Brown gearing up Highly Motivated for Gotham; Risk Taking headed to Wood

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – While Withers Stakes winner Risk Taking over the weekend began working toward a start in the Wood Memorial on April 3 at Aqueduct, his Chad Brown-trained stablemate Highly Motivated continued his preparation for a start in the Grade 3, $300,000 Gotham here on March 6.

Highly Motivated, wintering at the Payson Park training center in Florida, worked five furlongs in 1:02.40 in company with Excellent Timing on Saturday. Excellent Timing, transferred to Brown following a private sale in December, is being pointed to the Damon Runyon Stakes on March 14 at Aqueduct.

For Highly Motivated, it was his sixth work since resuming training following a 4 1/4-length victory in the Nyquist Stakes on Nov. 6 at Keeneland.

“He looks good,” Brown said Monday from South Florida. “We gave him a little bit of time off just because he had been in training all year, he was one of the earlier babies to come in. We started back, he was a little rusty, a little stiff, but he’s come out of it now. He’s really, really moving well.”

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Highly Motivated, a son of Into Mischief, was beaten a neck by Founder in his debut last summer at Saratoga. He followed with a maiden win on Sept. 27 at Belmont and the Nyquist. Both of his victories were at 6 1/2 furlongs.

Brown said the one turn of the Gotham makes sense for Highly Motivated’s first start in four months.

“Let’s start there and see what happens,” he said.

Javier Castellano, who has ridden Highly Motivated in all three of his starts, will come up from South Florida to ride. Castellano, who only last Wednesday resumed riding after undergoing surgery near his hip last November, will have to test negative for COVID-19 on both March 2 and Gotham Day in order to ride. Castellano tested positive for COVID-19 last March.

There were 36 nominations to the Gotham, a race whose winner earns 50 points to the Kentucky Derby on May 1.

In addition to Highly Motivated, the likely starters include Capo Kane, Freedom Fighter, and One Fast Cat. Those under consideration include Awesome Gerry, Helium, The Reds, and Wipe the Slate.

On Sunday, Risk Taking, who is not Gotham nominated, worked a half-mile in 50.06 seconds over the Belmont training track. It was his first move since winning the Withers on Feb. 3. He should have time for five more works before the Wood.

Brown said he is likely to run two 3-year-old fillies in the Busher Invitational on the Gotham undercard. The Grass Is Blue, who won the Busanda at 1 1/8 miles, will cut back to a one-turn mile, while Search Results, a debut winner at six furlongs on Jan. 3 at Gulfstream Park, will stretch out in the Busher.