Kentucky Derby Prep Race: Gotham Stakes at Aqueduct March 7

Posted on Wednesday, March 4th, 2009

Turtle Bird Stable’s Haynesfield will try to make his fourth straight stakes win in Saturday’s 57th running of the $250,000 Gotham Stakes (G3) at 1 1/16 miles over Aqueduct‘s inner track.

The Gotham Stakes is one of the 2009 Kentucky Derby prep races. A win in the Gotham Stakes could secure Haynesfield’s spot in the Kentucky Derby contenders list.

SBG Global RacebookThe complete Gotham Stakes entries with jockeys and weight in post position order:

  1. Naos under jockey Michael Luzzi carries 116 lbs.
  2. Russell Road under jockey Travis Dunkelberger, 116 lbs.
  3. Masala under jockey Eibar Coa, 116 lbs.
  4. Axel Foley under jockey Richard Migliore, 116 lbs.
  5. Mr. Fantasy under jockey Alan Garcia, 116 lbs.
  6. Haynesfield under jockey C.C. Lopez, 120 lbs.
  7. Imperial Council under jockey Rajiv Maragh, 116 lbs.
  8. I Want Revenge under jockey Joe Talamo, 116 lbs.
  9. Giant Ryan under jockey Jeffrey Sanchez, 116 lbs.

The New York-bred Speightstown colt Haynesfield is clearly comfortable at Aqueduct. In winning the Whirlaway Stakes by 6 1/4 lengths in February, he showed he can handle the distance. Taking the lead, he ran 1 1/16 miles slightly faster than when he came from off the pace in the mile and 70 yard Count Fleet Stakes in January.

While the Gotham represents a big step up in class, Toby Sheets, assistant to race horse trainer Steve Asmussen, says the colt is training well and expects he will be a contender.

“He’s stepping up and it’s different competition, but that’s the name of the game,” he said. “More money means better horses. I think he fits at this point and he hasn’t proven otherwise. I’m very happy about where I’m at with him.”

One major change in this race will be the jockey — Aqueduct’s leading jockey, Ramon Dominguez, has been aboard Haynesfield in all 3 of his previous stakes wins, but is committed to ride Court Vision in this weekend’s Big ‘Cap or the Santa Anita Handicap at Santa Anita Park. Instead, C.C. Lopez, currently tied for second in the standings with 41 victories, has the mount.

“We have a great deal of faith in C.C.’s abilities,” said Carol Seaver, manager of Turtle Bird Stable. “Haynesfield is an honest horse, straightforward, and we think the two will be a good pair.”

What lies beyond the Gotham for Haynesfield, however, is still uncertain.

“We’ll wait to see how he stacks up against this company,” said Seaver.

Online Horse BettingThe Gotham Stakes field is indeed diverse. Of the Gotham entries of 9, 2 horses have run only on synthetic surfaces and 3 others are stretching out for the first time.

One of those going around two turns for the first time is Sequoia Racing’s Imperial Council, but Hall of Fame race horse trainer Shug McGaughey believes the extra distance will suit the Empire Maker colt.

“I look forward to running him two turns,” McGaughey said. “I think what we’ve been doing with him, sprinting, isn’t what he wants to do naturally so I don’t think the distance will be a problem.”

Imperial Council has come from off the pace to win his last 2 starts, including a good-looking 2-length victory in open allowance company at Gulfstream Park. Jockey Rajiv Maragh, currently tied with Lopez in the local standings, has the mount Saturday as Hall of Fame jockey Edgar Prado is also committed to ride in Santa Anita’s Big ‘Cap.

Also looking to go further is Mark Russell’s Russell Road, a West Virginia-bred who brings a 6-race winning streak and the highest lifetime earnings ($232,905) of any horse in the field for the Gotham. While he’s never gone further than 7 furlongs, the Wheaton colt is familiar with 2 turns, making 6 of his 7 starts on the bullring track at Charles Town in West Virginia.

Last out, Russell Road won the 6-furlong Dancing Count Stakes at Laurel Park.

“He’s a pretty nice horse at Charles Town and even though it was a short field [in the Dancing Count], he ran pretty good,” said race horse trainer James W. Casey. “We thought we’d try him against better competition to get a better line on him. He looks like he wants to go farther and we know we’ll be meeting tougher horses here, but he’s beaten the ones we’ve had so far pretty easy and he’s running his best parts late.”

Casey’s son, James M. Casey, will saddle the horse in New York and Maryland-based jockey Travis Dunkelberger is set to ride.

Trying dirt for the first time is David J. Lanzman’s I Want Revenge. The Stephen Got Even colt ran second to Pioneerof the Nile at 1 1/16 miles over Hollywood Park‘s cushion track in the CashCall Futurity (G1) two back, but appeared not to take to the Pro-Ride at Santa Anita in the Robert Lewis Stakes (G2) at the same distance his last time out, finishing third.

SBG Global Racebook“Joe [Talamo, I Want Revenge's regular jockey] thought he didn’t get a hold of the synthetic that well [in the Robert Lewis] and might do better on dirt,” Lanzman said. “That’s been [trainer Jeff Mullin's] opinion all along. We might as well find out now, sooner than later.”

Lanzman said that the timing and dirt surface were the deciding factors in the decision to point I Want Revenge toward the Gotham. If the colt takes a liking to the surface and runs well, Lanzman said I Want Revenge may stay on in New York to train for the Grade 1, $750,000 Wood Memorial on Saturday, April 4. Talamo will come East for the mount in the Gotham.

Another New York-bred in the Gotham Stakes field is West Point Thoroughbreds’ Mr. Fantasy. Two-for-two, the E Dubai colt has earned impressive speed figures both times and easily stretched out from 6 furlongs in his first start to a gate-to-wire victory at 1 1/16 miles in allowance company in February.

“He is a very nice horse, and a very fast horse according to the sheets,” said race horse trainer Kiaran McLaughlin. “But, you don’t really know who he has beaten yet, what the level of competition has been. Having said that, he has done everything we’ve asked of him so far and done it easily. He even won from post 10 last time out. The Gotham will be a big test for him because he is going to face tougher and even more seasoned horses.”

Jockey Alan Garcia, who rode Mr. Fantasy to a 10 1/2-length victory in his first start at Aqueduct in December, will be aboard in the Gotham.

McLaughlin also conditions Axel Foley, a son of Officer who is owned by Jeff Singer. The colt is a recent addition to McLaughlin’s barn and the Gotham will be his third start as a 3-year-old and the first on dirt. He ran last in the Grade 3 El Camino Real Derby at Golden Gate Fields, where he gave way in the stretch and finished fourth.

Race horse trainer Todd Pletcher will also start two in the Gotham, both by Lion Heart. Peachtree Stable’s Masala got off slowly in his last start January 31 in allowance company at Gulfstream, tracked the pace and finished second. Stablemate Naos, owned by Starlight Partners, won his last outing, an open allowance at Philadelphia Park last month. Both horses are going 1 1/16 miles for the first time.

Completing the Gotham field in the Gotham is Shivananda Parbhoo’s Giant Ryan, a New-York-bred son of Freud, trained by Parboo Bisnath. Giant Ryan made his last start in January’s Jimmy Winkfield Stakes, in which he finished fifth.

The Gotham Stakes is the featured ninth of 10 races on Saturday’s card at Aqueduct. Gotham post time is 4:18 pm Eastern.

Horse racing news edited from www.nyra.com.

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"Kentucky Derby Prep Race: Gotham Stakes at Aqueduct March 7" was posted on Wednesday, March 4th, 2009 at 9:48 pm and is filed under Aqueduct, Horse Racing Industry, Horses, Race Tracks News, Stakes Races, Triple Crown, USA Horse Racing. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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