Valente thinking now is the time to take shot with Stretch's Stone

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – To date, horsemen have been timid when it comes to committing their 3-year-olds to the Grade 2, $750,000 Wood Memorial on April 8 at Aqueduct.

El Areeb, Cloud Computing, and Irish War Cry are the notable names expected to run. Trainer Todd Pletcher, a four-time Wood winner with a plethora of 3-year-olds again this year, would seemingly have to run one or two but has yet to finalize plans.

One person very much looking forward to the Wood Memorial is owner Roddy Valente, who plans on running his homebred Stretch’s Stone in the 1 1/8-mile race, which serves as New York’s last stepping-stone toward the May 6 Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs.

Stretch’s Stone is a gelding by Bustin Stones, a New York-bred whom Valente campaigned through a 6-for-6 career that ended with a victory in the Grade 1 Carter Handicap in 2008. Valente purchased the dam of Stretch’s Stone, Lucy Dubai, for $5,000. Lucy Dubai recently died from colic after giving birth to her second foal.

Valente named Stretch’s Stone in honor of his late father, whose nickname was Stretch.

“He was my idol,” said Valente, who runs a gravel company in upstate New York. “He taught me the gravel business from scratch. You want to name a horse after a loved one that’s going to be all right. When it starts to show that, you get excited.”

Stretch’s Stone, trained by Bruce Levine, finished third in his debut last November at Aqueduct and then came back a month later to win a six-furlong New York-bred maiden race by 8 1/4 lengths. He came out of that race, run over a muddy inner track, with sore feet.

Stretch’s Stone missed three weeks of training before he returned Feb. 24 in a 1 1/16-mile allowance race for New York-breds. Levine felt the horse would go a route of ground, but not necessarily that day given his light training regimen leading up to the race. Levine was unable to get permission to scratch the horse to run him in a six-furlong race two days later.

Breaking from the outside post in a 10-horse field, Stretch’s Stone stumbled badly at the break. He picked himself up and made the lead entering the first turn. Stretch’s Stone was passed by three horses down the backstretch and around the far turn.

Turning for home, Stretch’s Stone came three wide under Irad Ortiz Jr. and moved into second, with only Mr. Buff to catch. Stretch’s Stone couldn’t catch him, but Mr. Buff came out and bumped with Stretch’s Stone 50 yards from the finish. The stewards disqualified Mr. Buff and placed him second behind Stretch’s Stone.

“It’s amazing what he did,” Levine said. “He had two slow half-miles and one five-eighths in nine weeks, and come out of the 10 hole. I know he’s a Bustin [Stones], but this horse will run all day. You just watch him train – he’d gallop out faster than he’d go any part of the work.”

When Valente expressed a desire to run Stretch’s Stone in the Wood, Levine told Valente to nominate the horse to the Triple Crown just in case he wins. On Monday, Valente paid a $6,000 late nomination fee to make Stretch’s Stone eligible to the Kentucky Derby, Preakness, and Belmont Stakes.

“I’d be kicking myself in the ass if we weren’t nominated and we got lucky to win the race,” Valente said.

Valente views this year’s 3-year-old crop as “mediocre at best.” He believes now is the time to take a chance.

“We’ll take our best shot,” Valente said. “I can’t wait for the 8th, one way or the other. I’m very high and excited about this horse. I don’t get that way. I know my hand, I’m not a dreamer. If we’re going to swing for the fences, we might as well hit a home run.”