Wicked’ Late Run Takes the Wood

Saturday, Aqueduct 
TWINSPIRES.COM WOOD MEMORIAL S.-GI, $1,000,000, AQU, 4-5, 3yo, 1 1/8m, 1:49 1/5, ft. 
1–s#@WICKED STRONG, 123, c, 3, by Hard Spun 
     1st Dam: Moyne Abbey, by Charismatic 
     2nd Dam: Classic Approval, by With Approval 
     3rd Dam: Classic Value, by Copelan 
($375,000 yrl ’12 KEESEP). O-Centennial Farms; 
B-William Flynn (KY); T-James A Jerkens; J-Rajiv 
Maragh. $590,000. Lifetime Record: 6-2-1-1, 
$704,610. Werk Nick Rating: A. Click for the 
eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree. 
   Benefitting from a solid pace fueled by the presence of hot favorite Social Inclusion (Pioneerof the Nile), Centennial Farms’ Wicked Strong (Hard Spun) uncorked a powerful stretch run to mow down that gasping leader and draw off to score by 3 1/2 lengths in Aqueduct’s GI Twinspires.com Wood Memorial S. Second choice Samraat (Noble Causeway) nipped Social Inclusion on the line for second. Wicked Strong took up a perfect spot off the pace and along the rail as Social Inclusion dueled outside of Schivarelli (Montbrook) through opening splits of :23.79 and :47.47. The chalk shook free and appeared to be moving well midway on the turn, but Rajiv Maragh tipped out Wicked Strong into the clear and they started picking off rivals. The first hint that Wicked Strong might be able to get up came at about the eighth pole, and soon after the bay galloped past Social Inclusion like he was standing still to post the 9-1 upset. “It all unfolded well,” said Maragh. “He fell into a nice groove early, and he finished up really strong. It seemed like he had a lot left, and coming down the lane I was just thinking ‘Let’s go to the wire first.’ It worked out good.” 
   A well-beaten second sprinting in the Belmont slop in September, Wicked Strong graduated when stretched to a mile back at Big Sandy the following month. A close third over track and trip behind the formidable duo of Honor Code (A.P. Indy) and Cairo Prince (Pioneerof the Nile) in the GII Remsen S. Nov. 30, the bay turned in a complete head scratcher on seasonal debut when ninth behind the former in Gulfstream’s Jan. 25 GII Holy Bull S. He showed some life when fourth behind subsequent GI Florida Derby hero Constitution (Tapit) in a pace-less Hallandale Beach optional claimer Feb. 22, and was a “wise guy” pick here to take advantage of the expected pace scenario. 
   “I thought he was training well enough in Florida, but he didn’t show up in the afternoon for some reason,” said winning trainer Jimmy Jerkens. “I felt good seeing all the Palm Meadows horses running well today. When I saw him laying five lengths off the lead, just galloping, I really felt we had a big shot. He was really comfortable laying relatively close behind a pretty fast pace.” He continued, “We were looking at the Florida Derby and the Wood Memorial, and the closer we got to both races, I decided I was going to train him up to the Wood down in Florida. The horses that come from behind in Florida, the kickback really bothered him down there.” The Jerkens-trained Quality Road (Elusive Quality) looked poised for GI Kentucky Derby favoritism after a victory in the 2009 GI Florida Derby, but was forced to miss the Classic due to a quarter crack. The veteran conditioner admitted that he’s excited for an opportunity at redemption: “I’d love to get another crack at it, that’s for sure. [Wicked Strong] looks like a horse where distance shouldn’t bother him.” 
   Wicked Strong is out of a half-sister to MGSW Gulch Approval (Gulch). His third dam is MGSW Classic Value (Copelan), who produced another MGSW in Class Kris (Kris S.), the dam of GI Pacific Classic S. and GI Pimlico Special H. hero Student Council (Kingmambo). 
Click here for more on Wicked Strong and owner Centennial Farms.