Ky. Derby prep: Uncle Heavy gets nose down in Withers upset

New York

Most of the 3-year-olds in the Grade 3, $250,000 Withers Stakes on Saturday were being asked to run 1 1/8-miles for the first time. Uncle Heavy, who shipped up to Aqueduct from Parx Racing for veteran trainer Butch Reid, needed every bit of the extra distance to win the 2024 Kentucky Derby qualifying race. After rallying from 3 1/2 lengths behind in the stretch, the Pennsylvania-bred got his nose in front in the final stride.

Out of the starting gate El Grande O, Khanate and Seminole Chief were setting the pace and Uncle Heavy, who was sent off as the 9-1 fifth choice, was on the far outside of a group of four horses.

“I kind of had lost him,” Reid explained. “I was watching outside live, so it’s a little hard to see with the way the sun was. But then the announcer picked him up and that’s when I knew where he was.” El Grande O was on the rail with horses that were out front that laid down fractions of 24.14, 49.48, and 1:14.44. Turning into the stretch Khanate and Seminole Chief began to fade and El Grande O was then three-lengths ahead.

The Brad Cox-trained even-money favorite Lightline and Uncle Heavy emerged from the pack to chase the leader. Uncle Heavy passed Lightline and took dead aim at El Grande O.

“It seems like at the three-eighths, when they sprinted from him, they got away from him a little bit,” the winning jockey Mychel Sanchez said. “He's a big horse, he doesn't have that quick reaction. Once he got fully going, he made up all the ground and made it look easy.”

El Grande O fought gamely down the stretch to hold on for second and earn 10 Derby points to go with the five that he had after running second in the one-mile Jerome a month ago. Lightline got six points for his third. The 71-1 long shot Deposition got four points for fourth and Khanate got two points for the fifth-place finish.

Reid, who won the Withers in 2010 with Afleet Again, gets another chance with Uncle Heavy to have his first starter in the Kentucky Derby.

“I have always felt all along with this horse, the further the better,” Reid said. “He certainly proved that today. A mile and an eighth was obviously well within his grasp. We haven’t had a whole lot of time, and this was only his second time around two turns. For him to go a mile and an eighth and under the circumstances is a testament to him. It worked out great.”

The Withers victory gave Uncle Heavy 20 Derby qualifying points and the third win from four c++areer starts and upped his earnings to $293,580. The Wood Memorial on April 6 is another opportunity to run at 1 1/8-miles.

“We’re going to keep him around two turns from here on out,” Reid added. “We’ll definitely have a look at the Wood, there’s no doubt about that.”