01/14/2013 4:50PM

Aqueduct: Smooth Bert probable for Withers

By David Grening
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Adam Coglianese/NYRA
Smooth Bert is being pointed to the Grade 3 Withers Stakes.

Smooth Bert, who won the Damon Runyon Stakes for New York-breds Dec. 9, will most likely make his next start in the Grade 3, $200,000 Withers Stakes for 3-year-olds on Feb. 2, trainer Leah Gyarmati said Monday.

Smooth Bert is 2 for 5, with both wins coming in one-turn mile races. He had a temperature that forced him to miss the Grade 2, $200,000 Jerome on Jan. 5.

“It seems like a good time to find out if belongs with that kind,” Gyarmati said. “If not, we can go back to New York-breds.”

Asked if she felt Smooth Bert was better than the average New York-bred, Gyarmati said, “He’s better than the average New York-bred in my barn. He’s the best horse in my barn right now.”

Others eyeing the Withers include Revolutionary, Siete de Oros, Valid, and Long River.