Key defection makes Withers wide open

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – The complexion of the Grade 3, $250,000 Withers Stakes at Aqueduct on Feb. 2 changed significantly this week when the connections of the multiple stakes-winning Mind Control said they would skip the race to await the Grade 3, $300,000 Gotham Stakes on March 9.

The Withers, which offers 17 qualifying points (10-4-2-1) to its first four finishers to the Kentucky Derby, is now a race lacking a solid favorite. As of Friday, there were eight prospective runners, including Admire, who scratched out of the Grade 3 Lecomte at Fair Grounds on Jan. 18 after drawing post 14.

Admire is a son of Cairo Prince trained by Dale Romans and owned by the Albaugh Family Stables of Dennis Albaugh and his son-in-law Jason Loutsch. These same connections teamed up to win with the 2017 Gotham Stakes here with J Boys Echo and ran third in last year’s Gotham with Free Drop Billy.

Admire won a 1 1/8-mile off-the-turf race at Churchill Downs last Nov. 24 after finishing fifth in a six-furlong maiden race on Nov. 2.

“His first race, he broke horribly but showed a lot of fight finishing up strong,” Loutsch said. “We knew stretching him out would benefit him, with his long stride. There’s still a lot of room for improvement. He’s been training really well.”

Admire was scheduled to have his final work for the Withers on Saturday at Gulfstream and ship to New York on either Tuesday or Thursday.

Others likely for the Withers include Le General, Lucky Lee, Moretti, Not That Brady, Our Braintrust, Sir Winston, and Tax.

On Friday in New York, Tax and Not That Brady put in their last major moves for the Withers.

At Belmont Park, Tax, third in the Remsen Stakes on Dec. 1, worked a half-mile in 50.16 seconds over the training track, galloping out six furlongs in 1:03.64 and seven furlongs in 1:17.08.

“I just wanted to get a steady, strong gallop-out,” trainer Danny Gargan said. “He’s fit. I’m real happy with how he’s doing. He looks fabulous.”

Gargan said it didn’t hurt his feelings that Mind Control would skip the race.

“Any time the favorite defects, you have to be happy,” Gargan said.

In the Remsen, Tax and jockey Manny Franco were up close and glued onto Maximus Mischief before that horse ran away from them in the final furlong. Tax gave way late, losing second by a half-length to Network Effect.

“I told Manny to go after [Maximus Mischief] at the three-eighths pole,” Gargan said. “That horse had never been eyeballed. I was thinking if we could get in front of him, he would stop running. That horse is a good horse because he kept running.”

Franco is committed to ride Moretti in the Withers, so Junior Alvarado will ride Tax, Gargan said.

At Aqueduct, Not That Brady, the Damon Runyon Stakes winner, worked six furlongs in 1:15.60 in company with Filly Joel, who is pointing to the Busanda Stakes on Feb. 3. According to the Aqueduct clocker, the team went in splits of 24.80, 49.80, and 1:02.80.

“They went nice and comfortable, head and head,” said trainer Rudy Rodriguez, who was on Filly Joel during the work. “He’s taken everything the right way.”