Daily Racing Form National Digital Edition
Jerome winner Capo Kane works for Withers Stakes
OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Capo Kane, the Jerome Stakes winner, returned to the work tab Wednesday at Parx, breezing five furlongs in 1:01.96 in preparation for an expected start in the Grade 3, $250,000 Withers Stakes at Aqueduct on Feb. 6.
The work was the fastest of seven moves at the distance that day.
Trainer Harold Wyner said Capo Kane worked by himself and “came out of the work very well.”
“We didn’t push him,” he said. “He was well within himself.
“He seems to be a little more aggressive. We’re happy. He’s training very well.”
Wyner said Capo Kane may work just one more time and have a couple of strong gallops leading up to the Withers, which is run at 1 1/8 miles.
After finishing second in his debut, Capo Kane, a son of 2007 Kentucky Derby winner Street Sense, has won two consecutive races, including the Jerome by 6 1/4 lengths here on New Year’s Day.
Nominations for the Withers are scheduled to close over the weekend. Some of the early names mentioned for the race are Overtook, Donegal Bay, and Risk Taking.
On Friday at Belmont, Overtook worked four furlongs in 48.78 seconds in company with recent winner Jerry the Nipper.
Before Wyner runs Capo Kane in the Withers, he plans to run Scotch Rock’s in the $100,000 Jimmy Winkfield Stakes for 3-year-olds at seven furlongs here on Jan. 31.
Scotch Rock’s will be running back 15 days after he finished seventh in the Spectacular Bid Stakes at Laurel Park on Jan. 16.
“He got into a little bit of trouble in the race – no racing luck,” Wyner said. “He only ran for about a half-mile.”
Others expected for the Winkfield include Hello Hot Rod, Pico d’Oro, Return the Ring, and Weyburn. Eagle Orb is possible, according to trainer Rudy Rodriguez.
On Friday, Weyburn worked five furlongs in 1:00.19, with a gallop-out of six furlongs in 1:13.19.
Pete’s Play Call works
Pete’s Play Call, the Gravesend Stakes winner, worked five furlongs in 1:01.58 over the Belmont Park training track Friday for an expected start in the Grade 3, $150,000 Toboggan Stakes next Saturday at Aqueduct.
“He went very, very good,” trainer Rudy Rodriguez said. “That’s what I was looking for – a nice, solid breeze. Now we just have to hope he comes back good, but he did what we expected him to do.”
Rodriguez and owner
Michael Dubb claimed Pete’s Play Call for $62,500 out of a win on Nov. 27 at Aqueduct. In his first start off the claim, Pete’s Play Call cruised to a 2 1/2-length victory over Stan the Man in the Gravesend here on Jan. 2, earning a 97 Beyer Speed Figure.
Others under consideration for the Gravesend include American Power, Drafted, Malibu Pro, and possibly Funny Guy and Share the Ride.
NYRA sets racing dates
The New York Racing Association has 202 racing dates scheduled for 2021 based on the schedule for the remaining meets it released on Friday.
Following 58 days of racing at Aqueduct from Jan. 1 through April 18, racing moves to Belmont Park on April 22 for a 48-day spring/summer meeting that runs to July 11. The 40-day Saratoga meet opens July 15 and runs through Sept. 6.
There will once again be a week-plus break between Saratoga and the Belmont fall meet, which runs Sept. 16 through Oct. 31. Racing returns to Aqueduct for an 18-day fall meet from Nov. 5 through Dec. 5. As was the case in 2020, there will be no live racing on Thanksgiving Day. The 2021-22 winter meet begins Dec. 9. There will be 10 days of the winter meet in December before it continues in January. There will again be a 10-day holiday break from Dec. 20-29.
Racing will mostly be conducted four days a week, Thursdays through Sundays, with the exception of Saratoga, when racing will be conducted Wednesdays through Sundays.
NYRA has not released its stakes schedules beyond the Aqueduct spring season. However, it did confirm that the Belmont Stakes will be June 5, the Whitney on Aug. 7, and the Travers on Aug. 28.