OZONE PARK, N.Y. – As a horse owner and avid horseplayer, Al Gold can sometimes be at odds with himself. As the owner of Instant Coffee, Gold has a 3-year-old whose prospects for the Kentucky Derby appear to strengthen weekly as horses that Instant Coffee has beaten have come back to win. Most notably, Confidence Game, third behind Instant Coffee in the Lecomte on Jan. 21, came back to win last Saturday’s Grade 2 Rebel. Denington, fourth in the Lecomte, came back to win a Fair Grounds allowance on Feb. 18. “We’re getting better with every prep that he’s not in,” joked Gold, who will run Instant Coffee next in the Grade 2 Louisiana Derby on March 25. :: Take your handicapping to the next level and play with FREE DRF Past Performances - Formulator or Classic.  Before then, however, Gold has another horse that will attempt to win a Kentucky Derby points-scoring race when Slip Mahoney runs in Saturday’s Grade 3, $300,000 Gotham Stakes at Aqueduct. Though a one-turn mile, the Gotham offers 100 qualifying points to its top five finishers (50-20-15-10-5) toward the Kentucky Derby on May 6. Gold, the horseplayer, doesn’t see Slip Mahoney as a Derby contender – yet. “Whether he gets in on points or not I’m going to look at numbers and if his Ragozin numbers are [not competitive], I’m not putting him in that race,” Gold said. “There are probably 50 horses who are faster than him I would guess, who knows?” Still, there are things to like about Slip Mahoney, who, like Instant Coffee, is trained by Brad Cox. Slip Mahoney finished fourth on debut sprinting at Aqueduct in November. Litigate, the winner of that race, has since won the Grade 3 Sam F. Davis. In Slip Mahoney’s second start, he was beaten a neck by Tapit Trice, who came back to win an allowance race Feb. 4 at Gulfstream and is pointing to the Tampa Bay Derby on March 11. On Jan. 21, Slip Mahoney outdueled Crupi by a head to win a maiden race. It was 15 lengths back to the third-place finisher. “I like the way he ran two times ago against Tapit Trice and Tapit Trice is in everybody’s [Derby] top 10,” Gold said. “Last time, he beat Crupi, a horse turning into a [Rebel runner-up] Red Route One-type closer. He beat quality horses even though Crupi is still a maiden. “I don’t know how good he is,” Gold added. “The jock got off of him.” :: Bet the races on DRF Bets! Sign up with code WINNING to get a $250 Deposit Match, $10 Free Bet, and FREE DRF Formulator.  Gold was referring to the fact Dylan Davis, who rode Slip Mahoney in all three of his races, has elected to ride Lugan Knight in the Gotham. Davis won the Jerome on Lugan Knight. Trevor McCarthy will ride Slip Mahoney in the Gotham. McCarthy has not ridden since he suffered a fractured collarbone and pelvic injury in a spill Nov. 18 at Aqueduct. McCarthy was scheduled to return on Friday, named on one horse at Aqueduct. Slip Mahoney will certainly have one of the best pedigrees in the Gotham field. He is by Arrogate out of the Grade 1-winning mare Got Lucky. Gold was probably fortunate to have to pay just $150,000 for him as a yearling at the Keeneland September sale in 2021. “Arrogate had done nothing at the time of that sale. I think he had one winner,” Gold said. “If it was three or four months later, who knows, the horse would have went for three or four times more in price. But the horse is also small. You get a lot of those big, robust type horses, they’re going to go for a lot more just on looks and this one didn’t have that look.” A field of at least 13 is expected for the Gotham when entries close and post positions are assigned Wednesday. Alphabetically, and with riders, the field is likely to include Arctic Arrogance (Jose Lezcano), Carmel Road (Eric Cancel), Clubhouse (Kendrick Carmouche), Eyeing Clover (Florent Geroux), General Banker (no rider), Howgreatisnate (J.D. Acosta), Lugan Knight (Davis), Radio Red (Jose Gomez), Raise Cain (no rider), Recruiter (Mychel Sanchez), Slip Mahoney (McCarthy), Transect (Joe Talamo), and Uncorrelated (Manny Franco). Fort Warren, now with Brittany Russell after previously with Bob Baffert, was possible to run. Nineteen Oysters a delicacy Gold may have a 3-year-old for some of the New York-bred stakes this summer in Nineteen Oysters, who last Friday won a statebred maiden race by 8 1/4 lengths, earning an 84 Beyer Speed Figure. That race was run at 6 1/2 furlongs. Gold said trainer Chad Summers “told me he likes this horse going a lot longer.” The next 3-year-old stakes for New York-breds is the Damon Runyon on March 19, but that race has been shortened this year from seven to six furlongs. Gold, who often gives horses unusual names, said this horse got his name based on a dining experience Gold had a few years ago when ordering oysters with friends. “They gave you a price for six, they give you a price for a dozen, I said, ‘Let’s see what the waitress does if I ask for 19,’ ” Gold said. “I asked for 19, she charged me for 18. She didn’t bother to figure out the math.” ◗ Gold may have another runner for Saturday’s card in Check Engine Light, a maiden, who could run in the $200,000 Busher Stakes for 3-year-old fillies going a mile. Gold said Check Engine Light would only run if the field stayed at five. Others expected to run include Asset Purchase, Capella, Shidabhuti, and Ziaerati. Check Engine Light, a daughter of Uncle Mo trained by Jorge Abreu, was beaten a nose by Balpool in a one-mile maiden race Feb. 5. That was her third career start. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.