Forewarned wins last year’s edition of the Queens County (NYRA/Coglianese)
NYRA Press Office
OZONE PARK, N.Y.— Trainer Uriah St. Lewis’ graded stakes-placed Forewarned will attempt to defend his title in the $150,000 Queens County, a nine-furlong main track test for 3-year-olds and upward, on Saturday at Aqueduct Racetrack.
“He’s doing fantastic and everything is going good,” said St. Lewis. “We couldn’t ask for anything better.”
The 7-year-old Ohio-bred son of Flat Out is nearing millionaire status as he makes his 11th and final start of a campaign that included two stakes victories and three other stakes placings. Forewarned will make his first start at the Big A since a dramatic head victory over Untreated in the Excelsior in April where he looked defeated in the final strides of a dramatic stretch battle, but found more under steady urging from Dexter Haddock to land the victory.
Forewarned’s victory in last year’s Queens County capped a productive 6-year-old season that saw him score in the 1 1/2-mile Best of Ohio Endurance at Mahoning Valley Race Course for a third consecutive year. He attempted a fourth victory in that event two starts back, but came up a neck shy after giving his signature late run from eighth-of-9 and failing to reel in the victorious I Wanna Win.
St. Lewis said he is looking forward to getting Forewarned back to Aqueduct after an even fifth-place finish last out in the Richard W. Small on November 26 at Laurel Park.
“I love it. I hope they go fast enough so he can come flying at the end,” St. Lewis said. “I don’t think he likes the Laurel track. We keep taking him there, but it’s not one of those tracks that helps horses that come from off the pace, and he has to. I like Aqueduct for him.”
St. Lewis had previously indicated there has been interest from the Ohio breeding market in a stud career for Forewarned, but he said the veteran will race at least one more season.
“He’ll run as an 8-year-old and then we’ll figure it out,” said St. Lewis. “As long as he’s healthy, we’ll run him next year.”
Bred by Preston Stables, Forewarned has amassed $940,283 in earnings through a record of 55-11-10-4. Jose Gomez has been tasked with the ride from post 9 in the Queens County, which is slated as Race 8 on Saturday’s nine-race program.
Among St. Lewis’ other stable stars are multiple graded stakes-winner Informative and multiple graded stakes-placed War Tocsin, who are both receiving a freshening after prosperous campaigns this year.
Informative, a 5-year-old son of Bodemeister, was last seen finishing a distant fourth in the Grade 1 Woodward over a sloppy and sealed Big A main track on October 1. The dark bay horse notched his second graded victory at odds of 14-1 in the Grade 3 Phillip H. Iselin in August at Monmouth Park, adding to another Grade 3 victory over the same oval in the Salvator Mile last June. Bred in Kentucky by Rose Hill Farm and John Trumbulovic, Informative has banked $557,040 in earnings with a record of 36-4-3-3.
“He’s doing good. We’re just giving him some time,” said St. Lewis. “We want to bring him back and we think next year will be a very good year for him because of all the horses who have retired. He can move up I think and get a little better.”
War Tocsin, a 6-year-old Violence gelding, has amassed $360,043 in earnings. He tried turf in the Grade 3 Turf Monster last out in September at Parx and was never involved, trailing in last-of-11 throughout.
The Kentucky-bred picked up three graded placings this year with a runner-up effort in the Grade 3 General George in February at Laurel and third-place finishes in the Grade 3 Maryland Sprint in May at Pimlico and Grade 2 True North in June at Belmont Park.
“We’ve given him some time too and he’s back training,” said St. Lewis. “He wasn’t as interested [at the end of the year] and getting sour, so we just saw that and gave him some time. He’s back jumping and kicking around, so we’re happy with that. We’ll run both of them sometime in February or March at Laurel.”
