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Grade 2 Wood Memorial presented by NYRA Bets winner Tacitus breezes for Kentucky Derby

by NYRA Press Office

• Castellano in search of first Kentucky Derby score with Vekoma
• Therapist looks to Kingston following Elusive Quality victory in his seasonal bow
• Englehart enjoying success at home and on the road
• Strike Power pleases Hennig in triumphant comeback; leaning toward G2 Peter Pan with Bourbon War
• NYRA Bets your best bet for Kentucky Derby Saturday
• Belmont Park May 4-5 stakes probables

Juddmonte Farms' Wood Memorial presented by NYRA Bets hero Tacitus, an impeccably bred son of Tapit and three-time New York Grade 1 winner Close Hatches, continues to shine during the lead up to the Kentucky Derby, drilling for the final time on Sunday morning before his proverbial date with destiny.

The gray charge worked in company with fellow Bill Mott trainee and Derby contender Country House, with the pair breaking off at the five-furlong pole and running as a team over the Churchill Downs main track. They finished up the five-furlongs in 1:00 flat, but the work did not quite go as planned.

After commencing the work with splits of 12.20 and 24.20, the Mott pair were suddenly joined by the Mike Trombetta-trained Live Oak Plantation pair of Derby contender Win Win Win and workmate Souper Courage. The four ran abreast, with (rail-out) Country House hugging the inside and Tacitus beside him, followed by the Trombetta twosome.

The four-deep phalanx entered the home straight after three furlongs in 35.80 (for the Mott pair). Finishing well and visibly unbothered by their new breeze buddies, the Mott pair hit four furlongs in 48 flat, before finishing up the work and galloping out in 1:12.80.

"I think the horses got what they needed out of the work," Mott said. "It was what I expected and wanted. The riders really did a great job because you can't anticipate that, but it occasionally happens during regular training. We're in good shape and I'll try to just keep them happy and healthy and we hope they come out of this well.

"Tacitus is a big, tough horse and a good eater," Mott continued. "Both horses have good appetites, which is good to see. You want to see them looking for their feed and both have handled this very well. They're both pretty straight forward."

While Tacitus, who claimed the Grade 3 Tampa Bay Derby before the Wood Memorial, is one of the favorites, Country House, who exits a good third in the Grade 1 Arkansas Derby, continues to fly under the radar.

Carrying the same Shields family silks that have won New York Grade 1s with the likes of Passing Shot and House Party, the son of Lookin At Lucky was also second in the Grade 2 Risen Star in February and fourth in the Grade 2 Louisiana Derby. The Kentucky Derby will be his third race in six weeks.

Country House, who audibly got a good blow out of Sunday's drill, began his career in New York with an off-the-board finish in turf maiden company last October before finishing a good second to highly regarded Godolphin runner Kentucky Wildcat in his dirt bow at Aqueduct. Said Albertrani trainee would go on to finish second in the Grade 3 Sam F. Davis at Tampa.

"Country House is just a big backward horse who had a couple races as a 2-year-old and mentally it's probably taking him a little longer to mature," Mott said. "Physically, he's a strong kind of horse who can take it."

Mott, extremely pleased and relieved to have the final breeze complete, reported that the pair would likely school on Tuesday or Wednesday during racing at Churchill Downs.

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Castellano in search of first Kentucky Derby score with Vekoma

Hall of Fame jockey Javier Castellano expressed confidence in his Grade 1, $3 million Kentucky Derby mount Vekoma, who he rode to victory in the Grade 2 Blue Grass at Keeneland earlier this month.

Castellano guided the George Weaver-trained son of Candy Ride to victory in the Blue Grass, where he drifted out in mid-stretch, but still managed to win by 3 ½ lengths as the lukewarm favorite and recorded a 94 Beyer speed figure in doing so.

A winner of three of his four career starts Vekoma has displayed a stalking running style in his three victories. Castellano said that where Vekoma will be placed in the Derby is hard to tell and will depend on a number of factors.

"It's hard to predict when you go into a big race like this with 20 horses. We all have high expectations," Castellano said. "You never know, because there are 20 horses in the race. Maybe he'll end up on the lead, maybe he'll come from way back. The Kentucky Debry is one the toughest races in the country to handicap.

"The key is going to be how you break out of the gate and try not to use him too much because it's a mile and a quarter," continued Castellano. "They're three years old and they've never been that distance. You have to go with the flow and see how he breaks. It really is hard to predict."

Castellano has ridden in a dozen Kentucky Derbies and got his best finish last year when piloting Audible to a third-place finish behind eventual Triple Crown winner Justify.

Castellano stated that one of the most important elements to riding the Run for the Roses is having the right trip.

"I've ridden in the race so many times, but I think the key is that you need to have a good horse and a lot of luck," Castellano said. "It's not only a matter of having the right horse, but you have to have a nice clean trip. I feel a lot of confidence in myself and in the horse."

Castellano was aboard Vekoma for his most recent and final breeze for the Kentucky Debry, which took place at Palm Beach Downs in South Florida, where he worked five furlongs in 59.95 on Friday.

"He felt great," Castellano said. "He breezed real well. He went 59 and change and did it the right way. I'm very satisfied the way he did his work."

With the Kentucky Derby post-position draw slated for Tuesday morning, Castellano said he does not want to be right in the middle and also does not want to be too wide or too close to the rail with Vekoma.

"You don't want to be in the middle, but you don't want to be in the one hole and you don't want to be in [post] 20," Castellano said. "I think between four to seven or nine to 14 [is best]."

Castellano's 12 Derby mounts came aboard Bellamy Road [5th, 2005], Bwana Bull [15th, 2007], Big Truck [18th, 2008], Discreetly Mine [13th, 2010], Derby Kitten [13th, 2011], Gemologist [16th, 2012], Normandy Invasion [4th, 2013], We Miss Artie [10th, 2014], Materiality [6th, 2015], Destin [6th, 2016], Gunnevera [7th, 2017] and Audible [3rd, 2018].

Bred in Kentucky by Alpha Delta Stable, Vekoma was purchased for $130,000 from the Lanes End consignment at the 2017 Keeneland September Yearling Sale and is out of the Grade 1-winning Speightstown broodmare Mona de Momma. He is owned by Gastas Stables and R A Hill Stable and will be giving Weaver, a Louisville native, his second Derby starter after saddling Tencendur to finish 17th in 2015.

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Therapist looks to Kingston following Elusive Quality victory in his seasonal bow

Oak Bluff Stables' Therapist came out of his victory by a neck in Saturday's $100,000 Elusive Quality in good order, trainer Christophe Clement said Sunday morning. The first-time gelding bested a six-horse field in his 4-year-old debut, running down the Irish-bred Emmaus in the seven-furlong turf sprint on the Widener turf course listed as yielding.

Clement reiterated his post-race remarks that the son of Freud, who earned a career-best 96 Beyer Speed Figure winning the Elusive Quality, could next target the $125,000 Kingston for New York-breds on May 27 at Belmont. That race, for 3-year-olds and up, is contested at one mile on the turf.

"So far, so good. He looked good this morning," Clement said. "There is a New York-bred stakes in late May which is probably the logical spot, but we have plenty of time to think about it."

Therapist improved to 7-0-2 in 11 career starts and stayed undefeated at Belmont, improving to 4-for-4 in winning the first turf stakes on the Belmont spring/summer meet.

Clement is hoping the victory is a harbinger of future success for his barn, which could look for additional stakes glory with Jump Sucker Stable's Blacktype possible for the Grade 3, $150,000 Fort Marcy on Saturday.

The French-bred Blacktype enters his 8-year-old bow looking to build on his four career graded stakes wins, including the Grade 2 Knickerbocker on October 8 at 1 1/8 miles on the Belmont turf that netted him a personal-best 104 Beyer Speed Figure. Blacktype has not raced since running 11th in the Grade 2 Ft. Lauderdale on December 15 at Gulfstream Park.

Clement will also debut Righteousness, a half-brother to multi-millionaire Gronkowski who ran second to Triple Crown-winner Justify in the 2018 Belmont, in Sunday's seventh race here at Belmont.

Clement said a pair of multiple graded-stakes winning sprinters for owner Patricia Generazio - Pure Sensation and Disco Partner - could be working towards the Grade 1, $400,000 Jaipur Invitational on Belmont Stakes Day on June 8.

The Jaipur, a "Win and You're In" qualifier for the Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint in November at Santa Anita, was won by Disco Partner last year when the New York-bred defeated Conquest Tsunami by a length, setting up a successful 2019 campaign in which the son of Disco Rico won the Belmont Turf Sprint Invitational and finished third in the Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint on November 3 at Churchill Downs.

Pure Sensation returned from a six-month layoff in impressive fashion, defeating an eight-horse field to win a five-furlong optional claimer on April 12 at Gulfstream Park. The three-quarter length win, which earned a 98 Beyer, was Pure Sensation's first start since running third in the Belmont Turf Sprint on October 6.

"We have a full barn here now. We have the two sprinters for the Generazios, Pure Sensation and Disco Partner, we'll train them for the Jaipur and then we'll see if we run the two of them or just one of them," Clement said. "It's nice, we need to have those types of horses."

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Englehart enjoying success at home and on the road

Trainer Jeremiah Englehart runs a busy stable operating on the NYRA circuit, across state at Finger Lakes as well as on the Mid-Atlantic region where he's enjoyed a recent stakes win with Dirty on April 20 at Laurel Park in the $100,000 King T. Leatherbury.

Owned by Tom O'Grady, the Maryland-bred son of Maclean's Music rallied from eighth to win the 5 1/2-furlong turf sprint by a neck. The 4-year-old's first start off the bench was assisted by American Sailor who zipped through a half-mile in 42.96 seconds, giving Dirty plenty of pace to close into and record his first stakes win.

Englehart said he was impressed by the effort from Dirty who last started on November 30 at Aqueduct when second in an allowance sprint.

"He's been doing really well. We gave him some time off this winter and sent him down to Webb Carroll Training Center and started him back there. He's just push button, he does what he does and is very easy to train," said Englehart. "I was a little surprised how well he ran first off the bench. That was a salty race to start off with, but he came out of it well, so hopefully good things to come from him."

Last year, Dirty hit the board in a pair of turf sprints won by World of Trouble, running third in the Quick Call over a yielding Saratoga turf and second in the Allied Forces on a Belmont turf rated good.

Dirty earned a career-best 98 Beyer Speed Figure in the King T. Leatherbury and Englehart said a return to stakes company for the improving Dirty is in the cards.

"There's a couple races we're looking at, like the Jaipur," said Englehart.

Later on the same Laurel card, New York-bred Bozzini set the pace in the nine-furlong $125,000 Federico Tesio before fading to third behind the streaking Alwaysmining who earned his sixth-straight score in a romping 11 1/2-length triumph.

A 3-year-old son of Desert Party, bred in New York by Sequel Stallions and Roberto Bravo, Bozzini boasts a record of 2-1-3 from nine career starts. The Tesio effort came just one week after finishing second, by a nose, in an optional claiming sprint on the same track.

"He's been training really well, and I always thought he would handle the distance. He was rank early on which probably cost him second. I'm not sure if he's that quality of horse, but he definitely should go through his conditions. We'll get him back against New York-breds at some point, but he just seems to like that track so well," said Englehart.

A trip to West Virginia was almost heaven for Isotope who closed to finish second in the $100,000 Dance to Bristol, a seven-furlong sprint at Charles Town, also on April 20.

The 5-year-old daughter of Successful Appeal, owned by Acqua Nova Stable, captured the Thirty Eight Go Go on December 29 at Laurel to earn her first stakes win.

"She's another one that when she went down to Laurel she got to doing real well. That smaller stakes company is right about where she wants to be," said Englehart. "She's been a nice filly for us. She had the one stakes win at Laurel and then we ran her back in an off track [in the Maryland Racing Media] and she ran fourth. She's one we just have to find the right spot for her. I'll keep her down there, she's trains well down there and it's where she's happy."

Englehart captured the first stakes of the Belmont spring/summer meet on Friday when Pat On the Back splashed to victory in a sloppy renewal of the Affirmed Success.

The 5-year-old son of Congrats rallied from next to last at the top of the lane to win by a length and a quarter, going one better than his second-place effort in the 2018 edition of the Affirmed Success.

"We'd been thinking about where we wanted to start him off this year and the timing of the race was perfect, but the distance wasn't really what I wanted to run him in," said Englehart. "We ran him back in the Affirmed Success to let him get his legs under him. I wasn't really expecting him to win; I expected him to try because, that's him, but...he's just a cool horse."

Dylan Davis, who engineered Friday's success, has been aboard Pat On the Back for much of the talented New York-bred's career.

"That's a pretty neat combination those two, I get a big kick out of watching them work together," said Englehart.

August Dawn Farm's Forty Under ran a good second to Clint Maroon on April 20 at Aqueduct in the Woodhaven over a 1 1/16-miles of yielding turf. The talented Uncle Mo colt, bred in Kentucky by Cedar Hill, captured the Grade 3 Pilgrim at Belmont last year ahead of a prominent sixth in the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf.

Englehart said he was pleased with Forty Under's first sophomore start.

"We wanted the win, but I thought he ran well, and it should be a good starting point for him for what's next. We'll probably point for the Pennine Ridge [Grade 3, $200,000] on June 1 at Belmont. We brought him back home to Saratoga after the race to train, it's where he was last year," said Englehart.

Englehart won at a 20 percent clip at the 2018 Belmont spring/summer meet, winning with 16 of 80 starters and the veteran conditioner has a wealth of young stock currently in training as he looks to re-load for 2019.

"We bought a fair amount of horses. We have forty to fifty 2-year-olds, for the spring and summer. There's a few that look like they could be early but I'm not pushing them. We'll wait until they're ready to go," said Englehart.

His first juvenile starter, Kit Kat Katie, will debut on Thursday's card in a five-furlong turf sprint. The Ontario-bred daughter of Sky Mesa has breezed three times at Belmont in preparation for her unveiling in Thursday's third race.

"She's one I bought off of the farm at Webb Carroll. I liked the way she moved, and Travis Durr owned her. I thought she'd be a good horse for a couple of my clients. We'll see how she handles the turf. She's ready to go," said Englehart.

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Strike Power pleases Hennig in triumphant comeback; leaning toward G2 Peter Pan with Bourbon War

Trainer Mark Hennig could not have been more excited to get Strike Power back to the winner's circle following an eight-month layoff.

Owned by Courtlandt Farm, the 4-year-old son of Speightstown was victorious in a six-furlong allowance event on April 25 at Gulfstream Park - his first start since a distant ninth in the Better Talk Now over the turf at Saratoga.

Last year, Strike Power gave Hennig some hopes and aspirations for the Kentucky Derby with a solid-runner up effort behind Promises Fulfilled in the Grade 2 Fountain of Youth but was a distant eighth next out in the Grade 1 Florida Derby.

"It was great," Hennig said of Thursday's triumph. "He was having some throat issues and it was to the point where we had to take care of it, so we did a tie-back surgery. It's always nerve-racking because you don't know how they'll react to it until they run again. He handled it well and it was really gratifying for his sake. He looked like he was happy in the stretch and it was just nice to see him breathe real air."

Hennig said the Grade 2, $250,000 True North on June 7 at Belmont Park is a possibility for Strike Power.

"He ran a big number and he's got to ship back up north. The earliest we would look at is the True North," Hennig said.

A homebred, Strike Power is out of the graded stakes placed Medaglia d'Oro broodmare Gold d'Oro.

Bourbon War, on the outside looking in for Saturday's Grade 1, $3 million Kentucky Derby, breezed a half-mile in 48.33 seconds at Belmont Park on Thursday morning and will now likely target the Grade 3, $300,000 Peter Pan on May 11 at the Elmont oval.

"He worked super," Hennig said. "We were trying to beat the rain and he worked well. We'll see how the Peter Pan and the [Grade 1 $1.5 million] Preakness [on May 18 at Pimlico Race Course] come up. I'll talk it over and discuss it with all of our clients."

Fourth in the Grade 1 Florida Derby on March 30 last time out, the talented Tapit colt was beaten three-quarters of a length behind Code of Honor in the Grade 2 Fountain of Youth. Both races were contested at Gulfstream Park.

Owned by Bourbon Lane Stable and Lake Star Stable, Bourbon War is the first foal out of Grade 1-winner My Conquestadory and was acquired for $410,000 at the 2016 Keeneland November Mixed Sale from Lanes End's consignment barn. He was bred in Kentucky by Conquest Stables.

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NYRA Bets your best bet for Kentucky Derby Saturday

In advance of the Kentucky Derby, set for Saturday, May 4 at Churchill Downs, NYRA Bets is offering the best bet on the 'Run for the Roses'.

In the Grade 1 Kentucky Derby, new NYRA Bets customers who join with the promo code 'DERBY25' and place a $25 win bet on one horse in the field on Saturday, May 4 or on the Kentucky Derby Advance wagers on Friday, May 3, will have their bet refunded if their horse finishes second or third in the race.

New NYRA Bets Customers can also qualify for a $200 new member bonus. After signing up for NYRA Bets, new customers who bet $200 in their first 14 days will receive a $200 bonus in return. New NYRA Bets customers can qualify for both the Free $25 Kentucky Derby Win Bet and the $200 New Member Bonus.

For more information on the $25 Kentucky Derby win bet and the Bet $200 get $200 promotion including full rules and regulations please visit NYRABets.com.

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Belmont Park May 4-5 stakes probables

Saturday, May 4: The Grade 3, $150,000 Fort Marcy
Probable: Arrocha (Chad Brown); Blacktype (Christophe Clement); Channel Cat (Todd Pletcher); Dr. Edgar (Barclay Tagg); Maraud (Pletcher); Robert Bruce (Brown)
Possible: Can'thelpbelieving (Graham Motion); Doctor Mounty (Shug McGaughey)

Saturday, May 4: The Grade 3, $200,000 Westchester
Probable: Bandua (Jack Sisterson); Killybegs Captain (John Terranova); Prince Lucky (Pletcher); Realm (Tagg); Stan the Man (Terranova); Timber Ghost (Jimmy Jerkens)

Saturday, May 4: The Grade 2, $200,000 Sheepshead Bay
Probable: Holy Helena (Jerkens); Lady Montdore (Tom Albertrani); Santa Monica (Brown); Semper Sententiae (Mark Hennig); Vexatious (Neil Drysdale)
Possible: Violet Blue (Jimmy Toner)

Sunday, May 5: The Grade 2, $250,000 Ruffian
Probable: Come Dancing (Carlos Martin); Heavenhasmynikki (Anthony Quartarolo); Pacific Wind (Brown); Pink Sands (McGaughey)
Possible: Free Kitty (Rudy Rodriguez); Sun Studio (Pletcher)