Francesca LeDonne Photo

Tax takes next step towards Kentucky Derby in G3 Withers

by NYRA Press Office

• Casse to saddle two Withers contenders
• New York-bred Audible looking to kick off productive year in Pegasus World Cup
• Patternrecognition and Bricks and Mortar look to heat up down south
• True Timber looks to surprise in Saturday's Pegasus World Cup Invitational
• NYRA Bets' 6.5-million points Pegasus giveaway

Hugh Lynch and Corms Racing Stables Tax, who finished third in the 105th running of the Grade 2, $250,000 Remsen on December 1 at Aqueduct, will take his next step towards the Kentucky Derby in the Grade 3, $250,000 Withers, slated for Saturday, February 2 at Aqueduct Racetrack.

The Withers will offer 10-4-2-1 Kentucky Derby qualifying points as the second of four races on the New York path to the Derby which also includes the Grade 3, $300,000 Gotham on March 9 [offering 50-20-10-5 points] and the Grade 2, $750,000 Wood Memorial on April 6, which awards points on a 100-40-20-10 basis.

The Wood could also offer a $1 million purse if any previous Grade or Group 1 winner is declared an official starter in the race.

Trained by Danny Gargan, Tax, a dark bay son of Arch, was claimed for $50,000 out of a winning effort in a 1 1/16-mile maiden event at Keeneland on October 21. In the gelding's only previous start, Tax finished a game second when sprinting 6 1/2-furlongs in a maiden claiming tilt at Churchill Downs.

"He's a well-bred horse and bred to run long. He'd only run the one race going short and I didn't expect him to be a sprinter. He's a big, strong horse," said Gargan. "On replays, he looked like a good mover, so we took a shot on him.

"When we claimed him, we thought he would be a real good grass horse, but when we started working him on the dirt, he worked really well," continued Gargan. "So, we decided to give him a shot in the Remsen."

The talented gelding, who earned a 66 Beyer Speed Figure in his maiden score, stepped his number up significantly in the Remsen when taking on the highly-regarded Maximus Mischief at the top of the lane and staying on strong to finish third, earning a 93 Beyer.

"The effort is a little better than it looks because we went after the winner. We tried to win the race and if we would have tried to be second, we could have been second," said Gargan. "On the turn, we went after the horse that was in front [Maximus Mischief]. That was our game plan, to see if we could eyeball him and beat him. Obviously, he's a really nice horse and a little more seasoned than our horse. We were aggressive and I like being aggressive in a race."

Tax has breezed three times since the Remsen, including a four-furlong breeze in 49.23 seconds on January 16 on the Belmont Park training track.

"We might work him again on Friday depending on the weather, if not, he'll go Saturday," said Gargan. "I think he got a lot out of his last race and he's doing really well right now."

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Casse to saddle two Withers contenders

Trainer Mark Casse, in search of his first Withers win, will have two bites at the apple when he sends out Sir Winston and recent private purchase Our Braintrust in the second of New York's Kentucky Derby preps on February 2 at the Big A.

Our Braintrust, a dark bay son of Freud, boasts a record of two wins and two seconds from four starts. The talented colt, previously trained and part-owned by Cathal Lynch, won his first two starts, including the Tremont at Belmont on June 8, before finishing second in the Maryland Juvenile Futurity on December 8 at Laurel Park ahead of completing the exacta in the Jerome on New Year's Day.

New owner Gary Barber purchased the colt following the Jerome.

"We thought his race in the Jerome was very good and we're always looking for prospects," said Casse.

Our Braintrust breezed four furlongs in 49 seconds on January 22 at Casse's training center in Ocala, Florida.

"I really like him. I've trained a few Freuds and some of them tend to be on the more compact side, but with this horse he has a little more length to him. So far, he's been a wonderful horse to be around," said Casse.

The Jerome, a one-turn mile, is the longest race on the page for Our Braintrust, and the dark bay will now stretch out to two turns for the first time for his new connections.

"You never know until you try, and I'd be lying if I said I didn't have some reservations about it, but we're going to give it a try and hope for the best," said Casse.

Tracy Farmer's homebred Sir Winston, a chestnut son of Canadian Hall of Famer Awesome Again, is something of a late bloomer who graduated, via dead heat, at third asking at Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto.

Out of the graded stakes winning router La Gran Bailadora, Sir Winston ran a creditable third in the Grade 3 Grey Stakes and arrives at the Withers from a length score in the Display, a 1 1/6-mile route on Woodbine's Tapeta surface.

"He didn't show a lot early on, but with his pedigree you wouldn't expect it. He's gotten better as he's gotten older," said Casse. "We've had some time with him now and he's had four solid works over the dirt at our training center and he's a bit of a mystery horse. I don't think the mile and an eighth will be a problem."

Farmer campaigned the great New York-bred Commentator, who captured the Grade 1 Whitney in 2005 and 2008. His other past stable stars include such stalwarts as $3-million earner Albert the Great and Sun King, who banked more than $2.2-million in purse earnings.

"Tracy Farmer is a new client of ours and it was exciting for us to win a stakes with him at Woodbine, especially with a homebred," said Casse. "Tracy and his wife Carol are longtime thoroughbred owners, but they slowed down for a while. They're getting back into the game now and getting back in a big way. We're excited to have them as owners."

Casse holds a strong hand for the Kentucky Derby with his prime contender, War of Will, fresh off a victory in the Grade 3 LeComte on January 19 at Fair Grounds.

"He's doing extremely well. I can't say enough great things about him, and I think he's an absolute superstar," said Casse.

War of Will made his first four stars on turf, including a troubled fifth in the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf. He then switched to dirt to graduate on November 24 at Churchill Downs before stepping up as a stakes winner at Fair Grounds.

"I think he's a better dirt horse, although with a better trip in the Breeders' Cup he could have been a Breeders' Cup winner," said Casse. "But it was probably a blessing because had he won the Breeders' Cup, it would have been much tougher to try him on the dirt. Sometimes things happen for a reason."

Casse said War of Will is likely to stay in Louisiana for his next Derby prep on February 16 in the Risen Star Stakes.

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New York-bred Audible looking to kick off productive year in Pegasus World Cup

New York-bred Audible, a multiple graded stakes winner for trainer Todd Pletcher and owners China Horse Club, Head of Plains Partners LLC, Starlight Racing, and WinStar Farm will look to upset a star-studded field in Saturday's Grade 1, $9 million Pegasus World Cup at Gulfstream Park.

The now 4-year-old son of Into Mischief, bred in New York by Oak Bluff Stables, found himself as one of the leading contenders on last year's Kentucky Derby trail after winning the Grade 2 Holy Bull and Grade 1 Florida Derby at Gulfstream.

In May, Audible rallied to finish third in the Kentucky Derby won by eventual Triple Crown champion Justify and then was on the sidelines until November 3, when he returned to capture the Cherokee Run at Churchill Downs.

After finishing second last out on December 15 in the Grade 3 Harlan's Holiday at Gulfstream, Pletcher said he is hoping Audible can come from off the pace to score a monumental win over a field that includes Breeders' Cup Classic winner Accelerate and Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile victor City of Light.

"He's a horse that appreciates having some pace to run into," said Pletcher. "In his last start, he didn't really get that on top of being wide, but on paper the Pegasus looks like it could be an ideal setup for him."

With two previous graded stakes wins over the track, Pletcher said Audible's familiarity with the surface will benefit the New York-bred's chance at another marquee Grade 1 victory.

"We know how well he's competed here previously," said Pletcher. "In the Florida Derby, he had a hot pace, and in the Holy Bull he was able to stalk just off and finish strong. It's certainly a deep field, but we feel he's been training well, and this is a good starting point to evaluate how we want to map out his 4-year-old campaign."

At 10-1 on the morning-line, Audible will leave from post 10 under Flavien Prat.

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Patternrecognition and Bricks and Mortar look to heat up down south

The leading trainer for wins and earnings on the NYRA circuit in 2018 and in North America for the third consecutive year, trainer Chad Brown, a finalist to win an Eclipse Award for Outstanding trainer for the third consecutive year, will look to kick off 2019 in strong fashion this weekend at Gulfstream Park, with a pair of formidable contenders in Patternrecogniton and Bricks and Mortar for the Grade 1 Pegasus World Cup, and Grade 1 Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational respectively.

With consecutive back-to-back graded stakes victories in New York in the Grade 1 Cigar Mile on December 2 at Aqueduct and the Grade 2 Kelso on September 22 at Belmont Park, Brown said he is confident 6-year-old Patternrecognition has maintained his peak form and deserves a shot in the $9 million race.

"Coming off his win in the Cigar Mile, he's really kept his form and the timing of the race works out well for us to take a shot here," said Brown. "He's a horse who has good positional speed. I don't think he necessarily has to have the lead, but he fits the profile of a horse that will be involved early."

Drawing the outermost post 12 for the Pegasus World Cup Dirt, Patternrecognition, owned by Klaravich Stables and William Lawrence, will be reunited with jockey Jose Ortiz who was aboard for Patternrecognition's first career Grade 1 score in the Cigar Mile.

Brown will also saddle the talented Bricks and Mortar in the inaugural $7 million Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational.

The 5-year-old son of Giant's Causeway, also owned by Klaravich Stables and Lawrence, impressively won last out returning from over a year layoff to win an allowance race at Gulfstream on December 22. Previously, he won the Grade 2 Hall of Fame at Saratoga Race Course as a 3-year-old, followed by back-to-back third place finishes in the Grade 3 Saranac at the Spa and in the Hill Prince on October 7 at Belmont.

"He showed a lot of promise as a 3-year-old, and unfortunately suffered some injuries where he was away and had to rehabilitate," said Brown. "Thankfully, he's come back strong and we were able to run him in an allowance race here where he showed his ability. It's a difficult spot to run him here in a Grade 1, but he's doing well, and he's fit. We're happy to have a horse participate in the race."

Drawing post 7 at 5-1 on the morning line, Bricks and Mortar will be ridden by Irad Ortiz, Jr.

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True Timber looks to surprise in Saturday's Pegasus World Cup Invitational

Calumet Farm's True Timber will have a tall order on Saturday as he looks to win his first career graded stakes in the richest race in North America in the Grade 1 Pegasus World Cup Invitational at Gulfstream Park.

The 5-year-old son of Mineshaft started his 2018 campaign 3-0-2 in five starts against allowance company before trainer Kiaran McLaughlin moved him back up to stakes company, where he rallied for second behind No Dozing in the Grade 3 Bold Ruler on November 2 at Aqueduct Racetrack and registered a personal-best 104 Beyer Speed Figure when stretched out in the Grade 1 Cigar Mile, where he finished three-quarters of a length behind Patternrecognition on a fast track on December 1 at the Big A.

True Timber will now step up in class, drawing post 7 in a stacked 12-horse field that includes 9-5 morning-line favorite, 2018 Breeders' Cup Classic winner and Horse of the Year contender Accelerate, as well as City of Light, Patternrecognition and Gunnevera among others. True Timber is listed at 30-1 on the morning line.

"He's doing very well; he galloped today, and he'll gallop tomorrow," McLaughlin said by phone Thursday morning. "It's a great post for us, it sets up very well.

"I'm lacking a little confidence because it's such a tough field," he added. "But he's doing great and galloped out well today. Hopefully, he takes a big step up."

True Timber will be running at the Pegasus distance of 1 1/8 miles for the first time since running sixth in the 2017 Grade 3 Discovery at Aqueduct. He will against have the services of jockey Joe Bravo, who was in the irons for his previous three starts.

"We'll look to be maybe fourth-through-seventh somewhere and have Joe look to stalk on the outside," McLaughlin said about a possible trip.

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NYRA Bets' 6.5-million points Pegasus giveaway

6,500,000 points are up for grabs for NYRA Bets members playing Saturday's lucrative card from Gulfstream Park, featuring nine stakes races, including the $7 million Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational and the $9 million Pegasus World Cup.

NYRA Bets members who successfully connect on an exacta ($10 base bet) in a stakes race at Gulfstream on Saturday, January 26 will hit/split 500,000 points. The NYRA Bets members that successfully connect on the most exactas ($10 base bet) on Saturday's Gulfstream card will hit/split two-million points.

There are nine stakes races on the card in which NYRA Bets members can earn a 500,000-point bonus.

This points offer is available to NYRA Bets accounts that accrue points based on the NYRA Bets Points Program. Points will be credited to winning accounts within 48 hours of race. Customers must be in good standing to receive the bonus.

For more information, visit NYRABets.com.