Daily Racing Form National Digital Edition
Brown 3-year-olds work for Derby preps
OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Risk Taking, the Grade 3 Withers winner, and Crowded Trade and Highly Motivated, the secondand third-place finishers from the Grade 3 Gotham, each put in a workout Sunday morning at Belmont Park as they prepare for their next start in upcoming Kentucky Derby prep races. All three are trained by Chad Brown
Risk Taking, working toward the Grade 2, $750,000 Wood Memorial on April 3 at Aqueduct, went five furlongs in 1:01.85, outfinishing his workmate Cousin Andrew by two lengths. Risk Taking, working in blinkers as usual, got his final quarter in 25.04 seconds.
“The workmate couldn’t hang in there as well as I thought he would, but [Risk Taking] did what I wanted him to do timewise, and he looks like he’s in good shape,” Brown said.
Crowded Trade, who stepped up from a maiden victory to run second, beaten a nose by Weyburn, in the Grade 3 Gotham, worked a strong halfmile in 48.01 in company with Highly Motivated. Brown said that by running in the Wood, it gives Crowded Trade the best chance to prove himself worthy of running in the Kentucky Derby.
“If I was going to do something different it would really be taking him off the Derby trail,” Brown said. “With points there, it’s time to try.”
Brown said Irad Ortiz Jr. will ride Risk Taking, while Eric Cancel will be aboard Crowded Trade. Cancel had ridden both horses in their most recent start.
Highly Motivated is pointing to the Grade 2 Blue Grass on April 3 at Keeneland. He won the Nyquist Stakes at Keeneland last November.
Highly Motivated finished third in the Gotham with a troubled trip. Brown said he was pleased enough with the performance and noted that both Practical Joke and Good Magic were beaten in their 3-year-old debuts before going on to run well in the Derby. Practical Joke finished fifth in the Derby, while Good Magic won the Blue Grass, then finished second to Justify in the Derby.
“I’m proud that he gathered himself up and finished real well and got a lot out of it,” Brown said of Highly Motivated. “That first work back today was very good. I think I’m where I want to be now.”
Brown said that Excellent Timing, dominant winner of the Damon Runyon Stakes for New York-breds, will be considered for either the Lexington Stakes on April 10 at Keeneland or the Pat Day Mile on the undercard of the Kentucky Derby on May 1 at Churchill Downs.
Search Results, the Busher winner, and The Grass Is Blue, the Busanda winner, also worked Sunday at Belmont. Search Results, in company with Subsidize, went four furlongs in 49.16, while The Grass Is Blue went a half-mile in 49.84 by herself. Both are pointing to the Grade 3, $250,000 Gazelle Stakes on the April 3 card.
Nicky the Vest works
Nicky the Vest, the undefeated New York-bred, worked five furlongs in 1:00.29 on Sunday morning at Belmont Park in preparation for a start in the Wood Memorial.
His work was the fastest of 29 at the distance that morning.
Nicky the Vest went in company with Utmost, a 7-yearold who won the Grade 2 Sky Classic at Woodbine in 2018. Nicky the Vest actually started out a little in front of Utmost and finished a dozen or so lengths in front.
While trainer Jonathan Thomas didn’t expect the work to go exactly like that, he was pleased with the strong move put in by Nicky the Vest, whose previous work was somewhat on the slower side.
“The track’s been a little dead the last couple of weeks, so I certainly feel a lot better with that work under his belt going to a Grade 2,” Thomas said.
Nicky the Vest is a son of Runhappy who won his maiden by 3 1/4 lengths and the Gander by 11 3/4 lengths.
Also working Sunday at Belmont for the Wood was Dynamic One, who went a halfmile in 49.22 for trainer Todd Pletcher.