Joe Labozzetta Photo

Pletcher duo, graded stakes-winner Rockefeller headline G3 Gotham

by Ryan Martin

A competitive field of 10 sophomores will assemble for Saturday’s Grade 3, $300,000 Gotham going a one-turn mile at Aqueduct Racetrack.

The Gotham, which offers 50-20-10-5 Kentucky Derby qualifying points to the top-four finishers, closes out the lucrative 10-race card which also includes the $250,000 Busher Invitational, a one-turn mile for sophomore fillies offering 50-20-10-5 Kentucky Oaks qualifying points in Race 9. The Grade 3, $200,000 Tom Fool Handicap for older horses going six furlongs will kick off the stakes action in Race 3.

The Gotham has been won by racing legends Jaipur [1962], Dr. Fager [1967], Secretariat [1973] and Easy Goer – whose Aqueduct track record for one mile in 1:32.40 from the 1989 Gotham remains intact.

Hall of Famer Todd Pletcher will seek a third Gotham coup when sending out Dean’s List and Golden Code for their respective stakes debuts.

By champion-producing sire Speightstown, Dean’s List will see some added ground for Saturday’s engagement, arriving off two six-furlong victories at Gulfstream Park.

Following a decisive 5 1/2-length win on December 11, Dean’s List had to earn his next-out triumph against winners four weeks later, battling gamely to the inside of subsequent graded stakes-placed Dean Delivers to win by a neck. The third-place finisher in that event, In Due Time, garnered a 92 Beyer Speed Figure in winning an optional-claimer next up at Gulfstream and is entered in Saturday's Grade 2 Fountain of Youth.

“It came up a key race and he fought off a tough challenge there and showed some gameness. He outran them the first time but showed some fight in the second one,” said Pletcher, who previously won the Gotham with Cowtown Cat [2007] and Stay Thirsty [2011]. “I like the way he's been training and he’s put in some gallop outs that suggest he is going to be able to handle a stretch out in distance - that's what we're trying to find out here and I feel the one-turn mile is a good way to do it and gradually stretch him out a little bit.”

Bred by co-owner WinStar Farm, who owns Dean’s List in partnership with Siena Farm, Dean’s List is out of the multiple stakes-winning Distorted Humor mare Mildly Offensive.

Manny Franco will pick up the mount aboard Dean’s List from post 5. 

Calumet Farm’s Golden Code will try to solidify a last out runaway maiden triumph going seven furlongs against fellow New York-breds. Bred by Barry R. Ostrager, the son of Honor Code was never in doubt at second asking, gliding home to a 10 3/4-length victory on February 5 at the Big A. This winning effort came after a distant second to fellow Gotham aspirant Bold Journey on December 18 over the same surface.

“Visually, it was an impressive performance,” Pletcher said of Golden Code’s maiden triumph. “He had trained well for his debut and thought he would improve with added distance in his second start, which he did. We're interested to see how he handles the step up in class. Hopefully, he continues to improve. We're pleased with the way he's coming up to it.”

Kendrick Carmouche, who piloted Mischevious Alex to a Gotham score in 2020, will return to the irons from post 3.

“We’ll let them both run their own style, but Dean's List coming out of the six-furlong race I think would be a significant pace factor in the race,” Pletcher said.

Two contenders will bear the colors of Blue Lion Thoroughbreds with Morello [post 9, Jose Lezcano] and Fromanothamutha [post 4, Dylan Davis].

Morello, trained by Hall of Famer Steve Asmussen, has won both of his starts by open lengths, most recently capturing the seven-furlong Jimmy Winkfield on February 6 at the Big A. The son of Classic Empire won his stakes debut by five lengths, building on a 4 1/4-length maiden triumph on November 27 at Aqueduct. He is owned by Blue Lion Thoroughbreds in partnership with Craig Taylor and Victoria Taylor.

“Morello looks like he could potentially be something special,” Dave Lyon of Blue Lion Thoroughbreds said. “I think it’s just a perfect race set up for a horse like him, where you’re going to take your time and see what he can do. Past the wire, it looks like he can get further out there. Seeing him calm in the winner’s circle tells me he has more left in the tank.”

Fromanothamutha boasts a field-best 87 Beyer Speed Figure, garnered from a maiden victory on January 13 at sixth asking. The Unified colt kept salty company through the maiden ranks, finishing behind subsequent stakes winners Mo Donegal, My Prankster and Chattalot. One start prior to his maiden conquest, trainer Ray Handal ran Fromanothamutha in the nine-furlong Grade 2 Remsen in December, where he finished seventh behind Mo Donegal and highly-regarded Zandon.

“Even before when we ran in the Remsen, we thought he was a one-turn type of horse and we took a shot in there for logical reasons,” said Handal, who co-owns Fromanothamutha with Blue Lion Thoroughbreds, Craig Taylor, and Peter M. Rinato. “He ran second to Mo Donegal in his previous race. But who knew the Remsen would produce two of the favorites on the Kentucky Derby trail? We freshened him up after that race and I saw they had the seven-eighths maiden in the book. I thought it would be perfect for him, and he ran huge. The one-turn mile is probably his best distance. Just like his sire Unified, he’s fast and has that speed sustained for a distance.

“He’s been super durable and a high quality runner,” Lyon added. “He may not be able to get far, but he’ll be dangerous in here.”

Grade 3 Nashua winner Rockefeller returns to New York by way of Southern California. Trained by Hall of Famer Bob Baffert, Rockefeller was a wire-to-wire winner of the one-turn mile Nashua in November at Belmont Park two months before finishing second to stablemate Newgrange in the Grade 3 Sham at Santa Anita.

A son of Medaglia d’Oro, who sired 2018 Gotham winner Enticed, Rockefeller is out of the Grade 1-winning Speightstown mare Dance to Bristol and was bought for $750,000 out of the Mill Ridge Sales consignment at the 2020 Keeneland September Yearling Sale. He is owned by Starlight Racing, SF Racing, Madaket Stables, Robert E. Masterson, Stonestreet Stables, Catherine Donovan, Jay Schoenfarber, Waves Edge Capital, Woods Edge Stable and Siena Farm.

Trevor McCarthy, aboard last year’s winner Weyburn, will attempt to be the first jockey since Ramon Dominguez [2011-12] to secure back-to-back Gotham triumphs when piloting Rockefeller from post 10.

Hall of Famer Mark Casse will be represented by D.J. Stable’s Glider, who cuts back to one turn for the first time while seeking his first victory over dirt. The son of Quality Road graduated at second asking over the all-weather surface on January 6 at Gulfstream Park before finishing second to the highly-regarded Emmanuel in a first-level Tampa Bay allowance event on January 30.

Return rider Antonio Gallardo will ship to the Big A to pilot Glider from post 2.

Hall of Famer Bill Mott will send out Wachtel Stable, Gary Barber, Team Penney Racing and Seidman Stables’ New York-bred Bold Journey for his open company debut. The son of Hard Spun, and half-brother to Grade 1-winner Americanrevolution, was victorious at second asking when capturing a six-furlong maiden by 6 3/4 lengths on December 18 at the Big A. Bold Journey enters off a second place finish as the favorite in the Gander on February 12 at Aqueduct.

Bold Journey was bred in the Empire State by Fred W. Hertrich and John D. Fielding and is out of the Super Saver mare Polly Freeze.

Jorge Vargas, Jr. will pick up the mount from post 8.

After two stakes-placings, E.V. Racing Stable’s Life Is Great will try stakes company once more for trainer Robert Klesaris. Following a seven-furlong maiden victory on November 20 at the Big A, the Tapiture dark bay finished third in the Heft on December 26 at Laurel Park before completing the exacta behind Morello in the Jimmy Winkfield.

Life Is Great will be ridden by Eric Cancel from post 6.

Completing the field are two-time winners Runninsonofagun [post 1, Jalon Samuel] and Noneedtoworry [post 7, Silvestre Gonzalez], who adds blinkers. 

The Gotham is slated as the finale on Saturday’s 10-race program on Saturday. First post is 12:50 p.m. Eastern.

America’s Day at the Races will present daily coverage and analysis of the winter meet at Aqueduct Racetrack on the networks of FOX Sports. For the complete broadcast schedule, visit https://www.nyra.com/aqueduct/racing/tv-schedule.

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