Drew's Gold Preserves Perfect Record in Winkfield

Keeping an unbeaten record intact, Drew's Gold  utilized a frontrunning trip to earn his first stakes score Feb. 11 in the $97,000 Jimmy Winkfield for 3-year-olds sprinting six furlongs at Aqueduct Racetrack.

Owned by trainer James Chapman in partnership with Stuart Tsujimoto, the dark bay or brown son of Violence   has won three career starts, arriving off a sharp 3 3/4-length conquest against allowance optional claimers Jan. 28 at Laurel Park.

Drew's Gold broke his maiden in May at five furlongs at Churchill Downs, defeating next-out winners Undalay  and Top of My Game . Away slowly in both previous outings, this time he broke alertly and built on his advantage through the stretch to win by 4 1/4 lengths under Jose Gomez.

Awar first from post 4, Drew's Gold surged to the lead in tandem with Kool Kathmandu , who overcame a stumble at the start, and Drew'sGold marked the opening quarter mile in :23.47 over the fast main track. Gomez nudged his charge around the far turn as Kool Kathmandu dropped out of contention with 5-2 second choice Clubhouse  looming from third to the outside as the half-mile elapsed in :47.81.

At the top of the stretch, Drew's Gold began to draw away as Clubhouse tried to launch a rally from the outside with Joey Freshwater  looming in between horses. But neither horse was able to catch the winner, who completed the journey in a final time of 1:13.09 over a track that produced slower-than-customary times. Joey Freshwater ultimately eked out the runner-up position, while Clubhouse completed the exacta by three-quarters of a length.

Gomez said he rode Drew's Gold with confidence.

"He's won two back-to-back, both breaking not the best. I just wanted to make sure he was standing right and let him do whatever he wanted to do," Gomez said. "He came out strong today and I just tried to nurse him along.

"I knew I was banging heads, but I didn't want to take too much out of him," he added. "I just let him do his own thing."

Chapman credited Gomez for an effective ride.

"I loved seeing (the good break) because... he was getting himself left, and then he was taking off up the backside. Whenever you've got to grab a horse like that, it takes a lot out of them," Chapman said. "He was able to ride him with one rhythm today, which I think helped him. He likes to sit with horses and watch horses, so when he broke good, I figured we had a really good chance."

In addition to being undefeated, Drew's Gold's three victories have each come at different racetracks.

"He's a really professional horse;it's just little things," Chapman said. "We had a setback after the first race, and those little things that babies usually get through, it takes him a little bit longer. He could be spooking at a sign on the way to the paddock. It's nothing major, and he's an easy horse to get along with."

Chapman said Drew's Gold will likely target the $200,000 Bay Shore Stakes (G3) at seven furlongs April 8 at Aqueduct.

Returning $5.50 for a $2 win wager as the 8-5 post-time favorite, Drew's Gold banked $55,000 in victory, which brought his earnings past the six-figure mark to $140,120.

Bred in Kentucky by Woodford Thoroughbreds, he is out of the dual surface multiple stakes-winning Vindication  mare Frolic's Revenge  and is a half sibling to American Frolic , a stakes winner on grass. 

Video: Jimmy Winkfield S. (BT)