Hit Show brilliant performance in the Withers. (Walter Wlodarczyk)
Derby Dispatch
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Gary and Mary West’s Hit Show, the winner of the Feb. 11 Withers Stakes (Grade III), will return to Aqueduct and headline Saturday’s $750,000 Wood Memorial (GII).
Run at 1 1/8 miles, the Wood Memorial is the finale on Aqueduct’s 11-race program. The race will have a post time of 6:16 p.m. and be shown nationally on Fox.
Hit Show, trained by Brad Cox, jumped onto the Road to the Kentucky Derby scene with his 5 ½-length score in the Withers. Following that race, Cox opted to keep Hit Show based at Fair Grounds and train towards the Wood Memorial. At the end of March, Cox shipped Hit Show to Keeneland where he worked on March 31 in company with Blue Grass Stakes (GI) entrant Verifying and cruised five furlongs in :59.40. Jockey Manny Franco will have the return mount from post No. 13.
Drawn at the opposite side of the starting gate is Repole Stable and St. Elias Stable’s Dreamlike. Trained by Todd Pletcher, Dreamlike is still a maiden but is expected to garner serious attention in the Wood as the 3-1 second choice on the morning line odds. Dreamlike finished second to Arthur’s Ride on debut at Gulfstream Park and recently finished a close second to Empirestrikesfast. The well-bred son of Gun Runner will be ridden by Jose Ortiz.
Pletcher entered three horses in the Wood Memorial. His other two are Repole Stable and St. Elias Stable’s maiden Crupi and Whisper Hill Farm’s recent allowance winner Classic Catch.
The ultra-consistent Arctic Arrogance is scheduled to return in the Wood Memorial and his trainer Linda Rice has opted to remove blinkers for this start. Owned by Chester and Mary Broman, Arctic Arrogance has finished second in his last three starts in the Remsen (GII), Jerome and Withers. The son of Frosted was originally planning a start in the Gotham but a minor illness forced him to miss the race. Arctic Arrogance will exit post 7 with jockey Jose Lezcano.
The Wood Memorial will offer 200 qualifying points to the top five finishers on a 100-40-30-20-10 scale for the Road to the Kentucky Derby Championship Series.
Note: Clear the Air is expected to scratch from the Wood Memorial and run in the Blue Grass at Keeneland.
Wood Memorial Quotes
Brad Cox, trainer, Hit Show and Slip Mahoney: “I’m excited to get Slip Mahoney around two-turns. I think he’s bred for it and how he’s run, I think he’ll handle it well. He obviously needs to get better in the Wood than he was in the Gotham. He ran a good race in the Gotham when he was compromised at the start, but this should be a tougher race.
“Hit Show has already been up to New York and won a race up there. He proved shipping wasn’t a concern and he’s familiar with the surroundings going on the road. I think he’s a horse that does like a mile-and-an-eighth and beyond. We didn’t want to cut him back to one mile after the Withers. We think he’s a two-turn horse. We brought him back to Fair Grounds and trained him. We had our options of where to run next after the Withers – the Louisiana Derby, the Arkansas Derby or the Wood Memorial. Since he’s already shown success in New York we decided that would be the best spot for him.”
