Fromanothamutha's maiden win propels him into Gotham Stakes

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Trainer Ray Handal is planning to be represented in both of the upcoming graded stakes for 3-year-olds on this circuit.

Having already said he will run Constitutionlawyer in the Grade 3, $250,000 Withers on Feb. 5, Handal said Sunday that he will point recent maiden winner Fromanothamutha to the Grade 3, $300,000 Gotham on March 5.

Fromanothamutha, a son of Unified, won a maiden race on Jan. 13 by 4 1/4 lengths under Manny Franco. He ran seven furlongs in 1:22.65 and earned an 87 Beyer Speed Figure. Fromanothamutha was dropping from a seventh-place finish in the Grade 2 Remsen Stakes here Dec. 5. His maiden victory, which came the first time Fromanothamutha was permitted to race on Lasix, was his sixth career start.

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“Manny said he just let him run along and that’s how he likes to be ridden,” Handal said.

Handal noted that in the Remsen, Franco “might have put him to sleep because he went slow up front.”

“I was impressed with the way he kicked away from them the other day,” he said.

Though the Gotham awards its winner 50 points to the Kentucky Derby, Handal said he doesn’t view Fromanothamutha as a Derby horse.

“I don’t think he wants to go that far,” Handal said.

Meanwhile, Constitutionlawyer, who won a 1 1/8-mile maiden race here by 3 1/2 lengths on Jan. 2, worked a half-mile Friday in 49.55 seconds to continue preparation for the Withers.

◗ The $100,000 Franklin Square Stakes, part of last Saturday’s nine-race card that was canceled due to extreme cold, will be brought back this coming Saturday. The race will be open to original nominees and will be redrawn Wednesday.

◗ Wudda U Think Now earned a 104 Beyer Speed Figure for his 10 1/2-length romp in a second-level open-company allowance race Sunday. That could set him up for a start in the $100,000 Hollie Hughes Stakes for New York-breds on Feb. 19, the Grade 3, $250,000 General George at Laurel the same day, or the Grade 3, $200,000 Tom Fool here March 5.