Jeff Drown’s Zandon has some remaining opportunities to further his resume before he heads to stud next year at Spendthrift Farm, with one race coming Sept. 30 when he races in the $400,000 Woodward Stakes (G2) at Aqueduct Racetrack.
Downgraded from grade 1 status for 2023, the 1 1/8-mile Woodward drew a 10-horse field, with other top contenders being Algiers , Charge It , Law Professor , O’Connor , and Tyson .
Though not part of the Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series: Win and You’re In, the race’s placement on the calendar—five weeks out from the $6 million Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1) and $1 million Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile (G1)—leaves the Woodward as a potential steppingstone to those major races.
Zandon, who has made $1,920,000 for trainer Chad Brown, can end an eight-race losing streak after he captured the Blue Grass Stakes (G1) in April 2022 at Keeneland. Two losses over the period came as an odds-on favorite.
Over the period, he recorded five seconds, two thirds and a fourth. Among those on-the-board efforts were a third in the 2022 Kentucky Derby (G1), a third in the 2022 Travers Stakes (G1), a second in this year’s Metropolitan Handicap (G1), and another runner-up finish in his most recent start, the Aug. 5 Whitney Stakes (G1) at Saratoga Race Course.
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In the Whitney, the Upstart 4-year-old was no match for victorious White Abarrio but finished clear of the other four starters, one of which was fourth-place Charge It.
Flavien Prat rides.
Kendrick Carmouche is on Brown’s other representative, John Gunther’s Pipeline , a longshot.
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A new challenger for Zandon is Tyson, an even third behind Bright Future and Proxy in the Sept. 2 Jockey Club Gold Cup (G1) at Saratoga in his dirt debut.
A homebred son of Tapit for owners Hill ‘n’ Dale Equine Holdings and Stretch Run Ventures, he raced exclusively on synthetic tracks before the Jockey Club Gold Cup, capturing the Dominion Day Stakes (G3) and Seagram Cup (G2) at Woodbine, among other races. He has a 4-0-2 record in six starts and earnings of $345,205.
Trainer Josie Carroll said Tyson “rose to the occasion” with his effort in the Jockey Club Gold Cup, noting, “We gave him a try on the dirt in a pretty tough spot.”
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- Whisper Hill Farm’s Charge It has sometimes produced standout performances, such as a 23-length triumph in the 2022 Dwyer Stakes (G3) and a 4 3/4-length score in the July 8 Suburban Stakes (G2). Speaking of Charge It’s fourth-place finish in the Whitney, Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher said: “I thought he ran decently; I just didn’t think he ran his ‘A’ race.”
- Rabbah Bloodstock’s $3 million earner Algiers, unraced since late March, makes his United States debut following two grade 2 wins and a runner-up finish in the Dubai World Cup (G1). “He’s as fit as we can get him at home without running him,” said Ed Crisford, son and assistant to trainer Simon Crisford.
Entries: Woodward S. (G2)
Belmont at the Big A, Saturday, September 30, 2023, Race 7
- Grade II
- 1 1/8m
- Dirt
- $400,000
- 3 yo’s & up
- 3:11 PM (local)
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