Tower of Texas seeks clean trip in Woodbine Mile

It if wasn’t for bad luck, Tower of Texas wouldn’t have no luck at all. 

While that ungrammatical chestnut may not apply uniformly to Tower of Texas, as the bay gelding has managed to arrive on time in two of his 11 outings since consistently devoting his energies to turf racing, he also has finished close without grabbing the brass ring on numerous other occasions.

Those tribulations may have tested the mettle of lesser men than trainer Roger Attfield and owners Thomas Van Meter II and Scott Dilworth, particularly when it comes to a race like last year’s Woodbine Mile.

Tower of Texas almost pulled off an upset of the mighty Tepin, but as on many other occasions, he lacked a clear run and ended just a half-length short as the runner-up.

Pace makes the race, it has been said, and trips for a come-from-behinder like Tower of Texas are directly related to what transpires on the front end.

And on that count, Attfield is not seeing what he had hoped for.

“I’m afraid I say I don’t see a lot of speed in the race, which is upsetting for me,” said the trainer.

“Otherwise, he’s in fine fettle as far as the Mile is concerned. It is what it is.” 

An array of exciting wagers is on offer for horseplayers on Saturday's 13-race Ricoh Woodbine Mile card, which kicks off at 1 p.m.

Offerings include a $100,000 guaranteed Early Pick 4 (Race 4-7), a $300,000 Late Pick-4 (Race 9-12); as well as a guaranteed $50,000 Early Pick 5 (Race 2-6) and a $200,000 Late Pick-5 (Race 8-12); in addition to the first ever joint NYRA/Woodbine Pick-5.