OZONE PARK, N.Y. - The connections of Dubai World Cup runner-up Algiers will be on “a fact-finding mission” when they run their 6-year-old in Saturday’s Grade 2, $400,000 Woodward Stakes at Aqueduct. Algiers, trained by Simon Crisford, is coming to Aqueduct to see if he handles the U.S. dirt tracks as well as he handled Meydan in Dubai, where he won two rounds of the Maktoum Challenge before his runner-up finish to Japan’s Ushba Tesoro in the World Cup. “It’s a bit of a fact-finding mission because the Meydan dirt is different than the American dirt,” said Ed Crisford, son of and assistant to his father Simon. “He goes so well at Meydan we have to find out if he can go on the American tracks as well.” Should he run well in the Woodward, Algiers would be considered for a start in the Breeders’ Cup with the Dirt Mile a more likely spot than the Classic, Ed Crisford said. :: Get Belmont at the Big A Clocker Reports from Mike Welsch and the Clocker Team. Available every race day. Algiers, an Irish-bred son of Shamardal, made the first 14 starts of his career on turf, winning three. He won his dirt debut in January 2022 at Jebel Ali in the United Arab Emirates before finishing eighth in that year’s Godolphin Mile. Following mixed results on turf and synthetic last fall in Great Britain, Algiers went to Meydan, where he had trained so well on that dirt surface the Crisfords ran him in the Al Maktoum Challenge Round 1, which he won by 6 1/2 lengths. He backed up that victory with a six-length victory in Round 2, leading to the start in the World Cup. In the World Cup, he chased the early pace, had the lead in midstretch, but gave way to Ushba Tesoro while holding off Emblem Road by a nose for second. “We were surprised the way he went the first two races in the Maktoum challenges and how he just covered the dirt so well,” Crisford said. “Once he did it the second time, we felt, well ... we got a serious dirt horse here. “So it wasn’t that surprising when it came to World Cup night, though you were up against local horses until then,” Crisford added. “To actually go and do it against some of the world’s best dirt horses was just fantastic.” The fact he got a little leg-weary in the final furlong of the 1 1/4-mile World Cup is one reason the Crisfords are leaning more to the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile than the Classic, since the latter is run at 1 1/4 miles. “Can he handle the surface and is he up to it against American dirt horses?” Crisford said. “If he comes through this task and he comes out of it good we’ll be hopefully heading to the Breeders’ Cup.” William Buick will ride Algiers in the Woodward, which will be run as Grade 2 for the first time after being downgraded by the North American Graded Stakes Committee following last year’s running. Others pointing to this year’s Woodward include Charge It, the Grade 2 Suburban winner, Zandon, runner-up in the Grade 1 Whitney, Tyson, third in the Grade 1 Jockey Club Gold Cup, O’Connor, runner-up in the Charles Town Classic, Law Professor and Double Crown. Top 3 from BC Turf expected in Hirsch Rebel’s Romance, Stone Age and War Like Goddess, the top three finishers from last November’s Breeders’ Cup Turf, are all expected to be entered Wednesday for Saturday’s Grade 1, $500,000 Joe Hirsch Turf Classic. Rebel’s Romance, trained by Charlie Appleby for Godolphin, returned to New York over the weekend, hoping for better things than his last trip here. In July’s Grade 2 Bowling Green at Saratoga, Rebel’s Romance clipped heels around the far turn, unseating jockey Richard Mullen, who suffered significant injuries and who is recovering in England. Rebel’s Romance was then considered for the Grade 1 Arlington Million at Colonial Downs two weeks later, but instead was shipped back to Appleby’s yard in England. Stone Age, second to Rebel’s Romance in the BC Turf when trained by Aidan O’Brien, has been with Chad Brown since late winter. Stone Age came back off a six-month layoff in the Grade 1 Sword Dancer in which he finished fifth, 11 1/2 lengths behind the O’Brien-trained Bolshoi Ballet. That horse was mentioned as a possibility for the Hirsch, but was not nominated by O’Brien. The mare War Like Goddess finished third in the BC Turf after beating the boys in last year’s Hirsch. War Like Goddess is 1 for 3 this year, coming off a neck defeat to McKulick in the Grade 2 Glens Falls, a race in which War Like Goddess got very rank early on. Others expected for the Hirsch include Adhamo, the Grade 1 United Nations winner in 2022, Astronaut, Grand Sonata, Pioneering Spirit, Soldier Rising, and Therapist. The 9-year-old Channel Maker, who won this race in 2018 and in his Eclipse Award-winning campaign of 2020, is nominated and possible, according to trainer Bill Mott. *** Cody’s Wish heads what will likely be a small field in Saturday’s Grade 2 Vosburgh, a “Win and You’re In” race for the Breeders’ Cup Sprint. Cody’s Wish is actually using the race as a steppingstone to the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile, a race he won last year. His Mott-trained stablemate High Oak, along with Great Navigator and Cowan are expected. He’smyhoneybadger and Pipeline are possible. *** The Grade 2, $250,000 Gallant Bloom Stakes for fillies and mares at 6 1/2 furlongs is also expected to come up a small field. As of Sunday, likely runners were Beguine, Caramel Swirl and Sterling Silver. Possible runners were Bluefield, Remain Anonymous and Undervalued Asset. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.