Aqueduct: Retreive likely for Bay Shore

OZONE PARK, N.Y. - The day that unbeaten Gotham winner Vyjack won his maiden at Aqueduct, Clawback, the Jimmy Winkfield winner, was second, and Orb, the Fountain of Youth winner, finished fourth.

The favorite in that race, however, was Retreive, who finished third in that Nov. 10 race.

It took Retreive three more tries before winning his maiden, something he did by 8 3/4 lengths at Gulfstream Park on Feb. 22.

Jeremiah Englehart, trainer of Retreive, said he is leaning toward shipping that horse back to New York for the Grade 3, $250,000 Bay Shore Stakes on April 6.

“There’s a race at Tampa going seven-eighths, but I’d rather go to Aqueduct because he’s run on the track before and had success,” Englehart said from south Florida.

Retreive was not only favored against Vyjack, but he also was favored in the Jan. 1 race at Gulfstream that was won by Verrazano. Retreive finished fifth that day, beaten 16 3/4 lengths.

“It was a dull effort against Verrazano,” Englehart said. “It took him a while to acclimate down here.”

In his debut last October at Belmont, Retreive finished second to Darwin. On Feb. 3, at Gulfstream, he finished second to Gombey Dancer.

“He’s run against a lot of nice horses,” Englehart said. “Any horse that turns into a nice 3-year-old had to run against Retreive.”