Todd Pletcher has guns loaded in the Wood Memorial at Aqueduct on Saturday as he will saddle two of the eight entrants.
Carded at a mile and an eighth, the $750,000 Wood has only lured two stakes winners but the winner will still punch his ticket to the Kentucky Derby with a 100 qualifying points on the line.
In a 70-year span until the year 2000, eleven winners of the Wood Memorial went on to win the Kentucky Derby. The winner of the Wood Memorial has not won the Kentucky Derby since 2000, in part because several became injured in the weeks between the two races.
Pletcher’s hopes rest on Bonus Points and Battalion Runner, as those racers will try to be the 12th horse to turn the Wood/Kentucky Derby double.
Bonus Points is the weaker half of the Pletcher pair. His lone win came in the mud against only four opponents and he has lost all four of his starts in stakes company. He was flattered a bit last time when the horse that finished just over three lengths in front of him won the Gotham Stakes in his next race.
Battalion Runner entered the Florida Derby, which was won by another Pletcher budding star Always Dreaming. The fact Battalion Runner’s connections opted for this race is a good sign.
Battalion Runner, a son of Unbridled’s Song, will make his fourth career start and showed legitimate speed last year when he broke his maiden by 8 3/4-lengths at Gulfstream. Pletcher knows his blood stock and he knows that Battalion Runner’s two siblings both were stakes performers. His half-sister Oceanwave was Grade 2 placed and earned nearly $250,000.
Pletcher has also won three of the last five Wood Memorials.
Glennrichment will break from the rail in the Wood Memorial and his hand will be forced a bit. He lost on turf in his debut, lost in the mud in his next start and opened 2017 with a nose defeat. His win last time was accomplished when he controlled the pace and the outcome setting a 1:14 pace.
Mo Town is out to make amends after flopping as the chalk in the Risen Star Stakes at Fair Grounds. Girvin won that race and then flattered Mo Town by taking the Louisiana Derby. Mo Town is trained by Anthony Dutrow and I know a little bit about this family. When I was a mere pup, my boss at the time Fred Montani, had a box at Monmouth Park. It was next to the box owned by Richard Dutrow, Anthony’s dad, and I got to know the family a bit.
Dutrow was not overly impressed with Mo Town’s big win in the Remsen last year and he was vocal about it before the Risen Star. After being beaten over ten lengths, Mo Town needs a rebound run.
True Timber chopped down his opponents once. That was sprinting in his second career start. He has been beaten by a number of today’s foes but is trained by the stellar Kiaran McLaughlin, who won this race in 2015 with Frosted.
Stretch’s Stone showed agility last time when he stumbled at the start but was awarded an allowance win in late February. He has enough tactical speed to be with the first flight.
Cloud Computing overcame trouble in his debut and ran well when second in the Gotham. He was over seven lengths in front of the third finisher that day and is in the right hands. His trainer Chad Brown has won with 26% of his starters this year and he has put several useful works into this son of Maclean’s Music.
Irish War Cry is trained by Graham Motion and the runner tasted defeat for the first time in his last race, the Fountain of Youth. He pushed the issue that day but just had nothing left for the money run and his trainer was less than happy with the ride by jockey Joel Rosario. Motion knows what to do with a good horse as he won the Kentucky Derby with Animal Kingdom in 2011.
When the gates open look for Gleenrichment to try to make the lead. He will be hard-pressed in that venture and will likely not be able to outrun Battalion Runner. That Pletcher charge will also have to fight off Irish War Cry in the early going.
This just might be the perfect scenario for Cloud Computing. That colt could sit an ideal trip, right behind the duelers and then pounce when it counts.
