Distance and pace compromised in the Jerome Stakes four weeks ago, Omaha Omaha should find circumstances more favorable Saturday when the mid-Atlantic shipper returns to New York for Saturday’s $250,000 Withers Stakes going 1 1/8 miles at Aqueduct. After winning two-turn races at Delaware Park and Laurel, Omaha Omaha turned back to a one-turn mile in the Jerome where he rallied from last to finish second, 3 1/2 lengths behind loose-on-the-lead Cyclone State, who was winning his third consecutive race. Michael Gorham, trainer of Omaha Omaha, said overall he was pleased with the result, acknowledging the distance and race shape worked against him. “He closed a bit of ground into a slow pace,” Gorham said. “I thought he ran well. If it was a little faster pace he might have been able to get there. He was the only one running at all the last part. Ideally, [Saturday], a few horses hook up and that would be best for him.” Omaha Omaha, a Virginia-bred son of Audible owned and bred by On Your Left Racing, has worked just once in between starts. While the final time of the move was 1:03.80 on Jan. 25 at Laurel, it turned out to be the fastest of 11 drills at that distance. “The track was really deep and cuppy,” Gorham said. By finishing second in the Jerome, Omaha Omaha earned five qualifying points toward the May 3 Kentucky Derby. The Withers, which drew a field of seven, offers Derby qualifying points to its top five finishers on a 20-10-6-4-2 basis. :: Access the most trusted data and information in horse racing! DRF Past Performances and Picks are available now. Mo Quality picked up five Derby points when he finished second to Coal Battle in the Smarty Jones at Oaklawn Park. Mo Quality, after breaking a step slow, dueled outside of Coal Battle early, before being wrestled off the pace by jockey Junior Alvarado. In the stretch, Mo Quality lugged in while not changing leads until very late while finishing second over Kale’s Angel. That horse came back to win the Renaissance Stakes sprinting at Oaklawn. Hot Runner, sixth in the Smarty Jones, won an allowance next out. Chris Davis, trainer of Mo Quality, said his horse ran well “despite for the first three-quarters of the race having the rider pulling his face off. If the pace had been a little more honest, you would have seen a better effort.” In this field, Davis said Mo Quality “is going to be forwardly placed. He’s a horse who’s got a big, efficient stride that will relax but he can carry his speed.” Kendrick Carmouche will ride Mo Quality. Parx Racing-based trainer Butch Reid, who won last year’s Withers with Uncle Heavy, ships up Global Steve. A Florida-bred son of Bucchero, Global Steve is 2 for 2, having won his maiden by 6 1/2 lengths on Nov. 25 and the Future Stars Stakes, a race run over an extremely sloppy track, by 1 1/2 lengths on Dec. 30. :: KENTUCKY DERBY 2025: Point standings, prep schedule, news, and more Reid said Global Steve hasn’t gotten away from the gates “real clean” in either of his starts and tends to run holding his head up in the air. “The first time, he did fine. The second time, it was a lousy racetrack that day. He fought through some stuff, came up the inside, and it was a good improvement over his first run,” Reid said. “He is going to have step up again.” Captain Cook, a son of Practical Joke, was a 9 1/4-length winner of a seven-furlong maiden race Dec. 28 over a sloppy Aqueduct main track. That was his first start for St. Elias Stable and trainer Rick Dutrow after the horse was bought for $410,000 out of a dispersal sale at Keeneland following the death of John Hendrickson. Trainer Brad Cox was planning to run the undefeated New York-bred Sacrosanct in the Withers, but held him out due to a minor foot issue that forced him to miss some training time. Instead, Cox entered Uncle Jim, a debut winner at Keeneland in October who finished third to Cyclone State in a first-level allowance Dec. 6 at Aqueduct. Uncle Jim ran for purse money only that day because his entrymate was scratched during the post parade. Cox was disappointed by Uncle Jim’s race and was looking to run in another allowance but ended up here when the allowance didn’t fill. “He trains well, don’t really know what to make of him off his last race,” Cox said. Surfside Moon, sixth in the Awad Stakes on turf last October, makes his 3-year-old debut in this spot. Corvus, beaten 12 1/2 lengths by the promising Sand Devil when second in a New York-bred allowance, completes the field. The Withers goes as race 7 on a nine-race card that begins at 12:40 p.m. and includes the $175,000 Toboggan Stakes for older male sprinters and the $125,000 Ruthless Stakes for 3-year-old fillies. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.