Wood Memorial | Horse Racing Free Tips

Sunday Morning Stakes Runner Round-Up

Trainer Brad Cox was plenty pleased with how champion juvenile and 'TDN Rising Star' Essential Quality (Tapit) exited Saturday's hard-fought decision in Keeneland's GII Toyota Blue Grass S. “He looks good this morning and I am happy with the way he came out of the race,” Cox said Sunday. “I liked that he got a test yesterday. It was not like he just galloped up to the leader and went on by.” Essential Quality will join Cox's string at Churchill Downs after training Monday to prepare for the GI Kentucky Derby.
Blue Grass runner-up Highly Motivated (Into Mischief) was also no worse for wear according to trainer Chad Brown's assistant Whit Beckman: “He is good this morning. He put in a valiant effort yesterday going two turns for the first time. He took all the heat and kept battling… I am not sure [how long he will stay at Keeneland], but knowing Chad I would not be surprised to see him go to Churchill for a couple of works.”
Conditioner Mike McCarthy told the Keeneland notes team that Blue Grass third finisher Rombauer (Twirling Candy), who is right on the Derby points bubble currently, might wait for the May 15 GI Preakness S.
Fourth-place Hidden Stash (Constitution), 23rd on points for now, may also be Preakness, or Belmont-bound. “He is good this morning,” trainer Vicki Oliver said. “We will see what the owners want to do–either the Derby or, if he looks tired, wait for the Preakness or [GI] Belmont [S.].”
GII Kentucky Jockey Club S. winner Keepmeinmind (Laoban)'s fifth-place run in the Blue Grass had his trainer Robertino Diodoro scratching his head: “I don't know what to tell you. Obviously we don't have enough points [to make the Derby] and what's next, that's the million-dollar question.” Diodoro also sent out Ava's Grace (Laoban) Saturday to a runner-up finish in Oaklawn's GIII Honeybee S. “We are pretty excited about her,” he said of the lightly raced GI Kentucky Oaks prospect. “I don't know if she will come [to Keeneland] first and then go to Louisville, but either way we have to get her up here ASAP from Oaklawn.”
Trainer Todd Pletcher's productive Saturday at both Keeneland and Aqueduct included victories in the GI Central Bank Ashland S. with 'Rising Star ' Malathaat (Curlin) and with Jouster (Noble Mission {GB}) in the GII Appalachian S. Presented by Japan Racing Association. “They are all good this morning,” said Amelia Green, who is overseeing Pletcher's string at Keeneland.
Ashland runner-up Pass the Champagne (Flatter) will ship back to Florida before returning to Kentucky. “I thought we had it won, but I know Todd has been very high on Malathaat,” said trainer George Weaver. “She is doing fine this morning and will ship back [to Palm Beach Downs Monday] morning.”
Wesley Ward won two sprint stakes on Friday's Keeneland card, and two more on Saturday with GI Madison S. heroine Kimari (Munnings) and GII Shakertown S. scorer Bound for Nowhere (The Factor). “They are both fine this morning,” Ward said, adding that neither will be back for races on Kentucky Derby weekend. “That is too quick.”
Bell's the One (Majesticperfection) dead heated for second behind Kimari and will look to defend her GI Derby City Distaff S. title May 1 at Churchill. “She's got a few nicks, but nothing we can't manage,” trainer Neil Pessin said of Bell's the One. “I still wouldn't trade horses with anyone.”
The aforementioned Pletcher ran one-two in Aqueduct's GII Wood Memorial S. with longshots Bourbonic (Bernardini) and Dynamic One (Union Rags), and both were in fine fettle Sunday according to the Hall of fame finalist's New York-based assistant Byron Hughes: “They both look good. They both ate up last night and are walking around here this morning with a purpose.”
Florida-based trainer Saffie Joseph, Jr. has 12 stalls at Belmont this spring, and the barn got its New York endeavor off to a hot start Saturday at Aqueduct with three wins from as many starts, including with Mischevious Alex (Into Mischief) in the GI Carter H. and Drain the Clock (Maclean's Music) in the GIII Bay Shore S. “Everyone looks great and ate up all their food,” said assistant Sabine Langvad. “I'm super happy with how they came back and they took to traveling really well. Shipping back and forth from Aqueduct didn't seem to bother them at all.”
Klaravich Stables and Chad Brown have a serious GI Kentucky Oaks contender on their hands with unbeaten Search Results (Flatter), who saw out nine panels with aplomb in the GIII Gazelle S. at the Big A. “She looks great this morning,” said Brown's assistant Dan Stupp. “She ran well yesterday and she still has room to move forward. She certainly handled the distance well.” The same connections were represented in the Wood by third finisher Crowded Trade (More Than Ready) and seventh-place Risk Taking (Medaglia d'Oro). “He tried and ran well,” said Stupp of the former. “Everyone is fine this morning. We'll see what Chad wants to do moving forward with them.”
Trainer John Sadler was still savoring Rock Your World (Candy Ride {Arg})'s breakout victory in the GI Runhappy Santa Anita Derby Sunday morning. “We're still enjoying this win,” Sadler said when asked about plans for shipping to Kentucky to ahead of the Derby. “This is Easter Sunday, so Monday we'll look at the calendar, but he would have a traditional California pattern where we'll train here and go to Kentucky the week of the race.”
It'll also be on to Louisville for Santa Anita Derby runner-up Medina Spirit (Protonico). “He ran a game race like he always does,” trainer Bob Baffert said of GIII Robert B. Lewis winner and now three-time graded stakes runner-up. “The winner was very impressive, but our horse showed up, he ran his race, he came out of it well and we've got four weeks to sharpen him up… He'll be right there. He's always going to be tough; he tries hard all the time.”

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Week in Review: Out of Nowhere, Rock Your World Emerges as Serious Derby Threat

When Rock Your World (Candy Ride {Arg}) won the Pasadena S. at Santa Anita Mar. 6, it appeared that he could develop into a quality turf horse, who, like many horses trained by John Sadler, would take a while to fully develop. But Sadler had other ideas. This was going to be his GI Kentucky Derby horse.

“He had always trained well on the dirt,” Sadler said. “Sometimes you run on turf when you don't think they are training well on dirt. He was training well on dirt, but we decided the way to develop him was to start him on the grass and then switch him over. Until they have run on it you can't be 100 % confident, but it wasn't like he had never trained well on the dirt.”

It was easy to overlook Rock Your World in Saturday's GI Runhappy Santa Anita Derby. He had never run on the dirt, had never run particularly fast and was going up against a Bob Baffert-trained heavy favorite in Medina Spirit (Protonico) in a race that Baffert has dominated. He easily could have been a non-factor before returning to the grass.

Based on what we saw Saturday, Rock Your World has run in his last grass race. After setting the pace, he drew off to win by 4 1/4 lengths and earn a 100 Beyer Speed Figure. With Life Is Good (Into Mischief) on the sidelines, he is the only active 3-year-old to run a figure in the triple digits. Another plus is his running style. He led every step of the way in the Santa Anita Derby under Umberto Rispoli, but doesn't have to have the lead. It's easy to envision him sitting fourth early in the Kentucky Derby, getting the ideal trip. Then there's his breeding. A mile-and-a-quarter will not be a problem.

“What I like most about my horse is with the way he is bred, we always felt the further the better,” Sadler said. “You have Empire Maker on the dam's side and Candy Ride on the top side. I really feel with the way he moves that more distance will be good for him.”

This could be the type of breakthrough 3-year-old Sadler has been waiting for since beginning his career in 1978. While he has excelled with older dirt horses, he's never had a horse good enough to make his presence felt in the Triple Crown races. Sadler is 0-for-4 in the Derby and his best finish came with Corby, who was sixth, in 1993. It took him 17 years to get back to the Derby, and his three starters since 2010 have not finished better than 13th.

“I didn't sleep last night,” Sadler said Sunday morning. “I guess that gives you an indication of how I'm feeling about this. I feel this will be the best chance I've ever had to win the Derby and that we will go in with a good horse. I feel very good about where we are at.”

As for the rest of the field in the Santa Anita Derby, it's hard to imagine anyone but Rock Your World winning at Churchill Downs. Runner-up Medina Spirit is a consistent horse, but his three second-place finishes this year indicate that he is a cut below the very best in the division. Third-place finisher Dream Shake (Twirling Candy) obviously has some talent but he has some catching up to do before he can be considered a top colt.

Essential Quality Solid in Blue Grass Win

Unless Concert Tour (Street Sense) runs a crazy good race in Saturday's GI Arkansas Derby, Essential Quality (Tapit) will be the Derby favorite, but he certainly doesn't look invincible. Not, at least, after the GII Toyota Blue Grass S.

Essential Quality is not one of those horses who ever takes your breath away, and that was again the case Saturday at Keeneland. In what was a two-horse race every step of the way, Essential Quality was able to wear down Highly Motivated (Into Mischief) in deep stretch after battling that one most of the way. He won by a neck and earned a 97 Beyer.

Will a similar effort be good enough to win the Kentucky Derby? It may. It may not. Whereas Life Is Good might have been a heavy favorite in the Derby had he stayed healthy, it looks like Essential Quality's odds will be in the 7-2 range.

Highly Motivated will also take some money at Churchill Downs and rightly so. He put up a very good fight in the Blue Grass in his first-ever start around two turns and probably hasn't run anywhere close to his best race yet. The 3-year-old colts are not normally Chad Brown's strength, but he has a good one here in Highly Motivated. Brown is 0-for-5 in the Derby.

“We hooked up at the top of the stretch and we had a good battle all the way to the wire,” said Highly Motivated's rider Javier Castellano. “He ran huge. I am very happy with my horse.”

No one else out of the Blue Grass figures to be a factor in the Derby.

A Shocker in the Wood Memorial

The GII Wood Memorial has struggled in recent years to produce top candidates for the Kentucky Derby and this year looks like it will be more of the same.

No Wood Memorial winner has won the Derby since Fusaichi Pegasus in 2000 and the last Wood starter to win the Derby was Funny Cide in 2003.

Calumet Farm has never been afraid to run big longshots in major races and it paid off Saturday at Aqueduct, where 72-1 Bourbonic (Bernardini) closed for last to win by a neck over Dynamite One (Union Rags). Both are trained by Todd Pletcher and the all-Pletcher exacta paid $906 for $2. The final time was 1:54.49, the slowest ever in the Wood, but the race was run over a very deep racetrack. He got an 89 Beyer figure.

Good job by NBC's Randy Moss, who predicted the final time would be the slowest in the race's history.

Bourbonic, who was ridden by Kendrick Carmouche, clearly took advantage of the fact that several of the top Wood contenders did not run their race. Risk Taking (Medaglia d'Oro) was seventh and the highly regarded Prevalence (Medaglia d'Oro) was sixth in his stakes debut. Crowded Trade (More Than Ready), the second choice at 5-2, ran third but was never a serious threat.

Just one week earlier, it looked like Pletcher might not have a starter in the Derby. He's started at least one horse every year since 2003. He now has four horses who have enough points to get into the Derby field. Along with the two Wood horses, he has GI Curlin Florida Derby winner Known Agenda (Curlin) and Jeff Ruby Steaks S. runner-up Sainthood (Mshawish).

In a year where so much focus has been on diversity, it will be nice to see Carmouche ride in the Derby. He will be the first African American to ride in the race since 2013 and will attempt to become the first black jockey to win it since Jimmy Winkfield in 1902.

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Bernardini Longshot Caps Pletcher Exacta in Wood Memorial

Calumet Farm homebred Bourbonic (Bernardini) was well deserving of his 70-1 odds on paper, but came flying late to nail stablemate Dynamic One (Union Rags) on the line in Aqueduct's GII Wood Memorial S.

Away well from post three, Bourbonic was unhurried early, trailing the field as fellow 70-1 shot and familiar foe Market Maven (Super Ninety Nine) dictated terms, setting early fractions of :24.88 and :50.18 with Weyburn (Pioneer of the Nile) breathing down his neck and Candy Man Rocket (Candy Ride {Arg}) close behind. Weyburn drew even with the pacesetter as three-quarters went in 1:14.98 with Bourbonic still biding his time, well behind the rest of the field. Weyburn took control at the top of the lane with Dynamic One ranging up menacingly to his outside and Crowded Trade (More Than Ready) coming alive in the four path. Meanwhile Bourbonic had just one rival beat with plenty left to do. Dynamic One disposed of Weyburn in mid-stretch, but Crowded Trade still posed an imminent threat as he continued to gain on the leader. However, Bourbonic was just finding his best stride on their outside, gobbling up ground in the final sixteenth to deny his stablemate in a photo finish. Crowded Trade completed the trifecta with Weyburn holding on for fourth.

“Todd [Pletcher] asked me what I was going to do and I told him I wouldn't move,” said winning rider Kendrick Carmouche. “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. I'm thrilled for Calumet Farm. I won my first Grade I with True Timber in the Cigar Mile for them and now I won the Wood for them. These past six months of my career have just been what you dream of.”

“We felt like both horses were coming into the race in good order and we always had high hopes for Dynamic One,” said Pletcher, who was winning his sixth Wood Memorial. “He's a horse that's just starting to put it all together. I was pleased with how they were coming into it, but with Bourbonic, it was Mr. Kelley of Calumet, who said he'd like to try a race with Derby points in it. They're always game to take a chance. We always felt this horse [Bourbonic] would handle added distance. 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.”

As for Dynamic Force, the conditioner said, “The one thing we were concerned about is if he made the lead he might idle a little bit. Jose [Ortiz] 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.”

The one-two finish gives Pletcher four possible GI Kentucky Derby contenders as he was represented by GI Curlin Florida Derby hero Known Agenda (Curlin) and GIII Jeff Ruby Steaks S. runner-up Sainthood (Mshawish) during last weekend's prep races.

“I'll talk to all the connections and see what everybody wants to do but that was the purpose of being in today's race; take a shot and see who would step up and fortunately it worked out,” Pletcher said.

Sixth in his seven-panel unveiling on the Belmont main track in October, Bourbonic didn't run a step when trying two turns on a yielding turf course at Aqueduct Nov. 14. Breaking through by 4 3/4 lengths when dangled for a $50,000 tag going a mile on the Aqueduct main track Dec. 6, he posted a narrow victory in a starter optional claimer over track and trip Jan. 17. The homebred entered this off a runner-up finish to re-opposing Market Maven in a sloppy optional claimer at Parx Feb. 23.

Pedigree Notes:

Bourbonic is the 48th graded winner and 80th black-type scorer for the ultra-consistent Bernardini. He also provides Afleet Alex with his fifth graded victor and ninth black-type winner as a broodmare sire. Calumet Farm purchased GII Delaware Oaks heroine Dancing Afleet for $170,000 with Bourbonic in utero at the 2017 Keeneland November Sale. She failed to get in foal to Mineshaft the following season, but produced a filly by Calumet's Ransom the Moon in February of 2020. The 11-year-old mare was bred to both Oxbow and Ransom the Moon last spring. The winner is also a half to MGSP Avant Garde (Tonalist).

Saturday, Aqueduct
WOOD MEMORIAL S. PRESENTED BY RESORTS WORLD CASINO-GII, $750,000, Aqueduct, 4-3, 3yo, 1 1/8m, 1:54.49, ft.
1–BOURBONIC, 123, c, 3, by Bernardini
        1st Dam: Dancing Afleet (GSW, $286,250), by Afleet Alex
        2nd Dam: Mrs. Vanderbilt, by Citidancer
        3rd Dam: Hey Up There, by Cormorant
1ST BLACK TYPE WIN, 1ST GRADED STAKES WIN.
O/B-Calumet Farm (KY); T-Todd A. Pletcher; J-Kendrick
Carmouche. $400,000. Lifetime Record: 6-3-1-0, $465,880.
*1/2 to Avant Garde (Tonalist), GSP-UAE, MGSP-USA,
$269,745. Werk Nick Rating: A++. Click for the
eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Dynamic One, 123, c, 3, Union Rags–Beat the Drums, by
Smart Strike. ($725,000 Ylg '19 KEESEP). O-Repole Stable,
Phipps Stable & St. Elias Stable; B-Phipps Stable (KY); T-Todd A.
Pletcher. $140,000.
3–Crowded Trade, 123, c, 3, More Than Ready–Maude S, by
Jump Start. ($185,000 Wlg '18 KEENOV). O-Klaravich Stables,
Inc.; B-Forging Oaks LLC (KY); T-Chad C. Brown. $75,000.
Margins: HD, 1 1/4, 1 3/4. Odds: 72.25, 15.60, 2.90.
Also Ran: Weyburn, Brooklyn Strong, Prevalence, Risk Taking, Market Maven, Candy Man Rocket.
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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Jerkens ‘More Apt’ To Aim Gotham Winner Weyburn At Belmont Than Kentucky Derby

Trainer Jimmy Jerkens gave Grade 3 Gotham winner Weyburn a stiff three-eighths blowout on Wednesday morning over the Belmont Park training track in preparation for his nine-furlong debut in Saturday's Grade 2, $750,000 Wood Memorial presented by Resorts World Casino.

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.

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