Brown duo, Mailata among seven in Withers

Feb 01, 2026 Kellie Reilly/Brisnet.com

Mailata winning the Pennsylvania Nursery at Parx

Mailata winning the Pennsylvania Nursery at Parx (Photo by Equi-Photo)

The $200,000 Withers S. had to be postponed to Friday, after adverse winter weather called off last weekend’s racing at Aqueduct, but the original field for the Kentucky Derby (G1) prep remained nearly intact.

Seven re-entered the 1 1/8-mile contest, worth points on the 20-10-6-4-2 scale to the top five finishers. The lone defection, Project Ace, ran instead in the Jan. 31 Holy Bull (G3) at Gulfstream Park and finished third.

The most accomplished entrant, Mailata, is a two-time stakes winner at his home base of Parx Racing. But it’s still to be confirmed if he’ll run in the Withers or await the Feb. 28 Gotham (G3). If the Pennsylvania-bred ventures to New York for the first time on Friday, he’ll encounter a pair of promising maiden winners from the Chad Brown barn, Ottinho and Schoolyardsuperman, as well as Todd Pletcher’s Grittiness.

Mailata is trained by Butch Reid for his owner/breeders, Cash Is King and LC Racing. The same connections campaigned his sire, Maximus Mischief, who likewise invaded from Parx to capture the 2018 Remsen (G2) at this track and trip.

Since teaming up with jockey Mychel Sanchez, Mailata has won three straight. The bay wired an Oct. 29 maiden and the Pennsylvania Nursery S. for state-breds before running away with the Parx Future Stars S. by 19 lengths.

Schoolyardsuperman put it all together last time out to dominate a maiden around Aqueduct’s one-turn mile. The stretch-out to 1 1/8 miles could be a question mark, considering that his sire, Practical Joke – himself a Brown trainee – excelled at one turn. But Schoolyardsuperman is out of a mare by Hall of Famer and two-time Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1) legend Tiznow, giving hope that he can handle the added ground.

Peter O’Callaghan of Woods Edge Farm, the breeder of Schoolyardsuperman, told NYRA publicity that the colt always looked the part.

“He was a very good-looking horse from the start,” O’Callaghan said. “A big, strapping gray horse. Correct horse. He moved well. He was imposing. A very, very good-looking horse. He looks like a good prospect. Whether he can win the Withers or not, I don’t know, but he looks like a horse with some decent standard.”

Ottinho, the only runner proven at the distance, battled hard to prevail in a 1 1/8-mile maiden here on New Year’s Eve. Three Chimneys Farm’s homebred has plenty of pedigree power as a half-brother to Hall of Famer and outstanding sire Gun Runner.

Both Ottinho and Gun Runner are out of the Grade 2-winning Quiet Giant, a daughter of Giant’s Causeway. Ottinho is by Quality Road, which makes him a full brother to Pretty Ana, winner of the 2024 Comely (G3) over this course and distance.

“He really is an exciting prospect,” Doug Cauthen, vice chairman of Three Chimneys Farm, said of Ottinho. “He is impeccably bred and a really beautiful colt. We are hoping to see progression in each race. We’ll see. He doesn’t have to win. We just hope he runs well and moves forward, and can continue to do that because the family seems to get better with time.”

Repole Stable’s Grittiness has yet to win a race, but the $575,000 Keeneland September yearling ran a creditable fifth of 11 in the Remsen. The well-bred son of Hall of Famer Curlin and Grade 2 vixen Coach Rocks is eligible to improve. Note that Grittiness takes the blinkers off for the Withers, and according to Brisnet stats, Pletcher has a 21% strike rate with that equipment change.

Fourth and One recently dominated a one-mile maiden for New York-breds, and the Jeremiah Englehart pupil has prior stakes experience. Twice placed in state-bred stakes, Fourth and One was runner-up in the Funny Cide S. at Saratoga in his career debut, and he also finished third in the Sleepy Hollow S. The Sleepy Hollow winner, Bravaro, came back to place second in the Holy Bull.

The Rudy Rodriguez-trained Talk to Me Jimmy was last seen rolling in a New York-bred maiden going a one-turn mile, while Star Sweeper comes off a victory in a Parx sprint for Louis Linder Jr.

The Withers is carded as the 10th race on Friday, with a post time of 4:20 p.m. ET, and you can watch and wager at TwinSpires.com.

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