Brown Sends Out Formidable Wood Memorial Duo

Winter has never been the optimal season for four-time Eclipse Award-winning trainer Chad Brown and his prolific barn.

Yet 2021 has been unusually slow, with patience the operative word after the relatively recent retirements of seven horses who combined for 22 grade 1 wins, $9.7 million in earnings, four Breeders' Cup wins, and three Eclipse Awards that left a gaping hole in his star-studded roster of horses.

"It takes a lot of patience and poise to hold firm and just watch some big race days on the sidelines, but I know in my heart it's the right thing to do for this set of horses," Brown said. 

Through the first three months of this year, Brown has only a trio of grade 3 stakes wins—a figure dwarfed by the mind-boggling 323 graded stakes wins he has racked up since starting his career late in 2007.

But now that spring has sprung, Keeneland is about to open, and Belmont Park will open its doors later this month, Brown's stable seems ready to bloom, especially this weekend. 

Renowned for the work he has accomplished with turfers, Brown's high-profile weekend will feature main contenders in major preps for both the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (G1) and the Longines Kentucky Oaks (G1).

His list of April 3 runners includes Highly Motivated  in the Toyota Blue Grass (G2) at Keeneland and Search Results  and The Grass Is Blue  in the Gazelle Stakes (G3) at Aqueduct Racetrack. 

On what has the potential to be a Super Saturday for him, Brown will also send out the uncoupled Klaravich Stables duo of Risk Taking  (the 5-2 morning-line favorite) and Crowded Trade  (4-1) in the $750,000 Wood Memorial Presented by Resorts World Casino (G2) for 3-year-olds at Aqueduct, either of whom could win New York's definitive Kentucky Derby prep and collect 100 qualifying points to wrap up a spot in the Run for the Roses. It would not be much of a surprise at all.

Yes, Chad Brown's hibernation is officially over.

"We've been regrouping," Brown said. "But we're geared up for a big attack at Keeneland and Aqueduct simultaneously. We took the same approach last year and then everything shutdown (due to the pandemic) when we were ready to start, and it rocked us for 60 days. It was hard to get back on track. But we have a good group for both Keeneland and Aqueduct and then Belmont. We have three Kentucky Derby hopefuls and two for the Oaks who are real contenders, so we're in very good shape."

Risk Taking and Crowded Trade will face seven rivals in the 1 1/8-mile Wood after strong efforts in the two previous Kentucky Derby preps at the Big A.

Risk Taking, a son of Medaglia d'Oro  , was a sharp winner of the Feb. 6 Withers Stakes (G3), rallying with gusto in the stretch to win by 3 3/4 lengths at the same 1 1/8-mile distance as Saturday's race.

"We skipped the (March 6) Gotham (Stakes, G3, at a one-turn mile) on purpose to keep him at two turns and keep him fresh," Brown said. "He's training right."

Jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. will be aboard Risk Taking, and the three-time Eclipse Award winner played a key role in the path that brought the 3-year-old to the Wood. 

Risk Taking started his career in a six-furlong dirt sprint and finished seventh. Brown then tried turf, where the son of the Distorted Humor   mare Run a Risk bred by G. Watts Humphrey Jr. was sixth and Ortiz offered some advice after dismounting.

"I gave the mount back to Irad for the Wood in fairness because when he got off him after the turf race, he said he was going to Florida, but he wanted to stay with this horse," Brown said. "He told me I have to put (Risk Taking) back on the dirt and run him long because even though he was seventh in his debut, he couldn't pull him up after that race. He also told me to try blinkers, so when I heard he wasn't willing to throw in the towel, that helped us."

Heeding Ortiz's words, Brown added blinkers and put Risk Taking in a Dec. 13 maiden race at Aqueduct at a two-turn 1 1/8-mile distance and the response was a 2 1/4-length victory. Next came the Withers and a victory that cemented Risk Taking's reputation as a colt capable of handling lengthy distances.

Bought by bloodstock agent Mike Ryan for $240,000 from the Lane's End consignment at the 2019 Keeneland September Yearling Sale, Risk Taking is 30th on the Kentucky Derby Leaderboard but can lock up a spot in the May 1 opening leg of the Triple Crown with a top-two finish.

Crowded Trade, meanwhile, will make his two-turn debut after finishing second by a nose in the mile Gotham in just his second start and picking up 20 Kentucky Derby qualifying points to place him 20th in the race for 20 starting spots.

"Crowded Trade is playing some catch up because he started later. We don't feel any pressure to run in the Kentucky Derby but trying him in the Wood seems like the right thing. He has 20 points and has run two really good speed figures on the track. He's one of the fastest 3-year-olds and you have to give him a chance," Brown said about the son of More Than Ready  , who was bred by Forging Oaks and was bought for $185,000 by de Meric Stables, agent, from the Eaton Sales consignment at the 2018 Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale. "When we entered him the first time (owner Seth Klarman) called and asked about him and I said he reminded us a lot of Cloud Computing  , because he started late, has a lot of ability, and can stretch out. He's that type of horse. I'm not saying he's as good as Cloud Computing or can win the Preakness (G1) like Cloud Computing did, but with keeping him in New York for the winter there was a lot of similarities between them with the way he looks and trains."

Chiefswood Stables' homebred Weyburn  narrowly defeated Crowded Trade in the Gotham at 46-1 odds, and while he has a spot in the Kentucky Derby through the 50 points he secured in last month's stakes, the Wood should be quite telling for trainer Jimmy Jerkens about the Ontario-bred son of Pioneerof the Nile 's chances in graded stakes company around two turns.

Fresh from last weekend's victory by Mystic Guide  in the Dubai World Cup Sponsored by Emirates Airline (G1), Goldolphin will enjoy another big Saturday with 2-year-old champion Essential Quality  in the Blue Grass and Prevalence  in the Wood.

A homebred son of Medaglia d'Oro, Prevalence will make his stakes debut for trainer Brendan Walsh in his third career start after winning a maiden race (by 8 1/2 lengths) and an allowance optional claimer, both at Gulfstream Park.

"There's not too many more steps you can take after you're 2-for-2 after your maiden and one-other-than race. We were grateful the allowance race went because it reflects Godolphin's general philosophy of patience," said Jimmy Bell, president of Godolphin USA. "A lot of times you find yourself jumping into the pool after that maiden win, which was very visually impressive. To come back and win a second time it tells us what kind of horse you have because the second time they know what's going on. It was very workmanlike and (jockey Tyler Gaffalione) worked him past the wire a bit. We feel the Wood is a big step, but it's a progressive step. As they say everything's fine, until it isn't."

Frank Fletcher Racing Operations' Candy Man Rocket  will be seeking a bounce-back effort after finishing 11th in the Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby (G2) for Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott. Prior to that, the son of Candy Ride   won the Sam F. Davis Stakes (G3) over the same Tampa Bay Downs surface.

Other main threats include Dynamic One , owned by the trio of Repole Stable, Phipps Stable, and St. Elias Stable and trained by Todd Pletcher, and the New York-bred Brooklyn Strong , who will be making his delayed 3-year-old debut after closing out 2020 with a win in the Remsen Stakes (G2) at Aqueduct.

The Wood has been captured by 11 eventual Kentucky Derby winners, plus another nine that won the Derby after losing the Wood. The last horse to win both races was Fusaichi Pegasus  in 2000. Funny Cide  in 2003 was the last Derby winner to exit the Wood, doing so after a runner-up finish.

The race has a post time of 5:58 p.m. ET and can be seen on NBCSN along with the Blue Grass and Runhappy Santa Anita Derby (G1).

Entries: Wood Memorial S. Presented by Resorts World Casino (G2)

Aqueduct Racetrack, Saturday, April 03, 2021, Race 10

• Grade II
• 1 1/8m
• Dirt
• $750,000
• 3 yo
• 5:58 PM (local)

PP	Horse	Jockey	Wgt	Trainer	M/L
1	1Brooklyn Strong (NY)	Manuel Franco	123	Daniel Velazquez	6/1
2	2Crowded Trade (KY)	Eric Cancel	123	Chad C. Brown	4/1
3	3Bourbonic (KY)	Kendrick Carmouche	123	Todd A. Pletcher	30/1
4	4Risk Taking (KY)	Irad Ortiz, Jr.	123	Chad C. Brown	5/2
5	5Dynamic One (KY)	Jose L. Ortiz	123	Todd A. Pletcher	12/1
6	6Prevalence (KY)	Tyler Gaffalione	123	Brendan P. Walsh	3/1
7	7Candy Man Rocket (KY)	Junior Alvarado	123	William I. Mott	12/1
8	8Weyburn (ON)	Trevor McCarthy	123	James A. Jerkens	9/2
9	9Market Maven (PA)	Dexter Haddock	123	Penny Pearce	30/1