Unified Favored in Bay Shore

Centennial Farms' Unified made such an impression in his Feb. 21 winning debut at Gulfstream Park that he's the 2-1 morning-line favorite for the April 9 Bay Shore Stakes (gr. III) at Aqueduct Racetrack. The son of red-hot sire Candy Ride   faces six stakes winners going seven furlongs on the Wood Memorial Stakes (gr. I) undercard.



Out of stakes-placed Union City (by Dixie Union), Unified is a half brother to Canadian stakes-placed Honkytonk Man. A $325,000 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga yearling purchase, he scored a 109 Equibase Speed Figure in his maiden voyage, winning a six-furlong special-weight race by three lengths in 1:08.95 for trainer Jimmy Jerkens.



Four consecutive bullet works at Palm Meadows since the maiden win apparently has the bay colt sharp for his New York debut.



Union City is a full sister to Demoiselle Stakes (gr. II) winner Dixie City and is from the family of the quick Fast Decision. Union City's third dam, Sister Dot, is the dam of champion and top sire Dehere.



Unified will be facing a top lot that includes Cocked and Loaded, winner of last year's Iroquois Stakes (gr. III) and Tremont Stakes. The son of Colonel John   makes his first start since a good fifth-place finish in the Sentient Jet Breeders' Cup Juvenile (gr. I) where he was just 3 3/4 lengths short of champion Nyquist.



Awesome Gent, a homebred for Burning Sands Stable, is unbeaten in three starts in New York and made short work of his rivals in the March 6 Jimmy Winkfield Stakes at six furlongs. The New York-bred son of Awesome Again   is trained by Todd Pletcher and will be ridden by Manny Franco and is the 3-1 second choice on the morning line.



Third in the Winkfield was the stakes-winning King Kranz,who took the Lost in the Fog Stakes on Jan. 1 at the Big A.



Both King Kranz and Cocked and Loaded (co-bred with John Witte) were bred in Kentucky by Bob and Alice Austin. The longtime Woodford Countians have since moved to Florida.



Awesome Speed, Never Gone South, and Richie the Bull have all won at the stakes level heading into the Bay Shore.