Francesca Le Donne Photo

Pletcher duo Wit and Dean’s List loom large in G3 Bay Shore

by Keith McCalmont

Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher will saddle a pair of formidable contenders in Wit and Dean’s List in Saturday’s Grade 3, $200,000 Bay Shore, a seven-furlong sprint for sophomores, at Aqueduct Racetrack.

The Bay Shore is one of six stakes on Saturday’s card which is headlined by the Grade 2, $750,000 Wood Memorial presented by Resorts World Casino. Bolstering the Wood Memorial Day card is the Grade 1, $300,000 Carter Handicap presented by NYRA Bets; the Grade 3, $250,000 Gazelle; the Grade 3, $150,000 Distaff Handicap; and the $100,000 Danger’s Hour.

Repole Stable, St. Elias Stable and Gainesway Stable’s Wit will make his seasonal debut from a six-month layoff. The Practical Joke colt, a $575,000 Keeneland September Yearling Sale purchase, graduated on debut in June at Belmont Park ahead of an eight-length romp in the six-furlong Grade 3 Sanford on July 17 at Saratoga Race Course.

The dark bay stumbled at the start of the seven-furlong Grade 1 Hopeful in September at the Spa, settling for second behind Gunite. He completed his campaign in October at Belmont with a distant third in the Grade 1 Champagne, a one-turn mile won by Jack Christopher.

Wit has breezed extensively at Palm Beach Downs, including a half-mile effort from the gate Sunday in 50.28.

“He's doing really well. We got a good work into him Sunday. Hopefully, he'll break as well as he did in his work on Sunday,” Pletcher said. “He was putting himself in a compromised position in his last couple of starts. Hopefully, he gets away cleanly with the field and not give himself too much to do. It's good to have him back.”

Pletcher said a good effort Saturday could propel Wit to the Grade 1, $400,000 Woody Stephens, a seven-furlong sprint on the June 11 Belmont Stakes card.

“We feel he's best suited to one-turn and races between six furlongs and a mile,” Pletcher said. “We'll see how this goes and if he does really well, we might lock in on the Woody Stephens.”

Out of the Medaglia d’Oro mare Numero d’Oro, Wit is a half-sibling to graded-stakes winner Barkley.

WinStar Farm and Siena Farm’s Dean’s List, a Speightstown chestnut, made his first two career starts sprinting six furlongs at Gulfstream Park, graduating on debut in December ahead of a narrow optional-claiming score on January 8.

Dean’s List enters from a runner-up effort to Morello in the one-mile Grade 3 Gotham on March 5 at the Big A in which he was bumped at the break before setting the pace.

Pletcher said the turn back in distance should suit Dean’s List.

"He's run well every time. He has natural speed and I think seven furlongs is a good distance for him,” said Pletcher, who won the Bay Shore with Forest Danger [2004] and National Flag [2018]. “I think cutting back from a mile that hopefully he'll be ready to run his best.”

A WinStar homebred out of the multiple stakes winning Sharp Humor mare Mildly Offensive, Dean’s List has breezed back three times over the Belmont dirt training track, including a half-mile Saturday in 50.32.

Jose Ortiz has the call aboard Wit, assigned a field-high 123 pounds, from post 9, while Joel Rosario will pilot Dean’s List from post 5.

Klaravich Stables' Highly Respected, by Dialed In, enters from an impressive 1 1/4-length score in a six-furlong maiden special weight contested over a good Big A main track on February 26.

Highly Respected is trained by Chad Brown, who is tied with Stanley Shapoff and Hall of Famer D. Wayne Lukas for most Bay Shore wins, having previously scored with Coup de Grace [2014], March [2015] and Long Haul Bay [2017].

The dark bay tracked the speed of Actualize on debut through splits of 22.27 and 45.19 before taking command with a three-wide move at the eighth-pole and powering home in a final time of 1:09.69.

Brown said the effort merited a step up in class.

"It's a big jump going in a graded stake like that. He's running against his own age group, so we're taking a shot in here," Brown said.

A $65,000 purchase at the Keeneland September Yearling Sale, Highly Respected breezed a half-mile in 49.11 Saturday over the Belmont dirt training track.

Out of the Dixie Union mare Revered, Highly Respected is a half-sibling to By Your Side, who won the 2019 Grade 3 Sanford at Saratoga.

Manny Franco retains the mount from post 6.

E.V. Racing Stable’s Life Is Great graduated at fifth asking sprinting seven-furlongs in November at the Big A for trainer Robert Klesaris.

The Florida-bred son of Tapiture followed with a troubled third in the seven-furlong Heft in December at Laurel Park ahead of a prominent second to Morello in the seven-furlong Jimmy Winkfield on February 6 at Aqueduct.

Life Is Great enters from a difficult trip in the Gotham in which he was bumped at the break and steadied behind rivals approaching the three-quarter pole before launching a five-wide bid to finish fourth, a head behind third-place Golden Code.

Life Is Great worked three-eighths in 36.05 Sunday over the Belmont dirt training track.

He will be piloted from the outermost post 10 by Eric Cancel.

Fromanothamutha, trained and co-owned by Ray Handal with Blue Lion Thoroughbreds, Craig Taylor, and Peter Rinato, will look to make amends following an off-the-board effort in the Gotham.

The Unified colt garnered a career-best 87 Beyer Speed Figure two starts back when graduating in a seven-furlong maiden special weight on January 13 at the Big A.

The $120,000 OBS March Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training purchase will exit the inside post under Dylan Davis.

Nicholas Cammarano, Jr.’s Scaramouche will make his first start outside of Parx for trainer Guadalupe Preciado. The Munnings gelding graduated at second asking on January 31 in a 6 1/2-furlong maiden special weight and returned one week later to capture the six-furlong Rittenhouse Square by 5 1/2-lengths.

Bred in Kentucky by Stoneway Farm, the $20,000 OBS June 2-Year-Olds and Horses of Racing Age Sale purchase will exit post 8 with Trevor McCarthy at the helm.

Marshall E. Dowell’s Outkissed ships in from Laurel Park, where he has made all four of his career starts, to make his stakes debut for trainer W. Robert Bailes. The Outwork bay, out of the Into Mischief mare Long Kiss Goodbye, is a full sibling to stakes-winning filly Sharapova, who captured the one-mile Harry Henson on March 27 at Sunland Park.

Outkissed graduated at third asking on February 12 in a key 5 1/2-furlong maiden special weight that saw the second, third and fourth-place finishers win next out. With regular pilot Forest Boyce aboard, Outkissed also won next out, taking a 5 1/2-furlong optional-claiming sprint on March 11 by 3 1/4-lengths that garnered a career-best 79 Beyer Speed Figure.

Bred in Kentucky by Three Lyons Racing, Outkissed will emerge from post 7 with Boyce up.

Rounding out the field is Doctor Jeff [post 3, Jose Lezcano], last out winner of the Atlantic Beach in November on the Big A turf for trainer Rudy Rodriguez; three-time winner Runninsonofagun [post 2, Kendrick Carmouche] for trainer John Toscano, Jr; and maiden winner Juggler [post 4, Frankie Pennington] for trainer Juan Vazquez.

The Bay Shore is slated as the final race on Saturday’s 11-race card. First post is 12:50 p.m. Eastern. 

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

NYRA Bets is the official wagering platform of Aqueduct Racetrack, and the best way to bet every race of the spring meet. Available to horseplayers nationwide, the NYRA Bets app is available for download today on iOS and Android at www.NYRABets.com.