Winnin'onweekends looks to live up to his name on holiday card
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OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Trainer Jack Abrams wasn’t overly confident when he shipped Winnin’onweekends from Parx Racing to Aqueduct to run in a starter allowance/optional-claiming race going 1 1/4 miles on Jan. 19. But after watching the 5-year-old gelding gallop to a 14 1/4-length victory, Abrams now has a different perspective on things.
“He could be a special horse going that far,” Abrams said.
Monday, on an eight-race Presidents Day card at Aqueduct, Winnin’onweekends will try to carry his speed even farther when he runs 1 3/4 miles in a starter allowance/optional $32,000 claimer. The unusual distance drew a field of six for what will be the fifth race on the program.
In the Jan. 19 race, Winnin’onweekends ran a pretty solid half-mile in 47.65 seconds and just kept widening his advantage throughout under Ruben Silvera.
“He said it was just so easy,” Abrams said of Silvera’s ride. “He knew at first he was going a little too fast, but he was really confident in what he had. Watching it live, after the first half, I thought he was definitely going to back up. After the way he kept going, I thought that was really special.”
The prospect of a wet or drying track could complicate matters for Winnin’onweekends. Two starts back at Parx, Winnin’onweekends finished fifth over a muddy track that was extremely wet. Heavy rain was expected here Sunday, but it remains to be seen how much moisture may be left in the track come Monday.
“The day at Parx, it was pretty severe,” Abrams said. “He had two other starts on a good track and he won them both. If the track is good, I think that’d be okay.”
Winnin’onweekends, who will again be ridden by Silvera, may have to deal with some other speed from fellow Parx shipper The King Cheek. His owner, Marshall Gramm, enjoys running horses at marathon distances but admits it is just “a guess” that The King Cheek will enjoy running this far. The King Cheek, trained by Juan Carlos Guerrero, is coming off a front-running victory going a mile and 70 yards at Parx.
“His last race, he ran really well. It looked like he could run another lap,” Gramm said. “He’s bred to go a distance. My hope is they let us go and we can get loose on the lead.”
Strapped and Prove Worthy figure to be running late. Strapped was making a winning move in a first-level allowance going 1 1/8 miles last out when he was impeded by Frizzante, who finished first but was disqualified.
“He was coming and grinding,” said Strapped’s trainer, Rudy Rodriguez. “He’s going to be close to the pace now. The only bad thing is I don’t have Ruben [Silvera]. Hopefully, Reylu [Gutierrez} can carry him.”
Prove Worthy, trained by Robert Falcone Jr., won his maiden going 1 1/4 miles in 2023 while in Todd Pletcher’s barn. He is coming off a pair of second-place finishes in claiming races going 1 1/8 miles.
Jackson Heights and Portos complete the field. With racing being conducted Monday, the next race day at Aqueduct will be Friday.
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