Medaglia d'Oro 5-2 Morning Line Favorite In $750,000 Wood Memorial
April 11, 2002
By, Jenny Kellner

(OZONE PARK, N.Y., April 11) -- It’s been a while since trainer Shug McGaughey found himself on the Kentucky Derby (GI) trail, a fact he is reminded of all too often. Indeed, the last time McGaughey had a Derby starter was in 1989, when his Easy Goer went off as the favorite and finished second to Sunday Silence.

“I thought there’d be other times,” said McGaughey after Saarland was tabbed the 3-1 second choice to Medaglia d’Oro as a field of eight was drawn for Aqueduct’s $750,000 Wood Memorial (GI) on April 13. “I’m glad to be back in the ball game and I hope I’m still there after Saturday.”

The late-running Saarland, winner of the Remsen as a 2-year-old, finished second to Mayakovsky in the Gotham in his first start of the year under jockey John Velazquez. McGaughey thought the outing moved Saarland forward and is looking for the same kind of improvement from the Cynthia Phipps-owned colt in the 1 1/8th-mile Wood.

“I hope the Wood is not his best race,” said McGaughey. “I hope he wins, but I don’t want to see it take his best effort to win. The idea is to have the Wood springboard him even farther along to the Derby.”

The Wood has produced the winners of the past two Kentucky Derbys, with runner-up Monarchos taking the 2001 Derby and Fusaichi Pegasus winning both the previous year.

Also looking to jump from the Wood to the Derby are the connections of 5-2 favorite Medaglia d’Oro, surprise winner of the San Felipe. Purchased by Edmund Gann on Feb. 9, the colt made his third start in the San Felipe Stakes (GII) and twice came back for the win, impressing many, including trainer Bobby Frankel.

“When they ran by him, I thought he was just a sprinter,” said Frankel, whose charge will be ridden by Laffit Pincay, Jr. “I was shocked when he came on again. [Since then] he’s done everything right and if he improves like has has from his first to second start and second start to third start, then we’ll be in good shape.”

Two other Wood starters who have made big strides in a short time are the James Bond-trained Buddha, a 9 1/2-length winner of an allowance race in his third start who is 4-1, and Blue Burner, beaten 3 1/2-lengths by Harlan’s Holiday in the Florida Derby (GI). Blue Burner is tabbed at 9-2 on the morning line.

“Every horse is different and what matters the most is how they are mentally,” said Bond, who will give a leg up to Pat Day. “Some horses are just quicker upstairs than others. So far, it seems as if Buddha has the game down pat.”

Blue Burner, trained by Bill Mott, won twice as a juvenile, then won an allowance and finished third in the Fountain of Youth prior to the Florida Derby.

“His Florida Derby was a big effort,” said Mott of Blue Burner, who will be ridden by Jerry Bailey. “That was his first time with blinkers and it really helped to focus him. He’s improved every time he steps on the track and I’m hoping he’ll continue that trend in the Wood. I have a horse who’s a legitimate contender in the Kentucky Derby. What more could I ask for?”

Hoping to rebound from a poor performance in Florida is Nokoma, who finished seventh, beaten 28 lengths, in the Florida Derby. Nokoma is 12-1 on the morning line under Mike Smith.

“He has frustrated me quite a bit,” said trainer Todd Pletcher, whose charge on an allowance and finished off the board in his other stakes try. “We went down there with the expectations of not necessarily winning all those races but at least running a little better than we did.”

This time out, Nokoma will be sporting blinkers.

“We’re just trying to put his game face on more than anything,” said the trainer. “Maybe the blinkers can change his focus a little bit.”

Trainer Neil Drysdale can only hope Sunday Break continues the progress he’s been making. With a three-race winning streak under his girth, the Japanese-bred colt won an allowance at Aqueduct on Mar. 27 in his last start and Drysdale thinks he will have no problem with the distance. Sunday Break, ridden by Gary Stevens, is also 9-2.

“He’s a very tractable kind of horse and his attitude is great,” he said. “When horses have as a good an attitude as he does, it makes things a lot easier.”

Two of the longer shots in the field are the Nick Zito-trained Iwin, 20-1 after finishing third to Sunday Break in the allowance, and Laissezaller, who has made all five of his starts in England and who is also 20-1.

“The distance will not be a problem coming off two 1 1/4-mile runs,” said trainer Amanda Perrett. “This will be asking a lot of him but I’m sure he will give it his best.”

Post time for the Wood Memorial is scheduled at 4:14 p.m. EDT, and the race will be linked with the Toyota Blue Grass (GI) and the Arkansas Derby (GII) as part of the Big 3 Pick 3, a $1 minimum wager.

Jenny Kellner is one of the most respected, multi-faceted journalists in New York. She served as the New York Islanders beat writer for the New York Times and has covered Thoroughbred horse racing and professional football for several major publications in the Big Apple and beyond. She is a frequent contributor to a myriad of Thoroughbred racing trade publications and has covered numerous Kentucky Derbys and Breeders' Cups.

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