The Withers (Grade 3) (KYD)- $250.000 Purse
AQU- For Three Year Olds
One Mile and One Eighth on the Dirt
February 4, 2023

With three KYD preps on Saturday, this weekend will surely be very impactful in determining who gets into the KYD, a race that is now only three months away. Here we will look at the running of the Withers, a Grade 3 races that offers 20 points for its winner. The race first appeared on the schedule in 2005, and has been won by horses such as Home Spirit, Snowmizer, and Charleys Latte. In 2022, Come To Poppa picked up the victory for South Shore Stables and would appear in the KYD. It was not his best race, and the horse has not even hit the board since running second in the FL Derby. The horse that did win the KYD last year, Gigabyte, was a runner in the Withers and finished second in the race. We will have a full field in the starting gate, including a pair of fillies that hope to make the most of their five-point weight advantage. Here is a look at those hoping to be either the next Come To Poppa, or the next Gigabyte.

#1- War Of Backroads (Fractious, ridden by R M Hernandez)- Appeared in the Grade 2 SAR Special when he was still a maiden, and that may have been a little too much for him. He would conventionally break his maiden afterwards and used that as momentum into the Grade 3 Street Sense, where he was the runner up. He has only raced once since that late October run, it was another second, this in the Hobbs Fall Classic for NM-breds. Well rested, and ready to show that he can handle the company he meets here.

#2- Majestic Chai (TwinTowersRacing, ridden by E Jaramillo)- One of our two fillies in the race, and she has run very well against her own gender. In late October, she won the $200.000 Maid Of The Mist right here at AQU, and followed that up by placing second in the Demoiselle. Now, it’s time to see if she can take advantage of her five-pound weight allowance and get a win against the boys. This is obviously the right time of year for it. Has a “come from behind” style, traditionally, in her past.

#3- Informed Minister (Nakamura Stables, ridden by D E Centeno) A winner of two of his four starts to this point, highlighted by the $200.000 NY Breeders Futurity out at FL in October. He’s only run once since then and was nowhere to be found in a dismal performance at the $100.000 Gun Runner at FG. While we see his potential, that’s a pretty concerning result to be coming into this off of, so I couldn’t put any virtual money on him.

#4- Preternatural (Jerry Garcia Racing, ridden by F Geroux)- This will be his fourth career start, and he is fresh off of breaking his maiden at GP a few days after the New Year. Performed well leading up to that, and there is certainly nothing wrong with his performance in a $120.000 maiden right before it. Works look sharp, and this is a good opportunity to see how he can handle a field of this quality.

#5- Fear Me Not (Mb Stables, ridden by P Lopez)- He has no shortage of experience in running at the highest levels, with a couple of high quality ON-bred stakes on his record, as well as the Grade 2 Remsen. He was second here for that race in December and seemed to be positioned well for a good run in the Smarty Jones last month. As the post time favorite, he disappointed many in that, being beaten by five lengths. Perhaps that will just be a blip on his record.

#6- Velocicoaster (Mo Mentum Farm, ridden by E Maldonado)- It will be the ninth start for the gelding, making him the most experience on the track of anyone in the field. He’s won three times, including twice on the FL-bred circuit, grabbing both the Affirmed and the In Reality. Most recently, he was in the RP Springboard Mile, and there’s two ways to look at that that: a horse that finished fifth, or a horse that only missed a win by half a length. Those jumbo finishes are always tough.

#7- More Twist (Team 7 Illusions, ridden by R A Vazquez)- The first three races for this horse were maiden claimers, including being dropped into a race for a $12.500 tag. Then, the gelding would have a twist of fate, moving directly from that race to the $100.000 King Glorious Stakes, for CA-breds, and he won that, too. Now, the trainer is glad he didn’t lose the horse cheaply, especially after a work here on the 26th. If he wins this as well, it’s certainly a great story.

#8- Mountain Top (La Canada Racehorses, ridden by T Gaffalione)- Needed to get his debut race out of the way, and once he did, he ran well in a CD maiden before ultimately getting that first win at GP in December. He would make his stake debut following that, out at SA last month where he came from well off the pace to grab third in the CA Cup Derby. The race he won saw a near the front style, so don’t rule out that strategy being employed again.

#9- Mahogany Maragh (Rock Creek, ridden by A Cedillo)- In November, Mahogany Maragh was given a chance to run against top company in the Grade 3 Grey Stakes at WO and turned in an awful performance. His other races suggest that he is a much better horse than that, and he bounced back from that well in an N1X allowance. Now, he will have a chance to make amends for that bad race and prove that he belongs on the KYD trail.

#10- Scarlett Dream (Arindel, ridden by L Saez)- Our second filly in the race has certainly proven herself against females, and looks like a formidable contender in here with a five-pound weight allowance. She’s won four of her last five, including the Grade 1 Alcibiades and the Grade 1 Scarlet. In between those races, she finished third in the BC Juvenile Fillies, making her the type of horse that could contend for a win even with a smaller weight allowance. This time of year, and that track record so far, I think she’s the one to beat.

#11- Twin Rackets (Alydar Stables, ridden by E J Zayas)- After a couple of very disappointing finishes, Twin Rackets needs to rebound here. You can forgive a race like the BC Juvenile because of the competition level, but he ran just as poorly in the Grade 2 LA Futurity in the race that followed. He has shown his potential in the past but needs to do that again. Used to starting from the outside, as this is his third straight race with a double-digit number, and fourth in seven races. Also has been #9 of 10 and #8 of 9.

#12- Phalanx (Bigchief Stables, ridden by M E Smith)- This will be the first race for this gelding since he just missed out on cashing a check in the BC Juvenile, placing fifth. To get there, he won the Grade 3 Iroquois at CD about six weeks prior. Whether or not it is good that he is so well rested seems like a debate, right now, that could go either way, and this is a great opportunity for Phalanx to prove it was the right call.

Prediction: 10-6-1-2

— NS

Categories: Grade III, STAKES ARTICLES