Who Will Get the 50 Kentucky Derby Points in the Gotham?
The New York Road to the 2016 Kentucky Derby makes its next stop in the $400,000 Gotham (G3). A competitive field of seven or eight is possible for this mile and a sixteenth contest on the inner track at Aqueduct that will provide Derby qualifying points on the 50-20-10-5 level.
In the past three years, since the advent of the Derby points system, five horses that ran in the Gotham made their way to the starting gate in the Run for the Roses. Tencendur finished 17th in 2015, Samraat 5th and Uncle Sigh 14th in 2014, Vyjack was 18th and Overanalyze came in 11th in 2013. Twenty points has been enough to make the Derby field in all three years, so a finish in the Gotham top two places could be enough.
This year’s field has an interesting mix of horses. Likely the first and third place finishers from the Withers (G3) will be joined by several horses that had shown a great deal of promise in their maiden races and others that had troubled trips in their last starts and have something to prove here in New York.
Sunny Ridge and Adventist finished first and third, respectively, in the Withers at the end of January. Sunny Ridge has already accumulated 18 Derby points from second place finishes in the Champagne and Delta Jackpot and the Withers win. This New Jersey-bred son of Holy Bull was a courageous upset winner at Aqueduct when he beat the favorite Flexibility along with Vorticity and Adventist. The Jason Servis trainee is the likely Gotham favorite.
The less experienced Adventist was only beaten by 1½ lengths in the Withers after racing greenly throughout the race including an erratic stretch run when he reacted badly to the whip. After an 11¼ maiden win at Aqueduct the Leah Gyarmati runner must have gained valuable experience in the big step up to graded stakes company.
Shagaf comes in to the Gotham with an unbeaten two for two record. This Shadwell home-bred son of Bernardini has had plenty of attention already. He was a 2.60-1 favorite in his maiden win at Aqueduct in November and then a .90-1 top choice in a Gulfstream Park allowance in January. That Florida race included Rally Cry, a Todd Pletcher trained son of Uncle Mo, that hasn’t had much luck on the racetrack. Trip handicappers felt that Rally Cry ran the best race when he finished third to Shagaf. Let’s take a closer look at that race.
At the start of the race, #2 Rally Cry, in the white, red, and green silks of owner Paul Pompa, had a rough break from the gate when the horse to his inside came out and pinched him back with the horse to his outside. Track announcer Larry Collmus saw it from the booth, “Rally Cry got jostled about at the start there.” While the official race chart said, “Rally Cry got brushed back a bit at the start.” At the same time #2 Shagaf in the blue Shadwell silks was off to an excellent start from the outside post.
Meanwhile Shagaf sat comfortably on the outside, stalking the pacesetters and Rally Cry was pulled towards the inside by jockey Javier Castellano and gradually made up ground.
At the half mile pole [:50 mark in the video], Castellano was making a bold move, “Rally Cry has some running room and is squeezing through an opening on the inside,” is the way Collmus saw it. However, the hole was not there and Rally Cry had to be badly checked. In a matter of seconds he went from near the lead to being shuffled back to sixth, losing all action. While that was happening on the rail, Shagaf and Irad Ortiz swept to the lead on the outside.
At the stretch call [1:20 in the video] and after all of his trouble Rally Cry had moved back to only 4 ¾ lengths behind the lead and the perfect trip of Shagaf had him in front by four lengths. Shagaf was under a hand ride, while Castellano had gotten Rally Cry back in stride and guided him from behind horses to the center of the track, five-wide [1:25]. In the end Shagaf would win by two lengths and Rally Cry managed to get third place beaten by four.
Laoban is being shipped east from California by trainer Eric Guillot, who is no stranger to New York racing. Still a maiden, this son of Uncle Mo has two Derby points from his third place finish in the Sham (G3) at Santa Anita on January 9. He was slated to run in the Robert B. Lewis, but he spiked a fever and needed some time. Guillot couldn’t get him ready for the Risen Star, so the Gotham was the next available Derby prep race.
"He is still a maiden but he's a nice horse," said Guillot. "In the Sham, he got slammed out of the gate, got a little rank, went wide, and still ran third. I really think he might've been the best that day."
The Mark Casse barn sends Conquest Big E north for the Gotham. Last seen, this gray son of Tapit finished fourth in the Holy Bull (G2) after a rough start behind Mohaymen and Greenpointcrusader. He has experience on his side with two wins in five career starts.
Rounding out the eight-horse Gotham field will be Vincento and Mo Power.
UPDATE: Mo Power will scratch out of the Gotham to run in a first level allowance on Sunday at Aqueduct.