Speaker's Corner Chases Grade 1 Laurels in Carter

There was never much doubt that Speaker's Corner  had the necessary blend of speed and talent to make his presence felt in grade 1 company.

The pertinent question involved what kind of grade 1 stakes best suited him.

Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott's first attempt at grade 1 laurels for Speaker's Corner came last year in the 1 1/8-mile Pennsylvania Derby (G1), when Godolphin's son of Street Sense   made his stakes debut in a field that included classic-placed rivals such as Hot Rod Charlie  and Midnight Bourbon  and the inexperienced but highly regarded homebred runner was still sent off as the 7-2 second choice in the betting.

Things did not go well that day in the two-turn stakes at Parx Racing as Speaker's Corner showed brief speed and faded to sixth.

A second try two months later at a two-turn stakes also proved to be disappointing when Speaker's Corner led by 1 1/2 lengths at the eighth pole as a 3-5 favorite in the 1 1/8-mile Discovery Stakes at Aqueduct Racetrack but settled for second.

Since then, Mott has kept Speaker's Corner at one-turn distances and that strategy could result in that coveted initial grade 1 win April 9 when the 4-year-old faces a classy collection of seven rivals as the 124-pound highweight in the seven-furlong $300,000 Carter Handicap Presented by NYRA Bets (G1) at Aqueduct.

"I want to give him an opportunity in grade 1 company and we seem to have a little rhythm going with him now," Mott said about two one-turn mile wins in 2022. "The one-turn mile is fine but we're cutting back to seven-eighths so that's a little bit of a question mark. But it seems he should be effective at that distance. He broke his maiden and won an allowance race at seven furlongs, so we'll see how it goes."

Speaker's Corner has been quite impressive in his two starts at Gulfstream Park this year as he won the Fred Hooper Stakes Presented by Hill 'n' Dale Farms at Xalapa (G3) by 1 1/4 lengths and most recently he notched a 5 1/2-length score in the WinStar Gulfstream Park Mile Stakes (G2). Both times the runner-up was Fearless , who took advantage of Speaker's Corner's absence to record a six-length victory April 2 in the 1 1/8-mile Ghostzapper Stakes (G3).

Out of the unraced Bernardini mare Tyburn Brook, Speaker's Corner raced just twice at 2 due to some ankle and pastern issues, winning a maiden race in his juvenile finale. 

"We just had to give him time," Mott said.

His return to the races after a 10-month layoff was a dominant 5 1/4-length score in an Aug. 14 allowance race at Saratoga Race Course prior to the Pennsylvania Derby.

To achieve those grade 1 laurels, Speaker's Corner—and everyone else in the field for that matter—will need a top effort while breaking from post eight in a field loaded with accomplished runners.

The trio of First Captain , Green Light Go , and Mind Control , in particular, form a particularly tough group of rivals.

First Captain, owned by West Point Thoroughbreds, Siena Farm, celebrity chef Bobby Flay, and Woodford Racing, seemed poised to become a leading member of a deep and talented 2021 3-year-old crop after winning the Dwyer Stakes (G3) in July to improve to a perfect 3-for-3 in his career. But after a disappointing third in the Curlin Stakes, Hall of Fame trainer Shug McGaughey did not like what he saw in the son of Curlin  's training and kept him on the sidelines for the remainder of the year.

He made his comeback Feb. 27 at Gulfstream Park when he closed stoutly in the final furlong, making up three lengths, to prevail by a head in a seven-furlong allowance optional claimer.

"We were not supposed to win that allowance race," said Terry Finley, president and CEO of West Point Thoroughbreds. "But he has a will to win. He keeps running the same race. It looks like he's not going to win, but he takes aim and gets there. He's a really exciting horse and part of it is the pedigree and the connections, but I think it's his killer instinct that puts him over the top."

That pedigree, as a son of the A.P. Indy mare America bred by Flay, was best reflected in the $1.5 million Finley and his partners paid to buy First Captain from the Stone Farm consignment at The Saratoga Sale, Fasig-Tipton's New York Select Yearling Sale.

First Captain, who will tote 120 pounds, drew post 5 in the field of eight for his first stakes try at less than a mile.

"It's an ambitious spot off one race in a long while but he's been training well since then," McGaughey said. "It was also a very good race considering how speed favoring Gulfstream can be."  

Stronach Stables' Green Light Go (post 2, 121 pounds) has enjoyed a rollercoaster career for trainer Jimmy Jerkens. At 2 in 2019, the son of Hard Spun   won the Saratoga Special Stakes (G2) and was second in the Champagne Stakes (G1), but at 3 and 4 he was winless in six starts in stakes company while also racing for trainers Jerry Hollendorfer and Michael Doyle. Reunited with Jerkens this past fall, the 5-year-old finally broke that stakes drought Feb. 26 with a gate-to-wire triumph in the mile Stymie Stakes as a 1-2 favorite.

"He showed easy speed going a mile, but against better horses at a shorter distance, he might be forced to stalk a little bit," Jerkens said.

Mind Control (post 4, 123) is the most accomplished runner in the field with earnings of $1,413,229 and a pair of grade 1 wins on his résumé.

Trained by Todd Pletcher for Red Oak Stable and Madaket Stables, the 6-year-old son of Stay Thirsty   has not raced since he missed the 2021 Big Ass Fans Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile (G1) due to a fever.

In his most recent start, the winner of the 2018 Hopeful Stakes (G1) and the 2019 H. Allen Jerkens Stakes (G1), both at Saturday's seven-furlong distance, captured the Sept. 25 Parx Dirt Mile Stakes.

"He wintered really well and got some time off at Red Oak and came in looking super," Pletcher said. "He's training consistently like he always does. He's a happy horse and trains well and traditionally runs well fresh. We're looking for him to pick up where he left off."

The rest of the field includes the New York-bred Pelican Stakes winner Bank On Shea  (Central Banker  ), grade 1-placed Reinvestment Risk  (Upstart  ), General George Stakes (G3) runner-up War Tocsin  (Violence  ), and Toboggan Stakes (G3) winner Drafted  (Field Commission ).

Entries: Carter H. (G1)

Aqueduct Racetrack, Saturday, April 09, 2022, Race 9

• Grade I
• 7f
• Dirt
• $300,000
• 4 yo's & up
• 5:21 PM (local)

PP	Horse	Jockey	Wgt	Trainer	M/L
1	1Reinvestment Risk (KY)	Manuel Franco	117	Chad C. Brown	4/1
2	2Green Light Go (KY)	Dylan Davis	121	James A. Jerkens	9/2
3	3Bank On Shea (NY)	Trevor McCarthy	118	Carlos A. David	15/1
4	4Mind Control (KY)	Joel Rosario	123	Todd A. Pletcher	7/2
5	5First Captain (KY)	Jose L. Ortiz	120	Claude R. McGaughey III	8/1
6	6War Tocsin (KY)	Dexter Haddock	116	Uriah St. Lewis	20/1
7	7Drafted (FL)	Kendrick Carmouche	118	David P. Duggan	15/1
8	8Speaker's Corner (KY)	Junior Alvarado	124	William I. Mott	8/5