Withers could be El Kabeir's next target

El Kabeir came out of his dominant victory in Saturday’s Grade 3 Jerome Stakes in good order and if all remains well he could make his next start in the Grade 3, $250,000 Withers Stakes at Aqueduct on Feb. 7, trainer John Terranova said Sunday.

“When they’re doing well you run them,” Terranova said. “We’ll see. He really looks good this morning. We’ll take it day by day, week by week. I would be fine with [the Withers]. If not, we got the Gotham after that.”

The Gotham, like the Withers, is run at 1 1/16 miles around two turns over the inner track. The two differences are the Gotham has a $400,000 purse and offers 85 qualifying points (50-20-10-5) to its top four finishers toward the May 2 Kentucky Derby. The Withers, like the Jerome, offers 17 points (10-4-2-1) toward the Derby.

:: ROAD TO THE KENTUCKY DERBY: Prep races, point standings, replays

El Kabeir already has 21 points _ a number that would have qualified for Derby participation in the first two years of the points systems instituted by Churchill Downs to determine the make-up of its 20-horse field.

El Kabeir, who bobbled leaving the gate in the Jerome under C.C. Lopez, sat off two horses in the early stages of the race before taking control turning for home en route to a 4 3/4-length victory. He had been on the lead in his previous races.

“I love how he relaxed yesterday. The biggest part of it was he showed a different dimension - no need-the-lead type of horse,” Terranova said.

El Kabeir, who won for the third time in six starts, “cooled out really good, ate up really well last night,” Terranova said. “Happy as can be.”

El Kabeir earned a 95 Beyer Speed Figure for his Jerome performance. His previous best Beyer was a 94 earned winning the Grade 2 Kentucky Jockey Club at Churchill Downs on Nov. 29.

Terranova said it was owners Ahmed and Justin Zayat who mentioned keeping El Kabeir in New York for the series of Kentucky Derby prep races run at Aqueduct. Terranova said he has no problem keeping the horse in New York even if the weather gets dicey.

Terranova said El Kabeir already has plenty of foundation underneath him and on days when the training track is bad, El Kabeir can jog in a barn right next door to Terranova’s on the Belmont Park backstretch.

“I’d love to get to the Derby through New York,” said Terranova, who also has a string of horses stabled this winter at Tampa Bay Downs.

The final New York prep for the Kentucky Derby is the $1 million Wood Memorial over Aqueduct’s main track on April 4.