Brooklyn Strong targeting return in Gotham or Damon Runyon

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Brooklyn Strong, who has not worked or raced since winning the Grade 2 Remsen Stakes on Dec. 5 at Aqueduct, only recently returned to training after getting over an illness, and his connections are eyeing one of two spots at Aqueduct in early March.

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Trainer and part-owner Daniel Velazquez said the Grade 3, $300,000 Gotham on March 6 or the $100,000 Damon Runyon, a seven-furlong race for New York breds on March 14, could be Brooklyn Strong’s next start with an eye toward the Wood Memorial on April 3.

Velazquez said “everything would have to go perfect” in order for Brooklyn Strong to make the Gotham. Velazquez said that, ideally, he would like to get three works into Brooklyn Strong for the Gotham, but given inclement weather and its impact on training at Parx Racing, where Brooklyn Strong is based, that doesn’t seem plausible.

The Damon Runyon may be a more realistic target. The Wood is run 20 days after the Damon Runyon.

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◗ There were not enough entries for the $100,000 Broadway Stakes to be carded for Saturday, so there will not be a stakes race at Aqueduct on the program. The Broadway, for New York-bred fillies and mares, may be brought back for next weekend.

◗ Jockey Katie Davis will serve the remaining two days of a three-day careless riding suspension on Friday and Saturday. The stewards disciplined Davis for her ride on Run Casper Run, who finished first in the second race on Feb. 5 but was disqualified and placed third for interfering with two horses. Davis served her first day on Monday.

◗ The stewards fined jockey Jorge Vargas Jr. $500 for failing to persevere with his mount, Mad Munnys, in the fifth race on Feb. 4. Vargas appeared stop riding in deep stretch, and Mad Munnys got beat a neck for fourth place by Sunny Ridge. There was superfecta wagering offered in the five-horse field. The difference in purse money between fourth and fifth was $1,700.