O-Klaravich Stables, Inc.; B-Three Chimneys
Farm, LLC (KY); T-Chad C. Brown; J-Jose L. Ortiz. $137,500.
Lifetime Record: 2-2-0-0, $181,500. Werk Nick Rating: C. Click
for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Un Ojo, 118, g, 3, Laoban–Risk a Chance, by A.P. Indy.
1ST GRADED BLACK TYPE. O-Cypress Creek Equine;
B-Southern Equine Stables, LLC (NY); T-Anthony W. Dutrow.
$50,000.
3–Gilded Age, 118, c, 3, Medaglia d'Oro–Angela Renee, by
Bernardini. 1ST BLACK TYPE, 1ST GRADED BLACK TYPE.
($600,000 Ylg '20 KEESEP). O-Grandview Equine and Don
Alberto Stable; B-Don Alberto Corporation (KY); T-William I.
Mott. $30,000.
Margins: 4HF, HD, 1 3/4. Odds: 1.30, 28.25, 6.80.
Also Ran: Grantham, Noneedtoworry, Smarten Up, Courvoisier, Cooke Creek, Mr Jefferson, Unbridled Bomber, Constitutionlawyer. Click for the Equibase.com chart, the TJCIS.com PPs or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.

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With stallion books, the traditional limits guaranteed undiluted quality. If you wanted to get a mare to Bold Ruler, boy, did she have to deserve the privilege. That's why I always look for those venerable influences, up-and-down, behind modern pedigrees: because you're getting the good stuff, whatever filters through.

Nowadays, however, science and avarice routinely conspire to corral 200-plus mares for many unproven young stallions, and I suspect we'll be reaping a dismal harvest even after we introduce a ceiling of “only” 140.

The advent of the “super trainer” has been viewed with equal concern by many of the old school. How, they ask, can even the most masterly horsemen monitor every nuance as fastidiously as did Charlie Whittingham, when they have 10 times as many animals on their books–and, moreover, have to commute between divisions by plane?

Yet many of the biggest investors seem happy to forfeit that kind of intimate surveillance and it's hard to argue with the results. Granted assistants of adequate caliber, the system is demonstrably equal to pressures of scale; and it schools elite trainers who themselves, in turn, start delegating responsibility to emerging talents.

The template for that process was Todd Pletcher, who learned his trade managing East Coast divisions for the mold-breaking Wayne Lukas. By prodigious focus, organization and dynamism, Pletcher has parlayed his talent into record-breaking yields since 1996. Only last weekend he became the first trainer to bank $400 million; he has seven Eclipse Awards as Outstanding Trainer (only the late Bobby Frankel even has five); and the many stallions he has made include Uncle Mo, Speightstown, More Than Ready, Quality Road, Munnings, English Channel and now Constitution.

This is the year Pletcher becomes eligible to take a place long reserved in the Hall of Fame. As such, you would imagine that he will be eager, through 2021, to reiterate his historic standing in the story of our sport. Because what we must always remember, looking at these industrial stables, is that they remain driven and defined by the human strengths and foibles of one individual. And, having just endured his slowest year since 2002 (obviously the COVID-squeezed program/prizemoney had an awful lot to do with that), Pletcher will definitely be looking to roll back strong this time 'round.

You don't have the success he has made routine without harnessing phenomenal talent to equal ambition. And if his own career has itself been game-changing, Pletcher will know that one neglected paradox of the “super trainer” culture is that competition has been rendered tougher at the elite level, too. With no real limit on numbers, then the best material won't be shared too far even at the very top.

In terms of how long they have been on the scene, Pletcher has to be bracketed closer with Bob Baffert than Chad Brown or Brad Cox. In age, however, he is actually closer to those young guns. At 53, Pletcher remains in his prime–and yet he has seen it all. Few conditioners of his years can ever have compiled a more comprehensive playbook of familiar challenges.

Little wonder if Shadwell, on the retirement of Kiaran McLaughlin, named Pletcher as their man. Remember that even last year–when the dust had barely settled, after all, on his first win in the GI Breeders' Cup Classic–his 22% strike-rate was as metronomic as ever. And while Mutasaabeq (Into Mischief) is sadly off the GI Kentucky Derby trail with a minor shin issue, his 45 Triple Crown nominees match the second- and third-highest entries (Baffert 23, Steve Asmussen 22) combined.

And you need only consider the fields assembling for both the races carrying Derby points Saturday to heighten a sense that here is a trainer ready to regroup and reassert.

Known Agenda (Curlin) contests the GIII Sam F. Davis S. with his reputation freshly gilded by the performance at Gulfstream last week of Greatest Honour (Tapit). Even in opening up by 21 lengths on the third, that colt hadn't been able to get past him in a stretch duel at Aqueduct in November. The St Elias Stable homebred has already demonstrated plenty of stamina, then, albeit his damsire Byron (GB) (Green Desert) was a brisk horse with a brisk page. (Plenty of fuel, you guess, coming through from Darshaan (GB) (Shirley Heights {GB}) behind his second dam.)

We'll cheerfully put a line through Known Agenda's subsequent effort in the GII Remsen S., where so unhappy on the slop that his rider resorted to the whip a couple of times on the backstretch. His maiden success, after all, has meanwhile been boosted by the distant third, barnmate Overtook (Curlin), who now graduates to stakes company in the GIII Withers S.

Actually St Elias Stable, that reliable badge of class, also has a piece of this improver. His closing style will presumably contrast with Pletcher's other runner here, Donegal Bay (Uncle Mo), who shook off his pursuers nicely breaking his maiden. All these horses are bred for the job, too. Known Agenda is out of a Grade I winner; likewise Overtook, a $1 million yearling tracing to Numbered Account; and though Donegal Bay was picked up for $90,000, he belongs to a Juddmonte family of Classic accomplishment.

Let's be under no illusions, then. Even if Goliath nowadays finds himself in an armlock with opponents of equal brawn, it's still an awful lot harder being David. And there's no mistaking who fills that role here.

Capo Kane (Street Sense) was a $26,000 2-year-old purchase–his pinhooker no doubt caught in the COVID backdraft, after giving $75,000 the previous September–and gave trainer Harold Wyner the first stakes success of his life in the Jerome S.

Wyner is the ultimate journeyman. He first came over from Britain with Michael Dickinson, drifted around for a few years as an exercise rider, saddled six winners in two years when trying his luck as a trainer, and then spent four years installing satellite televisions. But he couldn't keep away, and this time last year must have thought that his perseverance was finally going to pay off. He had assisted in the purchase of a Cross Traffic colt, who had failed to make his reserve as a 2-year-old at $27,000. Wyner trained Ny Traffic through his first four starts, but the horse was then transferred to Saffie Joseph, Jr. and became a Grade I regular.

No need to dwell on that now. Capo Kane is another Timonium graduate and Wyner knows him inside out, as the most literally hands-on of trainers: he gallops as many of his charges as he can every day. So he knows there's more to come from Capo Kane, who drifted out even as he went clear in the Jerome. There's turf royalty in his family–second dam by Kingmambo out of Tuzla (Fr) (Panoramic {GB}), who missed the GI Breeders' Cup Mile by a neck–and that shows in the ease and athleticism of his movement; while on the other hand his sire beat his damsire in the 2007 Derby.

Third that day was Curlin, sire of Known Agenda and Overtook. Seems like that class still can't leave each other alone. Street Sense, of course, was saddled by a revered horseman in Carl Nafzger, who started a total of 17 animals that whole year. Context: Asmussen topped the 2020 prizemoney table with 630 starters, followed by Cox with “only” 328. But there's only ever one Derby winner out there–and there's no reason he can't be among Wyner's two dozen charges at Parx.

Meanwhile, we'll be keeping an eye on the two debut winners Baffert runs in the GII San Vicente S., having won the race last year with a horse of similar profile in Nadal (Blame). One of them, the Wests' homebred Concert Tour (Street Sense), shares his sire with Capo Kane; the other, Freedom Fighter, while he has a powerful ownership group, is a $120,000 son of Violence who was there to be found at Keeneland as Hip 1522.

Don't forget we've just seen what this guy can do with a $1,000 short yearling/$35,000 2-year-old by Protonico. With 118 starters in 2020, Baffert ranked 41st in the nation by numbers. No “super trainer,” then–but I guess he's doing okay.

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