Wood Could Shake Up Point Race for Kentucky Derby Spots

The complexion of the field of 20 for the Kentucky Derby (G1) will be virtually complete April 8 after the running of three 200-point qualifying preps across the country.

Yet of the Big 3 trio of the Wood Memorial Stakes (G2) at Aqueduct Racetrack, Blue Grass Stakes (G1) at Keeneland, and Santa Anita Derby (G1) at Santa Anita Park, it's the Wood that could have the most dramatic impact on the Run for the Roses.

While the Blue Grass and Santa Anita Derby have favorites who have already secured a spot in the starting gate for the May 6 classic at Churchill Downs, none of the 13 3-year-olds in the Wood are currently in the top 20. So, with five of them having 13 or more points, there's a possibility with 100-40-30-20-10 points going to the top five finishers that three horses from New York's definitive Derby prep could vault into the starting gate for the coveted first jewel in the Triple Crown.

"There's a lot on the line with Derby points here," trainer Brad Cox said. "The Wood has the potential to really shake things up."

Cox figures to have a big say in what happens to the Kentucky Derby leaderboard as he will send out two of the top contenders in the 1 1/8-mile Wood.

Both Gary and Mary West's homebred Hit Show  and Al Gold's Slip Mahoney  competed in earlier legs of the New York Racing Association's four 2023 Kentucky Derby preps and each has 20 qualifying points, putting them 27th (Hit Show) and 30th (Slip Mahoney) on the leaderboard. Yet both of them will likely catapult into the Derby field with a top-three finish Saturday.

Hit Show, a son of Candy Ride  , enters off a sharp 5 1/2-length victory in the Feb. 11 Withers Stakes (G3) at the Big A, the same 1 1/8-mile stakes captured last year by Preakness Stakes (G1) winner Early Voting  . After Hit Show's third win in four career starts, Cox shipped him to Louisiana and then Keeneland to prepare for the Wood. Since then, the two-time Eclipse Award winner has been pleased with the homebred's training.

"We brought him back south to train since we wanted to weigh all of our options," Cox said. "He's had plenty of time to recover from the Withers and likes the mile and an eighth. He's doing real well and has been giving us steady works. He is going the right way now."

The post draw, however, did not work out right for Hit Show and jockey Manny Franco as they will break from far outside post 13.

Gold Square's Slip Mahoney made his stakes debut last month and rallied from 13th to finish second by a distant 7 1/2 lengths to Raise Cain  in the one-turn mile Gotham Stakes (G3) at Aqueduct. Ground loss played a key role in the beaten lengths as the son of Arrogate  raced eight and nine paths wide on the final turn, which seemingly put him closer to the outer rail and the Aqueduct casino than the inner rail.

"I'm excited to get Slip Mahoney around two turns for the first time," Cox said. " I think that's what he's meant to do. He's got to get out of the gate better but at least he'll have more ground here."

Bred by Hill 'n' Dale Equine Holdings and Philip Steinberg, Slip Mahoney was bought for $150,000 from the Hill 'n' Dale consignment at the Keeneland September Yearling Sale by Gold's agent and racing manager Joe Hardoon.

The Derby is also a realistic dream from a points perspective for Seacoast Thoroughbreds of New England's General Banker  and Chester and Mary Broman's Arctic Arrogance  who have 24 and 16 points, respectively.

General Banker, a New York-bred son of Central Banker   trained by Jimmy Ferraro, was third in the Jerome Stakes, Withers, and Gotham and another third-place finish would give the 66-year-old Ferraro and 81-year-old owner John Forma their first Kentucky Derby starter.

"He's doing good right now. He's gotten bigger and stronger which is what you look for at this time of year. He's put more muscle on and is relaxing more. He used to be nervous in the paddock," Ferraro said. "I get a kick out of watching the owner. He's 81 and has had horses for years but he's never had one at this level."

Arctic Arrogance, a homebred son of Frosted  , was second in both the Jerome and Withers, but the Linda Rice-trained New York-bred missed the Gotham due to a brief illness. He could make up for lost time and claim a Derby spot by finishing in the money.

Peachtree Stable's Shadow Dragon  could also crack the top 20 with something other than a win. The New York-bred son of Army Mule   was second in the Holy Bull Stakes (G3) at 34-1 odds but then fifth in the Fountain of Youth Stakes (G2). Trained by Bill Mott, he has 13 points and will likely need a first or second to feel good about being on hand on the first Saturday in May.

The field also includes a  pair of maidens owned by Repole Stable and St. Elias Stable trained by Todd Pletcher in Dreamlike , a son of Gun Runner   who was second in a March 11 maiden race at Gulfstream Park, and Crupi.

Crupi , a son of Curlin   named for the late bloodstock agent J.J. Crupi, has been breaking tardily, including when he was seventh last time out in the Risen Star Stakes (G2). Yet he did finish second by a head to Slip Mahoney in a Jan. 21 maiden race at Aqueduct.

The Wood will be the 11th and final race on a card with four graded stakes.

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

Aqueduct Racetrack, Saturday, April 08, 2023, Race 11

• Grade II
• 1 1/8m
• Dirt
• $750,000
• 3 yo
• 6:16 PM (local)

PP	Horse	Jockey	Wgt	Trainer	M/L
1	Dreamlike (KY)	Jose L. Ortiz	123	Todd A. Pletcher	-
2	Shadow Dragon (NY)	Eric Cancel	123	William I. Mott	-
3	Knox (FL)	Jose Antonio Gomez	123	Saffie A. Joseph, Jr.	-
4	General Banker (NY)	Frankie Pennington	123	James W. Ferraro	-
5	Slip Mahoney (KY)	Dylan Davis	123	Brad H. Cox	-
6	Clear the Air (KY)	Heman K. Harkie	123	William Walden	-
7	Arctic Arrogance (NY)	Jose Lezcano	123	Linda Rice	-
8	Lord Miles (KY)	Paco Lopez	123	Saffie A. Joseph, Jr.	-
9	Crupi (KY)	Kendrick Carmouche	123	Todd A. Pletcher	-
10	Uncle Jake (KY)	Jevian Toledo	123	Brittany T. Russell	-
11	Classic Catch (KY)	Trevor McCarthy	123	Todd A. Pletcher	-
12	Mr. Swagger (KY)	Carlos Olivero	123	Juan Carlos Avila	-
13	Hit Show (KY)	Manuel Franco	123	Brad H. Cox	-