The 9-1 shot Wicked Strong (ridden by Rajiv Maragh) won the 90th running of the Wood Memorial at Aqueduct Saturday afternoon. I watched the race from Section 2C at the long-neglected but filled-with-spirit racing facility in Queens, Marc and Jimmy were alongside. It was great fun.
New York’s big Kentucky Derby prep race has failed to produce a Derby winner since Wood runner Funny Cide’s 2004 upset win in the Run for the Roses. Assuming he keeps his health, Wicked Strong (pictured above with Maragh) will make the trip to Louisville and join the field of 20 for America’s most anticipated horse race. The Derby will be run on May 3.
The Wood’s 10 entrants were an intriguing bunch going into the race. The weather was nice and so was the crowd. The announced attendance was 12,719. The favorite for the Wood was Social Inclusion. Marc has given him the nickname Social Distortion.
Wearing blinkers, Social’s ankles were wrapped in blue-colored bandages for the Wood. He wore wraps and eye cups in his only two career races prior. Both of those efforts were electric victories down in Florida. Social’s owner Ron Sanchez has told racing writers that he spurned an $8 million offer to sell the colt off buzz generated from his open lengths win on a weekday at Gulfstream three and a half weeks ago.
Bet down to 8-5 when the gates opened for the Wood, Social D as we’ll call him going forward (pictured above – #11) appeared washy around the neck as he passed us going into the first turn. He ran a good race but had to travel a longer distance than Wicked given the outside path Social opted to take to suit his need-the-lead running style. Social D finished a respectable third, about three lengths behind the winner. The criteria now used to determined Derby eligibility may keep Social Inclusion excluded. If that’s the case, we’ll likely see him next in the Preakness.
After winning the race, Maragh embraced Wicked Strong around his long neck, He then declared him the favorite for the Derby. Maragh and Wicked have a chance but they won’t be the top betting choice. The winning Wood time was slow. 1:49.31 for the 1 1/8 mile. Wicked’s lineage is noteworthy for its perseverance and Maragh is an aggressive rider who can thread a needle if need be. But the most popular choice on Central Avenue the first Saturday in May is coming out of California.
I watched the Santa Anita Derby on a television in Champs Bar on Aqueduct’s second floor just before exiting the track. California Chrome won for fun (registering a 107 Beyer number) before a crowd of 35-thousand in Arcadia, CA. Chrome will be your Kentucky Derby favorite. Plenty of doubters will knock his modest pedigree and somewhat soft racing campaign which emphasized state-bred races with big purses. I can’t really speak about the breeding but at least Chrome had the benefit of a pretty busy schedule as a juvenile unlike some pretenders who barely run but make it to the Derby through the capture of one of the point-scoring qualifying races. The win on Saturday by Chrome was a walk in the park. A nice prep. He could be special. Or maybe the unique rigors of the Derby take the shine off Chrome because of inevitable adversity during the gate departure, the first turn or stamina-testing final furlong. We’ll see.
The new much-hyped bar at Aqueduct (Longshots) is nothing special, really. It’s spiffy right now because it just opened but sixteen-ounce Bud drafts are priced at $8 and the bartenders lose track of you just like they did at the bar Longshots replaced. After a couple rounds of the $8 16-ouncer, I was informed a 12-ounce Bud was on “special” for $5. What a deal. When we moved outside, the only barrier-free beer near the seats I could find was at Champ’s which was selling 12-ounce Bud bottles poured into a cup for $8. I should mention that Marc isolated the 7-1 winner of the Bay Shore in a pick 3 and caught a big longshot in the first leg of that bet to make a big score. That all unfolded in Longshots. He hit the longshot in Longshots. Something to remember.
But no wonder the fans in 2A are smoking doob like it’s going out of style. 8 bucks for a Bud? At least track admission is free. Free for all. Including our friends in the homeless community. I thought Bossert might be exaggerating the homeless angle in his stories for the News until I recognized a street hustler from my neighborhood in Champs.
Hey, it’s all good. This new work schedule I have gets me out in time to see the Saturday feature. I don’t care how much the Buds are.
Because the slots parlor adjoining Aqueduct brings in a big crowd, the Q37 bus now has a stop much closer to the racetrack. The Q37 takes you to the Kew Gardens E/F stop in about 20 minutes. That’s how I got to the track and back. The 37 to the E.