Send It In gets more ground in Excelsior

Doyouknowsomething, Send It In, and Admiral Blue finished second, third, and fifth in the Stymie Stakes, and there are reasons why each may improve Saturday at Aqueduct in the Grade 3 Excelsior, a 1 1/4-mile race for 4-year-olds and up.

Send It In stumbled at the start of the 1 1/8-mile Stymie and then raced in close quarters entering the first turn. Doyouknowsomething, who broke just to the inside of Send It In, was squeezed back at the start. Admiral Blue missed some training prior to the Stymie and should take a step forward.

Of the three, Send It In should benefit the most from the added distance. He lagged far back in the Stymie but found his best stride in the stretch and finished strongly, beaten only 1 1/2 lengths as the 2-1 favorite.

The Stymie was the first time John Velazquez had ridden Send It In since the 5-year-old made his career debut in April 2015. Trainer Todd Pletcher thinks Velazquez will have a better feel for him Saturday.

“Johnny hadn’t had the benefit of riding him for a long time, and he’s the type of horse you’ve got to motivate throughout the race,” Pletcher said. “He lost some momentum on the turn and never got untracked until the last part. He was closing strongly, but the other ones had gotten away from him a little bit.”

The $150,000 Excelsior is the second leg of the pick six and the beginning of the late pick five.

Excelsior, race 8

Key contenders

Send It In, by Big Brown
Last 3 Beyers: 97-97-96

◗ He is 2 for 4 since returning from a nine-month layoff in December. Prior to the Stymie, he had won a pair of 1 1/16-mile New York-bred stakes, the Haynesfield and the Alex M. Robb.

Admiral Blue, by Admiral Alex
Last 3 Beyers: 94-96-72

◗ He weakened in the final furlong of the Stymie to finish fifth but may have been a little short for the race, according to owner and trainer Leon Blusiewicz.

“We lost some time with him after he pulled off a shoe and hurt his foot,” he said. “I think he’ll run a whole lot better Saturday.”

Hereditary, by Medaglia d’Oro
Last 3 Beyers: 95-89-84

◗ Lightly raced 6-year-old trained by Shug McGaughey should enjoy the longer distance of this race. He chased four-time stakes winner Stanford last time out in the Challenger Stakes at Tampa Bay Downs.

◗ Javier Castellano, who regains the mount, knows him well.

Doyouknowsomething, by Awesome Again
Last 3 Beyers: 98-93-85

◗ He was compromised after the start of the Stymie and made a middle move to reach contention. He has tactical speed and should be forwardly placed for trainer A.C. Avila.

Tu Brutus, by Scat Daddy
No Beyers

◗ A winner of five of his last six races in his native Chile, he will be making his North American debut for Gary Contessa. He has won at 1 1/8 miles and 1 3/16 miles.

– additional reporting by David Grening