Yoshida Prevails in Woodward Stakes

Trainer Bill Mott was on a fact-finding mission.

In a year with no clear standout in the turf male ranks, the Hall of Fame conditioner had a proven grade 1 winner on the grass in Yoshida. While there were ample options in that division for the son of Heart's Cry, the fact there was no handicap standout set to contest the Sept. 1 Woodward Stakes Presented by NYRA Bets (G1)—not to mention ample stud value to be gained—swayed Mott and his slate of owners to go ahead and see how the colt's talent translated onto the main track.

In the middle of a cavalry charge that emerged at the top of the lane in the 1 1/8-mile test, Yoshida put in a run that gave his team the best possible answer, one that has now sparked a happy quandary with regard to his Breeders' Cup plans for this season.

For the second time in as many weeks, a top-level turf performer has absconded with one of Saratoga Race Course's most historic grade 1 dirt prizes. In his first try over the main track, Yoshida looked every bit the natural as he surged up from well back in the 14-horse field and galloped home with authority to best Gunnevera by two lengths in Saturday's $750,000 Woodward.

The prior weekend at the Spa saw Catholic Boy become a grade 1 winner on both surfaces when he returned to the dirt and earned a handy triumph in the Runhappy Travers Stakes (G1) to go along with his Belmont Derby Invitational Stakes (G1T) victory in July. Though Yoshida had not tried dirt before the Woodward, his pedigree suggested he would be a candidate to do likewise as he counts Hall of Famer and dual classic winner Sunday Silence as his grandsire and is out of Hilda's Passion, who earned her grade 1 score in the 2011 Ballerina Stakes at Saratoga.

While Yoshida's workouts on the dirt were solid enough, they were only a minor litmus test for what he faced—a full field that featured the likes of a classic winner in Tapwrit, and included multiple graded stakes winner Gunnevera, who already owned a graded stakes win over the Saratoga main track. After watching the 4-year-old colt work his way out from behind horses and come with a rush under jockey Joel Rosario, Mott now has to think about a start in the Breeders' Cup Classic (G1) at Churchill Downs as a possible year-end target.

"Well, we got our answer," said Mott, who trains Yoshida for owners WinStar Farm, China Horse Club, SF Racing, and Head of Plains Partners. "I had a wait-and-see attitude (about the switch from turf). The horse had worked well on the dirt. As I said before, he's got a lot of pedigree for the dirt. His mother won the Ballerina here, and (his sire) is a son of Sunday Silence. But I don't think you ever really know how they'll run on a surface until you try them.

"Yoshida has been running so well on the turf, and he's a grade 1 winner on the turf, so you can't say we made a mistake by not running him on the dirt. We were going to do it, it was just a matter of the opportune time, and right now there was no turf race that we had in mind in the next 30 days, so we thought, 'Let's do it.'"

Yoshida already has one highlight moment beneath the Twin Spires, having won the Old Forester Turf Classic Stakes (G1T) at Churchill May 5. He followed up that outing with back-to-back fifth-place finishes in the Queen Anne Stakes (G1) at Royal Ascot and the Fourstardave Handicap (G1T) before righting his form over a new track Saturday.

Sent off as the 6-1 choice out of post 1, Yoshida saved ground around the first turn and into the backstretch in ninth as Rally Cry prompted Leofric through an opening quarter mile in :24.00. Those two continued to race side by side down the backstretch with Rally Cry getting the call for the half-mile in :47.69, and with about a half-mile remaining, Rosario tipped Yoshida out and began trying to find an opening past the slew of challengers ahead of them.

As the two leaders came off the final turn, a wall of rivals spread across the track trying to make a bid for the front, with Yoshida moving best of all by midstretch. With Gunnevera to his outside, he came running down the center of the track to collar Leofric still hanging tough on the rail, covering the distance in 1:48.94 over a track rated fast.

"I was just a passenger," said Rosario, who won three graded stakes on the card at Saratoga. "He was taking very nice to the dirt, and he liked it early on. Turning for home, he was there for me, and he kept going."

Antonio Sano, trainer of 3-1 favorite Gunnevera, lodged a claim of foul in the aftermath, but the stewards made no change to the result.

"I really didn't like the post position (No. 9)," said Edgard Zayas, jockey of Gunnevera. "It was too close on the turn, and he came out very, very wide. I had to check a little bit from the start and had to get him going again, which caused him to be a little further back than I wanted. But he made a huge run in the end.

"Yoshida ran a very huge race. Yoshida, he beat us fair and square."

Leofric held for third, with Rally Cry and Patch completing the top five.

Bred in Japan by Northern Farm, Yoshida improved his record to five wins from 11 starts, with earnings of $1,289,770. Regarding his next outing, Mott now has multiple avenues to ponder.

"We'll definitely talk about our options. After seeing this, the Breeders' Cup Classic would have to be on the table, you'd think," the trainer said. "He's a grade 1 winner going a mile and an eighth on the turf. We haven't won going a mile and quarter, but after today, you'd have to start thinking of his options."

Video: Woodward S. Presented by NYRA Bets (G1)