Aqueduct

Godolphin's unbeaten 'TDN Rising Star' Prevalence (Medaglia d'Oro) recorded his final breeze ahead of Saturday's GII Wood Memorial S. presented by Resorts World Casino, covering a half mile in a best-of-30 :47.60 at Palm Meadows Sunday morning. "He worked here this morning at Palm Meadows and it went very well and he's flying up there [to Aqueductus] on Wednesday," said conditioner Brendan Walsh. "It looks like he's going into the race in good shape. It's another step now, so we'll find out if he can go the two turns as...

NYRA has announced its COVID-19 health and safety protocols for jockeys competing at the 2021 Aqueduct Racetrack spring meet, which will run Apr. 1 through Apr. 18. NYRA will continue to permit out of town jockeys to compete at Aqueduct during the 2021 spring meet. Those jockeys must provide a negative COVID-19 PCR test taken in New York State within 48 hours of the day they intend to compete at Aqueduct. Out of town jockeys will be provided isolated jockey quarters at Aqueduct. Members of the regular NYRA jockey colony...

Chiefwood Stables' Weyburn (Pioneerof the Nile) breezed an easy half-mile in :50.93 seconds over Belmont's training track Wednesday in preparation for the Apr. 3 GII Wood Memorial at Aqueduct. A winner going seven panels in the Big A slop last December, the Ontario-bred kicked off 2021 with a nose victory in the Mar. 6 GIII Gotham S., a race in which Weyburn earned 50 qualifying points to the GI Kentucky Derby. "He just ran hard [in the Gotham] and he's not the heaviest horse in the world, so he didn't...

The Week in Review, by Bill Finley The year changes and so do the names of the horses. But the story remains the same. It's no longer about beating a particular horse in the GI Kentucky Derby, it's about trying to beat the stable that has an unprecedented hammerlock on the race. Can anyone beat Bob Baffert? After this weekend's results, it's looking more and more like that is going to be hard to do. Baffert already had the early favorite for the Derby in the ultra-talented Life Is Good...

Excellent Timing rewarded his new connections with a dominant front-running score in the Damon Runyon S. for New York-breds Sunday. Second on debut at Belmont as the chalk Oct. 18, the dark bay ran up the score to 7 1/4 lengths and earned an 81 Beyer Speed Figure going a sixteenth shorter here Dec. 10 for Happy Face Racing Stable and Charlton Baker. He subsequently changed hands privately, and was heavily favored to handle the next test. Right to the front, Excellent Timing doled out soft splits of :24.49 and...

Mark Schwartz's Brooklyn Strong (Wicked Strong), off since winning the GII Remsen S. last December, tuned up for a start in the Apr. 3 GII Wood Memorial with a five-furlong work in 1:01.13 (3/13) at Parx Saturday. "He went by himself from the pole. Hopefully, we can hit one work a week up to the Wood," said trainer Daniel Velazquez, who wasn't on hand for the drill after being hospitalized with a lacerated liver and torn bicep suffered during a training accident earlier Saturday morning. Velazquez had hoped to start...

Godolphin's Prevalence (Medaglia d'Oro), who followed a 'TDN Rising Star'-worthy debut going seven furlongs at Gulfstream Jan. 23 with a one-mile allowance tally in Hallandale last Thursday, could make his next start in a GI Kentucky Derby prep, with the Apr. 3 GII Wood Memorial at Aqueduct, GII Toyota Blue Grass S. at Keeneland the same day, and the Apr. 10 GI Arkansas Derby at Oaklawn Park all in play. "His maiden win told us something, his allowance win told us even more and his next race will decide where...

Chiefswood Stables homebred Weyburn (Pioneerof the Nile), last seen breaking his maiden going seven panels in the local slop Dec. 5, slipped past the bettors and into the winner's circle to post a 46-1 upset in Aqueduct's GIII Gotham S. He fended off Chad Brown trainee Crowded Trade (More Than Ready) to take the head bob, with that one's stablemate Highly Motivated (Into Mischief) a non-threatening third as the 4-5 chalk. Away well from his outside draw, Weyburn locked on to California invader Freedom Fighter (Violence) through splits of :24.29...

Search Results (Flatter) gave her sire a second 3-year-old stakes winner Saturday, outgaming pacesetting Miss Brazil (Palace Malice) in the final furlong to take Saturday's $250,000 Busher S. at Aqueduct and earning 50 points on the Road to the Kentucky Oaks in the process. Sent off an easy-in-the market 2-1 second favorite after touching 3-2 early on, Search Results was put into the race by Javier Castellano and took up pace-pressing duties from second as Miss Brazil led them along through controlled splits of :24.53 and :49.64. The duo raced...

After capturing Aqueduct's GIII Withers S. with Risk Taking (Medaglia d'Oro), Klaravich Stables and trainer Chad Brown will continue on the road to Louisville through New York with the talented Highly Motivated (Into Mischief) in Saturday's GIII Gotham S. The one-turn mile contest awards the top-four finishers GI Kentucky Derby qualifying points via a 50-20-10-5 scale. Highly Motivated defeated subsequent GII Remsen S. third-place finisher Known Agenda (Curlin)--a recent 11-length optional claiming winner at Gulfstream--in his Belmont maiden breaker at second asking Sept. 27, then most recently posted an ultra-impressive...

The New York Racing Association updated COVID-19 health and safety protocols for jockeys competing at the Aqueduct Racetrack winter meet which runs through Sunday, Mar. 28. As of Mar. 1, out of town riders not established in the NYRA colony may ride at Aqueduct upon completion of two negative COVID-19 PCR tests within five days of race day. Incoming riders will be provided isolated jockey quarters. All COVID-19 testing must be performed in New York state. Prior to Mar. 1, Aqueduct Racetrack was closed to riders that were not considered...

Sponsored by Alex Nichols Agency 5th-Aqueduct, $80K, Msw, 3yo, 6f, post time: 3:25 p.m. ET ROYAL REALM (Empire Maker) gets his career underway for Centennial Farms and trainer Jimmy Jerkens. A $250,000 Keeneland September acquisiton, the Triple Crown-nominated dark bay is out of an unraced daughter of Golden Sheba (Coronado's Quest), the dam of Godolphin's two-time GISW Wedding Toast (Street Sense), whose son Ya Hayati (Dubawi {Ire}) won the Listed Zabeel Turf at Meydan last month. The colt's third dam includes the recently deceased MGISW Congaree (Arazi) and SW/GISP Sangaree...