Wicked Strong back to scene of big score in Excelsior
OZONE PARK, N.Y. – When Wicked Strong returned to New York from south Florida last winter, he won the Grade 1 Wood Memorial at Aqueduct, earning the best Beyer Speed Figure of his career.
On Saturday, his connections will be hoping for a similar result, as in his first start since returning from another winter in south Florida, Wicked Strong heads a field of eight entered in the Grade 3, $200,000 Excelsior Stakes at Aqueduct.
There are some differences between last year and this year. In 2014, Wicked Strong didn’t run well in his two starts at Gulfstream, owing in part to some mental breakdowns. He enters the Excelsior off a decent race, albeit a fourth-place finish to multiple graded stakes winner Honor Code in the Grade 2 Gulfstream Park Handicap, in which he was beaten just one length.
“He didn’t have any real punch at the end, but I thought he came and made a second effort at the very end and almost got third,” said Jimmy Jerkens, who trains Wicked Strong for Centennial Farms.
Another difference is that the Wood Memorial was run at 1 1/8 miles, whereas the Excelsior this year has been lengthened from 1 1/8 miles to 1 1/4 miles. While it’s a distance that Wicked Strong can handle – he lost the Travers by a nose – he is making just his second start of the year.
Jerkens said that is “kind of” a concern but believes that having an uninterrupted training regimen all winter in Florida “has to mean something.”
Wicked Strong will break from post 7 and carry the co-high weight of 123 pounds. His stablemate, the New York-bred stakes winner Effinex, also is in with 123 pounds, as is Red Rifle, who beat Effinex by 3 1/4 lengths in the Hawthorne Gold Cup.
North Slope and Turco Bravo, winners of the Evening Attire and Stymie stakes, respectively, look like horses who will appreciate the 1 1/4 miles.
KEY CONTENDERS
Wicked Strong (Last 3 Beyers: 102-NA-102)
◗ After running with the elite of last year’s 3-year-old division and against top horses Honor Code, Private Zone, and Valid in his 4-year-old debut, Wicked Strong lands in a race where he faces just two graded winners.
◗ In his transition from 3 to 4, Wicked Strong has become less aggressive in his training, Jerkens said.
“He’s not looking to break track records all the time like he was,” Jerkens said. “He does just enough to stay fit. It’s good when they do that; it’s a long year.”
North Slope (Last 3 Beyers: 100-100-85)
◗ He has won at 1 1/4 miles, though that was on turf. He won the Evening Attire on dirt two starts back before running third behind Excelsior entrants Turco Bravo and Cousin Stephen in the Stymie.
◗ Trainer Kiaran McLaughlin noted that North Slope, despite breaking from the rail in the Stymie, was wide around both turns and down the backstretch.
“Wicked Strong is going to make this a tougher race,” McLaughlin said. “But we’re fit and ready to go. He fits in there.”
Turco Bravo (Last 3 Beyers: 104-93-99)
◗ Trainer Gary Contessa has believed all along that this gelding wants longer distances. He won or finished second several times at that distance in Chile.
◗ He is making his fifth start of the year and is coming off his best performance, a half-length victory over Cousin Stephen in the Stymie, where he earned a career-best 104 Beyer Speed Figure.