Heaven Street, Unanimous Consent knock heads in Woodhaven Stakes

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Heaven Street had a dream trip when he won the Columbia Stakes at Tampa Bay Downs last month. Unanimous Consent has had more difficulty than his running lines suggest in going 2 for 2 to begin his career.

Those two figure to vie for favoritism in a competitive renewal of Saturday’s $100,000 Woodhaven Stakes for 3-year-olds at Aqueduct. The Woodhaven, scheduled for 1 1/16 miles on turf, drew a field of seven. It shares billing on the 10-race card with the $200,000 Times Square division of the New York Stallion Stakes.

Heaven Street made six starts as a 2-year-old for Sienna Farms, Asmussenequine.net, and trainer Steve Asmussen. He was sent to Christophe Clement during the winter. In his 3-year-old debut, Heaven Street stalked a modest pace while tugging at Irad Ortiz Jr. and won the $75,000 Columbia Stakes by one length.

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Clement said Thursday morning that Heaven Street “was a little bit more aggressive than I like to see.” On Saturday, he figures to be on the lead or stalking Chanceux, a Todd Pletcher-trained runner who is coming off a front-running allowance win at Gulfstream.

Heaven Street is consigned to next Friday’s horses of racing age sale at Keeneland.

Unanimous Consent will be looking for a cleaner trip than he’s had in his first two starts.

In his debut, last Sept. 11 at Monmouth, Unanimous Consent was slow from the gate and raced at the back of the pack before rallying to win by 2 1/4 lengths, not changing leads until he had passed There Are No Words. That horse came back to win his next start by 10 1/2 lengths.

Unanimous Consent didn’t race again until Feb. 4 at Tampa when he rallied from last to win a first-level allowance by 1 1/2 lengths over Bens Malice. Entering the far turn of that race, Unanimous Consent bobbled, perhaps having clipped heels with another horse, and got shuffled back to last.

“It was scary,” trainer Chad Brown said. “He took a big bobble there, and I’m thankful not only that he won but that he came out of the race okay.”

Brown said he didn’t want to run Unanimous Consent at Gulfstream and had another horse for the Appalachian Stakes at Keeneland, so the Woodhaven became the spot.

“I got some longer races in mind for this horse this year, so I freshened him a little bit, took it easy with him after that race,” Brown said.

Fort Washington won a maiden race by a neck here last November. He didn’t race again until he finished third behind Heaven Street in the Columbia. He broke slowly and rallied from last of nine to finish just 1 3/4 lengths back.

Ohtwoohthreefive gets back on turf for the first time since he was beaten a nose by Sy Dog in the Central Park Stakes here Nov. 27. Sy Dog won the Grade 3 Transylvania Stakes on April 8 at Keeneland to remain perfect from three starts.

Doctor Jeff won the Atlantic Beach Stakes by three lengths here Nov. 5 and hasn’t raced since. Maseta finished third behind Sy Dog and Ohtwoohthreefive in the Central Park before finishing eighth in the $500,000 Great White Way division of the New York Stallion Stakes on dirt in December.