Brooklyn Strong to Pass Withers Stakes Due to Illness

Brooklyn Strong, winner of the Dec. 5 Remsen Stakes (G2) at Aqueduct Racetrack, will miss the Feb. 6 Withers Stakes (G3) at the New York track after getting sick, trainer Danny Velazquez said Jan. 14. The 3-year-old gelded son of Wicked Strong , who has not recorded a published breeze since the Remsen, is still getting back to full strength, the trainer added.

Brooklyn Strong's setback was first reported by Daily Racing Form.

"It's nothing crazy. It's all workable," Velazquez said. "It just kind of (stinks) that we're going to miss it, but the health of the horse is more important, and there are obviously more races."

The Withers would have given Brooklyn Strong another two-turn Road to the Kentucky Derby prep at 1 1/8 miles, the distance over which he won the Remsen. Prior to that victory, he won the Sleepy Hollow Stakes against New York-breds going a one-turn mile, one of three wins from four starts last year for owner Mark Schwartz.

Velazquez did not speculate regarding what could be next, saying timing for gelding's return will be based on his health and training.

Next in the 3-year-old stakes series at Aqueduct after the Withers is the March 6 Gotham Stakes (G3) at a one-turn mile. Most of the major Derby qualifiers around two turns in March are in the southern or western parts of the country.