The Wood Memorial (Grade 2) (KYD)- $750.000 Purse
AQU- For Three Year Olds
One Mile and One Eighth on the Dirt
April 6, 2024

With these final 100-point races of the season, all it takes is for one prep race newcomer to make a great impression to shake up the KYD leaderboard. The Wood Memorial had all the look of being that type of race with several horses looking plenty capable of thriving in the spoiler role. Fujisan was not among our picks, but he came into the race off a sharp maiden win as he hoped this last-minute race to make the field would pay off for trainer Alydar Stables. He’d find himself near the back early, something that he is not accustomed too, but it proved to be the winning tactic as he came from behind to win the race and earn his spot in the KYD. It’s the first win in the race for both Alydar Stables and jockey S X Bridgmohan, congratulations to them! The time of the win was 1:47.63. Let’s take a look at it:

(½ Mile- :46.56)- Gaslight is strong out of the gate for Mb Stables and has an uncontested lead while going around the first turn. However, he would soon have company within the clubhouse turn, as TwinTowersRacing’s Beaten Path makes a charge from the outside and joins Gaslight up front. Moving down the backstretch early on, these two are side by side and have pulled away by two lengths over their closest competitor, Chisel, from Fractious. He’s a full length ahead of One Beer, out of South Shore Stables and Bad Debt, from Hippyheart, who run side by side. Behind them, Demonic Chant is sixth from post six, six lengths off the lead. Stablemate Holiday In Cambodia is on his inside, and on the outside is where we find our eventual winner, Fujisan, for Alydar Stables. Chaparral Cowboy (Nakamura Stables) leads the next group of three, which also consists of Sorcerer (Fractious) and International Empire (Smokey Stover). Trailing are Gold Vault (Fractious), Home Team Advantage (Lazy Eye), and Stumble (Mb Stables).

(3/4 Mile- 1:10.55)- Out in front, Beaten Path has pushed a half-length ahead of Gaslight as these two begin to make their way around the turn. There is still a two-length gap to the third place Chisel, who seems to be content to wait for his time to strike. Bad Debt has pushed a little bit ahead of One Beer as that one rides the rail. Demonic Chant is looking to go by to his inside here, and he is bringing Fujisan with him. Fujisan had the ability to go to the outside Bad Debt to make more of a push forward if he desired to do so right here. Chaparral Cowboy was boxed in, so could not make a push right now. Meanwhile, Sorcerer and Gold Vault were looking a little more interested. Others had not looked to make a move as of yet.

(Top of Stretch, 1.8F To Go)- Entering the stretch, Gaslight reclaims the lead from Beaten Path and quickly puts a length on that one. Things are tightening up for third place, as Chisel is not about to make a move and has horses preparing to go by on each side. Bad Debt is the first one to do, going by directly to his outside, but running four wide here will be Fujisan, taking the lane that was available to him during the turn, and making it pay off. Now, he was quickly only two and a half lengths out of it and closing. One Beer tries to keep pace on the rail. Demonic Chant, a horse that had been running with Fujisan earlier, is now a length behind him. Chaparral Cowboy, Gold Vault, and Holiday In Cambodia are the best of the rest.

(Finish- 1:47.63)- Gaslight is able to maintain a steady stride to the wire, but that will not be good enough here. A strong stretch performance by Fujisan, which was especially powerful in the final furlong of the race allows him to overpower the pacesetter to grab the lead. Making this further impressive, is that he would only pull away further to win by two strong lengths. Gaslight holds off Demonic Chant for second, and the fourth-place check will be shared by Chaparral Cowboy and Bad Debt, who barely edge out Gold Vault and International Empire. Rounding it out, it’s One Beer, Chisel, Beaten Path, Holiday In Cambodia, Stumble, Sorcerer, and Home Team Advantage.

About The Winner- Fujisan, trained by Alydar Stables and ridden to victory by S X Bridgmohan, is a three-year-old gelding by Jung and is out of Secret Me. He was bred by Alydar Stables as a third quarter two-year-old in California, and they have been together since the start. Congratulations to the connections! The win is his second in five starts, and first stake win. His career earnings are now $498.800.

Track: Fast
Time: :46²  1:10²  1:35³  1:47³

$2 Mutuel Prices:

$1 Exacta: 5 – 8 Paid 101.80
$1 Trifecta: 5 – 8 – 6 Paid 1,331.90

Scratched: Claude The Crab, Complicated, Licit

— NS

Categories: Grade II, STAKES ARTICLES