NYRA cancels Thursday card

OZONE PARK, N.Y. » NYRA cancelled Thursday’s racing card because of extremely high winds in the New York metropolitan area, “to ensure the safety of all participants” the organization said in a release.

Simulcasting was available at Aqueduct Racetrack and Belmont Café. Online wagering is also available via NYRA Bets at NYRABets.com.

Live racing is scheduled to resume on Friday, March 3, with a first post of 1:20 p.m.

O’Neill excited about So Conflated

Reddam Racing’s California Derby winner So Conflated has settled nicely into his temporary digs at Aqueduct Racetrack following his Tuesday arrival for the Grade 3, $300,000 Gotham on Saturday, said trainer Doug O’Neill.

So Conflated, 8-1 on the morning line and the only other previous stakes winner in this year’s Gotham field aside from two-time Grade 3 winner El Areeb, will get another chance to step up in class following his three-quarter-length victory in the California Derby over Golden Gate Fields’ synthetic Tapeta surface on January 21.

Mario Gutierrez, who has been aboard the ridgling in all three of his career starts, has the return call on So Conflated, who was entered in the Risen Star February 25 at Fair Grounds but was scratched after drawing the outside post in a field of 14.

The gray son of Eskendereya has two dirt starts to his credit, both in southern California, where he ran behind a pair of well-regarded colts from the Hall of Fame barn of Bob Baffert. He was third to eventual Grade 3 Sham runner-up American Anthem in his December 3 debut at Del Mar and came back in maiden special weight three weeks later, crossing the wire second behind another Baffert trainee, Dabster, a $1 million 2-year-old-in-training purchase, in a blanket finish before being elevated to first after the winner was disqualified for interference.

“He’s just mentally very tough, very competitive,” O’Neill said of So Conflated, speaking by phone Thursday morning. “He’s been very solid. We’re very excited about him. For him to run third in his debut behind American Anthem, who is one of Team Baffert’s top Derby hopefuls, this guy figured to get better with more distance.

“In the Cal Derby, Mario rode him with a lot of confidence and he displayed his ability down the lane there,” he noted. “He really stretched out and looked great. The [Tapeta] is similar to turf, it takes a patient horse to do what he did, so I’m using it as a positive. I think it really showed his mental maturity to win that race the way he did. And the fact that he’s already won on the dirt is a vote of confidence too. I think it’s a good way to come into this race. It sounds like it’s chilly and windy there, but hopefully he’s a windy city horse.”

Lynch keeps Gotham favorite El Areeb on routine

Trainer Cathal Lynch doesn’t plan on venturing far from the tried-andtrue formula that has already gotten his multiple Grade 3 winner El Areeb to 6-5 favoritism in Saturday’s Gotham.

Lynch said the horse will train at his Laurel Park home base on Friday and ship up with Lynch’s son and assistant, Charlie, later that day, the same procedure El Areeb followed prior to his victories in the January 3 Jerome and the February 4 Withers.

“So far, it’s the same routine,” said Lynch. “We try to keep everything the same. Fingers crossed, everything’s good. He breezed good on Sunday and went back to the track the last couple of days so everything’s going according to plan, you know how that goes in horse racing.”

The 1 1/16-mile Gotham, which serves as the local prep for the Grade 2, $750,000 Wood Memorial on April 8, will offer the winner 50 qualifying points as the first Kentucky Derby Championship Series qualifying event of the season at the Big A. Additionally, the runner-up will receive 20 points, with 10 points going to third and five points to fourth. The previous round of preps, including the Jerome and Withers, was worth 10-52-1 points to the top four finishers.

The Irish native has charted El Areeb’s course down the Derby trail with cautious optimism, originally expecting to skip the Gotham and target next month’s Wood instead, worth 100-40-20-10 points, as the colt’s final prep for a possible “Run for the Roses” on May 6 at Churchill Downs, but was ultimately persuaded to reconsider by the horse himself, who posted a sharp pair of recent workouts at Laurel.

“(He’s been) acting like he wants to go do something, so I didn’t know if I really felt like sitting on him for another four weeks if he’s going right,” said Lynch.

El Areeb enters the Gotham with 20 qualifying points from his two local prep wins, to rank him fourth on the Kentucky Derby leaderboard this week, and a strong showing on Saturday could clinch his spot in the starting gate on the first Saturday in May. Lynch hopes that another good effort will further bolster El Areeb’s credentials and offer the colt’s connections greater flexibility heading into the spring racing season.

“If we’re lucky enough to jump up there and be first or second, it gives you 50 or 20 points and that should be enough to get you in based on the last few years,” said Lynch, who is assisted at Laurel by his sons Charlie and Anthony. “Then it gives you the option if you have to go to the Wood or not.

“The horse is going to take us there, we’re not going to take the horse to the Derby,” he added. “We’re not going to force anything. If it happens, we’ll be delighted to go. We’re not going to put any more pressure on the horse, he’s carrying enough weight already.”