Brooklyn Strong down to last chance on Derby trail

Majority owner Mark Schwartz described himself as having a “once in a lifetime opportunity” to reach the Kentucky Derby after Brooklyn Strong, his $5,000 purchase as a 2-year-old in training, splashed home a neck winner in the Dec. 5 Remsen Stakes (G2) at Aqueduct Racetrack.

Now, after repeated setbacks, that precious opportunity may be in danger of slipping away.

Brooklyn Strong lost considerable weight and became ill after his hard-fought Remsen score on a sloppy, sealed surface at Aqueduct. Although he resumed training two weeks ago, he has lost precious time to miserable weather that led the track at his home base of Parx Racing in Bensalem, Pa., to be closed on a number of mornings. He has yet to register a workout in the new year.

“It’s just been hiccup after hiccup,” said trainer Daniel Velazquez, 36, who earned his first graded-stakes win in the Remsen.

Brooklyn Strong’s misadventures underscore the difficulty of preparing Derby prospects in the northeast, which is enduring a particularly harsh winter. Bloodwork done after the Remsen revealed that the New York-bred with the minimal price tag but an abundance of heart had developed an infection that was never pinpointed.

“He lost weight and we kind of don’t know why,” Velazquez said.

Fortunately, the gelded responded to antibiotics. It all took precious time, though, causing the plan to give him two Derby preps to be scrapped. The goal of competing in the March 6 Gotham had to be abandoned a while ago.

Brooklyn Strong, a winner of three of four starts as a juvenile with earnings of $195,000, netted 10 Derby qualifying points in the Remsen. He is now being pointed toward the April 3 Wood Memorial at Aqueduct for his belated 3-year-old debut in what would be an all-or-nothing bid to advance to the first Saturday in May.

The Wood Memorial offers qualifying points to the top four finishers on a 100, 40, 20 and 10 basis, so Brooklyn Strong would look mighty strong with a top-two effort against what is typically a talent-laden field. Interestingly, his sire, Wicked Strong, won the Wood as a prelude to fourth-place finishes in the Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes for trainer Jimmy Jerkens.

Velazquez had hoped to give Brooklyn Strong his first work on the comeback trail on Feb. 20. Poor weather that prompted track closures for training led him to push that back to Feb. 27 in what has turned into a race against time to make the Wood. The trainer knows he cannot afford one more hiccup.

“I’m going to be under the gun with time, weather, everything,” Velazquez said.

He and Schwartz, 67, are determined to take a long-term view with Brooklyn Strong.

“He’s a gelding. There are a lot of races in him. We want to make the Derby, we want to get the points, but it’s up to him,” Velazquez said. “I don’t want to do anything crazy to make one specific race. We can have this horse around for a few years. We want to enjoy him and let him have a long career.”

Velazquez said of the emotional crash that followed the euphoria of the Remsen: “It’s a tough pill to swallow, but as long as I see he’s progressing and moving forward, I’m okay with it.”

If it becomes impossible to make the Derby, Schwartz said they would shift their attention to the Preakness and the Belmont. He finds the 1 ½-mile Belmont especially attractive.

“I think with him the longer the better. He just wants to keep running,” Schwartz said. “I think the Belmont would be his cup of tea more than anything.”

Schwartz draws consolation from knowing that Brooklyn Strong is growing stronger by the day after a worrisome illness. “At least I know the horse is fine,” he said. “That’s number one in importance and we have a lot of faith in him.”

Whatever happens with the Derby, Velazquez understands that the 3-year-old season hardly ends there. He is again excited about what the future may hold.

“We want to get back to full-fledged training,” he said, “and let everybody know what a cool horse this is.”