Convincing Gotham score puts Enticed back on track for Derby

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Enticed erased the memories of a disappointing 3-year-old debut and likely earned his way back to Churchill Downs for the Kentucky Derby with a solid 2 3/4-length victory over longshot Old Time Revival in Saturday’s Grade 3, $300,000 Gotham Stakes at Aqueduct.

Old Time Revival, the pace-setting longest shot on the board at 35-1, held second by four lengths over Free Drop Billy, the 8-5 favorite. It was another 2 1/2 lengths back to Firenze Fire, the multiple graded stakes winner, in fourth.

The win earned Enticed 50 qualifying points to the Kentucky Derby, giving him 63, virtually guaranteeing he will have a spot in the starting gate on the first Saturday in May at Churchill. Last fall, Enticed won the Grade 2 Kentucky Jockey Club at Churchill Downs.

Last month, Enticed finished fourth as the 9-5 favorite in the Grade 2 Holy Bull at Gulfstream Park, owing in part to a difficult trip. Trainer Kiaran McLaughlin felt the best way to get Enticed back on track was to send him to New York for the Gotham, a one-turn mile race in which he was more likely to get a clean trip.

“Kiaran liked the idea of the one-turn mile and give ourselves a real chance to let him write his own ticket, if you will, and felt like the Gotham was the best place for that to happen,” said Jimmy Bell, the president of the U.S. operation of Sheikh Mohammed’s Godolphin Racing, the owner/breeder of Enticed.

Enticed had the outside post in the nine-horse field. When Free Drop Billy took a right-hand turn out of the gate, it caused a chain reaction of bumping that included Enticed, who needed a stride or two to get straightened out.

Enticed, reunited with Junior Alvarado, was five wide while racing in fourth, about two lengths off the pace after a half-mile run in 46.43 seconds by Old Time Revival under Jeremy Rose.

Enticed moved into second approaching the five-sixteenths pole, but still had work to do in order to catch Old Time Revival, who ran six furlongs in 1:11.77.

Alvarado, who used a methodic left-handed whip on Enticed, got Enticed to switch leads and the gangly colt reeled in Old Time Revival inside the eighth pole and edged clear.

Enticed, a son of Grade 1 winners Medaglia d’Oro and It’s Tricky, covered the mile in 1:38.24 – the third-fastest of six one-turn mile races run on the card – and returned $8.80 as the third choice.

“I wanted to make sure to be a little close, but I felt the first part of the race we were going a little fast for the way the track was playing today,” said Alvarado, noting that closers had a difficult time making up ground on the main track. “I wanted to make sure I kept him clear on the outside. I didn’t want to get him in trouble at all because he’s a horse that takes a while to get going. As soon as we turned for home, I knew it was just a matter of time when he switched leads for him to give me that next gear.”

Bell said Enticed needed to step up Saturday and “he did with flying colors. Very professional, very pleased. Still learning, he’s a big boy. This is the time of year when you start graduating. He probably made it to the next level.”

:: ROAD TO THE KENTUCKY DERBY: Prep races, point standings, replays

Bell wouldn’t confirm where Enticed would make his final start before the Kentucky Derby, but the Wood Memorial on April 7 has got to be high on the list.

“He certainly enjoys New York,” Bell said.

Old Time Revival acquitted himself well for the first time in graded stakes company. He followed up his neck loss at 34-1 in the Miracle Wood with a solid second-place finish against the best field he’s faced to date.

“You have to let him run his race and let him get out there and get comfortable,” said trainer Ken Decker. “He’s going to keep getting better and we’ll just keep stretching him out.”

Free Drop Billy and Firenze Fire, the two Grade 1 stakes winners in this field, were disappointing. Dale Romans, the trainer of Free Drop Billy, decided to accentuate the positive of his colt’s third-place finish.

“There were some good things to see about it, like running away from the horse he was head-and-head with for fourth,” Romans said. “That was good that he kept on going, and I thought he galloped out strong. Two turns would probably be better.”

Romans said Free Drop Billy would most likely make his next start in the Grade 2 Blue Grass at Keeneland on April 7. Free Drop Billy won the Grade 1 Breeders’ Futurity at Keeneland last fall.

Trainer Jason Servis said jockey Manny Franco told him he had to use the horse earlier than desired to make sure he didn’t get shuffled back. Servis said Franco told him he “could never really let him settle.”

Firenze Fire, who has 29 Derby points, will make his next start in the Grade 2 Wood Memorial. If he does, the purse of the race will go from $750,000 to $1 million as the New York Racing Association previously announced the increase provided a Grade 1 winner participates in the race.