Hard not to like El Kabeir in Withers
OZONE PARK, N.Y. – For a guy headed to the dentist’s office Thursday morning, John Terranova certainly sounded excited.
And for good reason. In El Kabeir, Terranova trains one of the top 3-year-olds in North America, one who looks to take the next step toward the Kentucky Derby when he heads a field of seven entered in Saturday’s Grade 3, $250,000 Withers Stakes at Aqueduct.
El Kabeir, owned by Zayat Stables, is the only stakes winner in the field, having taken the Grade 2 Kentucky Jockey Club at Churchill Downs and the Grade 3 Jerome here in his last two starts. The other six horses are all maiden winners with only two stakes appearances among them.
:: DRF Live: Watch live handicapping analysis of Saturday’s biggest races, starting at 12:30 Eastern
El Kabeir is the fastest horse in the field, with three Beyer Speed Figures in the 90s. Among his opponents, only Classy Class has achieved a Beyer in the 80s.
“They’re unknown, unproven, but you never know which one’s going to step up and improve,” Terranova said. “I’m sure there’s some talent in there. How much, I don’t know.”
Classy Class showed talent in winning his debut at Belmont Park before finishing fourth in the Remsen Stakes. March, Far From Over, and Tencendur are each coming off a maiden win over the inner track.
DRF FORMULATOR FACT: No. 2 Far From Over. Trainer Todd Pletcher is 11-5-0-0 with a $2.84 ROI over the past three years in dirt route graded stakes in the second career start following a maiden win. Click for more details. – Dan Illman
:: Learn more about Formulator | Buy Formulator PPs
:: Follow the @DRFFormulator Twitter feed and get free Formulator facts
The Withers offers Kentucky Derby qualifying points to the top four finishers (10-4-2-1).
KEY CONTENDERS
El Kabeir (Last 3 Beyers: 95-94-84)
◗ He stumbled two strides out of the gate when breaking from the outside post in the Jerome, then showed the ability to sit off other horses before drawing clear in the stretch.
◗ He breaks from the outside again Saturday under Chuckie Lopez.
“He can dictate how he wants to ride the race from there,” Terranova said. “I feel confident as far as having a seasoning edge. You can never be too confident in this game, but everything is good.”
:: ROAD TO THE KENTUCKY DERBY: Prep races, point standings, replays
Classy Class (Beyers: 88-75)
◗ He was a good-looking maiden winner sprinting before fading to fourth in Grade 2 Remsen after pressing a modest early pace.
◗ He had to skip the Jerome after losing a hind shoe in his final work for the race and coming out of it with a tender foot.
“He really didn’t miss much time,” trainer Kiaran McLaughlin said. “He’s doing really well, he looks fabulous, and he’s ready to run. El Kabeir is a tough horse – we’re in tough – but we like our chances to run very well.”
Unrivaled (Last 3 Beyers: 79-65-58)
◗ Trainer Marya Montoya won an 11-way shake to claim this son of Super Saver for $30,000 at Keeneland last October. In that race, Unrivaled dwelt, spotted the field at least a dozen lengths, and was beaten just a nose. He rallied four wide while the winner came up the rail.
◗ He won a two-turn, one-mile maiden race by 15 lengths at Parx on Dec. 23 with a sustained move under Frankie Pennington.
“I was very impressed with him,” Montoya said. “He was 15 lengths back, and he won by 15. [Pennington] said he had gears left. We’ll see what we have.”
◗ He is cross-entered in a first-level allowance Saturday at Laurel, but Montoya said she wants to run here.
March (Beyers: 77-69)
◗ After finishing second in his sprint debut, he won a maiden race by a neck over next-out winner Donbetwithbruno when stretched out around two turns Jan. 11.
◗ He fired a bullet five-furlong work last weekend.
DRF FORMULATOR FACT: No. 3 March. Trainer Chad Brown is 15-4-5-0 with a $2.56 ROI over the past year in dirt routes following a maiden win. Click for more details. – Dan Illman