Right to Party Targets Wood Memorial After Gotham Stakes Effort

Kenny McPeek's Right to Party will take his shot at the 101st running of the Wood Memorial after finishing third in the Grade 3 Gotham Stakes on February 28, with Chester Broman Sr.'s homebred expected to line up in Aqueduct's $750,000 Grade 2 test on April 4.

The Wood Memorial, presented by Resorts World Casino, stretches nine furlongs at Aqueduct and distributes 100-50-25-10-15 Kentucky Derby qualifying points to the top five finishers. With entries closing March 29, the field is shaping up as one of the more competitive preps on the East Coast calendar this spring.

Right to Party is hardly alone in targeting the race. An early probable list includes eight horses spanning some of the more prominent barns in the country. Chad Brown has two representatives in Iron Honor and Ottinho, while Doug O'Neill's Civil Liberty figures prominently. O'Neill made no secret of his intentions. "That's definitely our goal," he said of the Wood Memorial. "He acts like the distance won't be a problem for him at all. It wasn't a problem for his pops - his dad could run the distance. We're excited about him."

Rounding out the probable list are New York-bred stakes winner Bravaro, trained by Saffie Joseph Jr. and reported as likely headed to Aqueduct as far back as March 15; Napoleon Solo for Chad Summers; Red Zone Runner under Hugo Padilla; and Talk to Me Jimmy, conditioned by Rudy Rodriguez.

Rodriguez has been casting a wide net for Talk to Me Jimmy this spring, planning nominations to at least four stakes. His options included the Gotham on February 28 alongside Laurel Park targets in the one-mile Miracle Wood on February 21 and the 1 1/16-mile Private Terms on March 21. Rodriguez was measured in his commitment to the Wood. "Let's see what the owners want to do," he said, adding that the owners had already directed him: "They said to nominate him for the Gotham and the couple of races at Laurel, too."

Among the most enthusiastic Wood Memorial supporters in the probable field is Justin Evans, who trains Express Kid for Paradise Equine Farm and Bradley and Sharon Kleven. Evans acknowledged a competing conversation about the Louisiana Derby but left little doubt about his preference. "That's one of our best options. We've been targeting that," Evans said. "I need to speak to the owners as they've also been talking about the Louisiana Derby, but I'd really like to bring him over there - that's a race I've always respected and as a kid growing up in the game, the Wood Memorial is huge. I think the race might fit us really well."

Nominations for the 101st running closed Saturday, March 21. Entries will be taken March 29, after which post positions and morning-line odds will be posted ahead of the April 4 card at Aqueduct.