OZONE PARK, N.Y. - As the seasons are about to change, so too, apparently, are the fortunes of the 3-year-old colt Weyburn. Forced to miss two starts earlier in the year due to illness and injury, Weyburn made the most of his first opportunity to run in three months by outfinishing Crowded Trade to win Saturday’s Grade 3, $300,000 Gotham Stakes by a nose at Aqueduct. It was 1 3/4 lengths back to Highly Motivated, the 4-5 favorite, in third. Freedom Fighter faded to fourth after setting the pace. He was followed in the order of finish by The Reds, Capo Kane, Wipe the Slate, and Atlantic Road. Sent off at 46-1, Weyburn, a 3-year-old Canadian-bred son of Pioneerof the Nile trained by Jimmy Jerkens, returned $95.50 for a $2-win mutuel. :: KENTUCKY DERBY 2021: Derby Watch, point standings, prep schedule, news, and moreThough Weyburn earned 50 qualifying points to the May 1 Kentucky Derby, Weyburn is not yet Triple Crown nominated. His owners, Robert and Mark Krembil, who race under the name Chiefswood Stables, can still nominate him for a $6,000 fee by March 29. “We’ll see how he is the next couple of days and then make that decision,” said Robert Landry, the former jockey who is the racing manager for Chiefswood Stables. Weyburn won his maiden in his third career start on Dec. 5, the first race on Cigar Mile Day. Jerkens had thought about running in the Jerome on New Year’s Day, but Weyburn got sick. Weyburn was entered in the Jimmy Winfield Stakes here on Jan. 31, but scratched due to a foot bruise. Jerkens was then pointing Weyburn to an allowance race in the condition book for Saturday’s card. But with the Gotham attracting only four horses, the allowance race wasn’t used and four horses pointing to that race were entered in the Gotham. “Good it didn’t go,” Jerkens said. Breaking from the outside post in the eight-horse field under Trevor McCarthy, Weyburn stalked from second the pacesetting Freedom Fighter, who went a quarter in 24.29 seconds, and a half-mile in 48.03 under Manny Franco. Approaching the quarter pole, Weyburn was within a head of Freedom Fighter. Crowded Trade, three-wide while in the second flight of runners, moved within a half-length of Weyburn turning for home. At the three-sixteenths pole, Crowded Trade, under Eric Cancel, made a brief lead while Weyburn was racing on his left lead. At the eighth pole, Freedom Fighter gave way and it was down to Crowded Trade and Weyburn. At the sixteenth pole, Weyburn switched to his right lead and found a little more to outfinish Crowded Trade for the narrow victory. Weyburn covered the mile in 1:38.70. “He switched leads a little bit late, but that kind of made him resurge,” McCarthy said. “He was just really aggressive, he had a lot of fight in him. Big shout-out to Jimmy for having him ready.” Though Jerkens had some reservations about running  in the Gotham, he did note that Weyburn’s last two workouts - including a three-furlong blowout in 35.40 seconds at Belmont on Thursday - “were just sensational,” he said. “This is just really satisfying, it’s been a rough winter,” Jerkens said. “We loved him from day one, then he didn’t run good in his [first] race and we didn’t know what to think. Thank God we stuck to our guns. I think he’s going to end up being a decent colt.” Jerkens said the Grade 2, $750,000 Wood Memorial on April 3 would be “a logical” next race for Weyburn. Crowded Trade, like Weyburn, was earmarked for Saturday’s allowance. He had run only once, that being a six-furlong maiden win here Jan. 28. Cancel, who rode Crowded Trade for the first time, said “the last sixteenth of a mile got to him a little a bit, but besides that he ran awesome.” Highly Motivated, making his first start since he won the Nyquist Stakes at Keeneland last Nov. 6, had to settle for third as the 4-5 favorite. He was off a step slow and then steadied behind Wipe the Slate as the field went to the chute onto the main track. He was sixth early on, but jockey Javier Castellano was fine with that. “That didn’t cost me anything because that’s where I wanted to be,” Castellano said. “I wanted to be midpack, off the pace and come from behind. He did pass horses, he finished, I just couldn’t catch those two horses.” Crowded Trade and Highly Motivated are both owned by Seth Klarman and trained by Chad Brown. They have Withers Stakes winner Risk Taking pointing to the Wood Memorial.