Dr B repeats over wet track again in Go for Wand

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – On the first Saturday in December, 2022, over a sealed, sloppy Aqueduct main track, Dr B cruised to a front-running, 4 1/4-length in the Grade 3,$200,000 Go for Stakes at Aqueduct.

On the first Saturday in December, 2023, over a sealed, muddy Aqueduct main track, Dr B again cruised to a front-running victory in the Grade 3, $200,000 Go for Wand, this time settling for a 3 3/4-length victory.

Sent to the lead out of the gate by Jose Lezcano, Dr B had some earl pressure from Gerrymander through an opening quarter in 22.56 seconds. Dr B gradually maintained her lead through a half-mile in 4.506 seconds and opened up through six furlongs in 1:09.79 and covered the mile in 1:36.49. She returned $10.40 as the 4-1 fourth choice in the five-horse field.

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“She did it very comfortable the first half and after that I started to ask her a little bit and she did it pretty good almost the whole way around,” Lezcano said.

Tizzy in the Sky finished second, one length ahead of Venti Valentine. Good Sam and Gerrymander completed the order of finish. Know It All Audrey and Saddle Up Jessie scratched.

In between the two victories in the Go for Wand, Dr B went winless in five starts. However, she was facing the likes of Goodnight Olive and Echo Zulu, the top two female sprinters in the country in 2023. Dr B then faced males in the Parx Dirt Mile, finishing fourth of six.

“She had run against the best of the best and held her own and wasn’t quite getting the job done but thankfully she wasn’t discouraged no matter who we threw her in there against,” trainer Butch Reid said.

Reid turned her out on Patty Hogan’s farm in New Jersey for a few weeks following the Parx Dirt Mile and it seemed to pay dividends.

“She really prospered, put on some weight and came fresh for just the short break that it was,” Reid said. She likes this track, a little moisture in the track, close to the same track we had last year I believe and it worked out well.”

Dr B is owned by Cash Is King and LC Racing. Reid said a race like the Barbara Fritchie, typically run at Laurel Park in February, could be on the early-season calendar for Dr B, who could also be bred in 2024.

“We were looking to breed her in the spring,” Reid said. I don’t know if this changes plans or not, we’ll sit down and reevaluate.”

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