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 Eventual winner Like Now in the paddock before the race. Jockey Fernando Jara and the groom look like they know something we don't. |
Date: 03/18/2006
The major local prep for the Wood Memorial is the $200,000 Gotham Stakes (G3) at Aqueduct with the winner getting a free nomination to the Wood. Ten Triple Crown hopefuls went to post in this 1 1/16 mile event over the inner dirt track, with Whirlaway Stakes winner Achilles of Troy sent off as the 3-2 favorite over Hutcheson Stakes winner Keyed Entry at 8-5. Undefeated Sweetnorthernsaint shipped in from his Maryland base off his win in the Miracle Wood Stakes and was the 4-1 third choice.
 Like Now wins by a neck over Keyed Entry with Sweetnorthernsaint another 1/2 length back in third. |
The race prior to the Gotham was the Cicada (G3) for the 3-year-old fillies. Results and photos for that race are below.
A side on view of the finish where you can see the distance between the horses a bit easier.
Like Now leads as they pass by the first time. Winning jockey Fernando Jara said, "I was not surprised I was all alone on the front. I knew the kind of horse I had and he's a very good horse. I knew that (Keyed Entry) was the horse to beat coming into the race. I was just so
comfortable with my horse and he responded gamely. I knew I had a lot of horse
left. He is getting better and better with each race and I hope he goes to the
Kentucky Derby and he wins." This was the first Gotham win for both Jara and
McLaughlin.
Like Now in the winner's circle with trainer Kiaran McLaughlin on the left. McLaughlin said, "We thought he would be successful
stretching out, but you never know until you try. This was a tough spot to
try. The last time he ran, the outrider had to pull him up, so we thought he
would get the distance. I thought we would out-break (Keyed Entry) and beat
him to the first turn, and that was important. If he wanted to go past us, it
looked like Edgar (Prado) had the horse to past us, but he decided to sit off
of us. He's a smallish home-bred and the people let us put him where we
thought he could win. He's a sound horse and he's never missed a day of
trainer and Jules is not a sprint sire." McLaughlin said that Like Now would
start next in the Wood Memorial.
Second place finisher Keyed Entry in the post parade. Seth Benzel, assistant to trainer Todd Pletcher, said, "This sets him up nicely for the Wood, if that's what Todd wants
to do. We came in today with a question of whether or not he could rate or how
he could take two turns, and he answered a lot of those questions. It's always
nicer to come back with a win, but leading up to a race like the Kentucky
Derby, a win isn't always the most important thing." Jockey Edgar Prado added,
"He rated beautifully and he took good position and then when I called on him,
he responded, but the horse in front of me had something left. The most
important thing is that he raced very kind and finished strong. He has a lot
of potential and he should improve."
Third place finisher Sweetnorthernsaint in the post parade.
Beaten favorite and fifth place finisher Achilles of Troy in the post parade. His jockey Ramon Dominguez said, "He completely missed the break and after that, the
trip wasn't much smoother. He checked entering the backside, but I don't know
whether that was a combination of having a bad trip and also the way horse
came back. I was concerned from the get-go because after breaking bad, he was
picking it up on the backside and when I raced to the 3/8 pole, I realized it
was going to take more than he was giving me." Dr. Anthony Verderosa, Chief
Examining Veterinarian of the New York Racing Association, said, "He seemed a
little sore in his right-front. We'll check on him tomorrow morning and talk
to their vets. At this point, there was nothing we could see or feel."
On the undercard was the Cicada Stakes (G3) for 3-year-old fillies. A
field of seven sprinted 6 furlongs on the inner dirt for a $100,000 purse.
2-1 favorite Celestial Legend was 1 1/2 lengths clear of the field through
fractions of 22.74 and 45.88, but at the top of the stretch, 5-2 second choice
Wild Gams, who had stalked the pace in 3rd down the backstretch, split horses
and powered away to a 3 1/2 length win over the favorite in a time of 1:09.66.
It was 2 1/2 lengths back to Oprah Winney in third.
Results Chart from DRF.
Wild Gams in the winner's circle. Winning jockey Eibar Coa said, "She actually did better today than her
previous two victories. Today, she ran against better horses and she proved
she has been improving. Today, I was very happy with the way she ran. The last
two times, she was in better position than she was today because today she was
stuck inside and I had to wait. But when I pointed her, she just responded and
that was good." Trainer Ben Perkins Jr. said, "We were sitting in a good spot. I said
to Eibar (Coa), `Whatever you do, don't come off the fence.' I thought he had
a good hold on her. When she started moving up, I knew she had a good kick. It
looked like maybe we could stretch her out another notch or two. There are
some nice races here, so I'm not sure we'll have to ship around."
Second place finisher and beaten favorite Celestial Legend in the post parade. Her trainer Dale Capuano said, "She ran great; we just got out-run. She ran
as good as she can run. She's pretty quick, so when she broke well, I
Erick Rodriguez added, "She tried very
hard. We tried to win the race, but she was just second-best. She ran
some fast early fractions, but the filly that beat her is really good.
She really tried, but she just couldn't be the winner today."
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