Law Professor returns from layoff in Woodward

OZONE PARK, N.Y. - Law Professor sidled up alongside heavily favored Life Is Good at the top of the stretch of last year’s Grade 1 Woodward Stakes and for a brief moment, it appeared a major upset could be in the offing.

But in the final furlong, Life Is Good edged away from Law Professor to win by 1 1/2 lengths, with Law Professor settling for second.

Life Is Good will likely be running around his paddock at WinStar Farm Saturday afternoon when Law Professor takes another shot at the Woodward - run this year as a Grade 2 worth $400,000 - at Aqueduct.

Law Professor was one of 10 horses entered Wednesday for the Woodward, one of four graded stakes on an 11-race card. To accommodate television, first post Saturday is 12:05 p.m. and the Woodward goes as race 7, the last of the four stakes.

Last year’s Woodward is one of three solid performances Law Professor has put in at 1 1/8 miles at Aqueduct. In January, Law Professor won the Queens County by 7 1/2 lengths. In April, he won the Excelsior Stakes by 4 1/2 lengths.

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Law Professor, trained by Rob Atras, has not run since a sixth-place finish in the Grade 3 Pimlico Special in May. That was the seventh race in nine months at five tracks in four states for Law Professor, who was given a break.

“He’d been running every month, shipping around, running in some tough races, we wanted to give him a little break, a freshening with the goal of having him for a fall and winter campaign,” Atras said.

While last year’s Woodward went with only four horses, this year’s edition drew 10. The intriguing member of the field is Algiers, who finished second to Ushba Tesoro in the Dubai World Cup in March. On Wednesday, Ushba Tesoro won the Nippon TV Hai, a listed stakes at Funabashi Race Course in Japan, his prep for the Breeders’ Cup Classic.

Charge It, winner of the Grade 2 Suburban, drew post 1 for the Woodward. He is followed, in post order, by Law Professor, Algiers, Zandon, Pipeline, Costa Terra, Un Ojo, Tyson, O’Connor and Film Star.

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