Wood Memorial 2022: Odds and analysis

Horse Racing Nation

06 April 2022

Saturday’s Grade 2, $750,000 Wood Memorial provides one of the final opportunities for 2020 Kentucky Derby contenders to gather qualifying points for the Run for the Roses, which is just over a month away. The 1 1/8-mile event at Aqueduct will offer points to the top four finishers at the highest level of 100-40-20-10.

Of the field of eight, which was drawn on Wednesday afternoon, only Morello currently has enough points to guarantee a spot in the Kentucky Derby starting gate. He is 12th on the points list with the 50 points that he won in the Gotham on March 5.

Horse Racing Nation staff. The Wood is scheduled as race 8 out of 11 with post time set for 4:45 p.m. EDT.

1.Mo Donegal(5-2 – Uncle Mo – Todd Pletcher / Joel Rosario – 4: 2-0-2 - $221,800 – 12 Derby points) Mo Donegal exits the Holy Bull (G3), which now has the look of a key race on the Derby trail. He finished third but was doing his best running down the stretch and finished behind Simplification and White Abarrio, the winners of the Fountain of Youth (G2) and Florida Derby (G1), respectively. Mo Donegal has a victory at Aqueduct in the Remsen (G2) going nine furlongs. Win contender.

2.Golden Code(15-1 – Honor Code – Todd Pletcher / Kendrick Carmouche – 3: 1-1-1 - $88,500 – 10 Derby points) This New York-bred by Honor Code won by almost 11 lengths in his second start on a muddy track against state-breds going seven furlongs. He then stepped up to the Kentucky Derby trail and finished third while stretching out to a mile against a good Gotham (G3) field. He wears the silks of Calumet Farms, which went to the winner’s circle in last year’s Wood with the long shot Bourbonic. Golden Code was 27-1 in the Gotham and figures to be a big price again. Toss.

3.Early Voting(3-1 – Gun Runner – Chad Brown / Jose Ortiz – 2: 2-0-0 - $181,500 – 10 Derby points) Early Voting is unbeaten during his career, but that career is only two races at Aqueduct – a maiden special weight going a mile at .95-1 and then a classy victory in the Withers (G3) at nine furlongs over Un Ojo, the Rebel (G2) winner. This son of Gun Runner sold for $200,000 as a yearling and already has proven a bargain in that regard. He continued to train in New York to prepare for the Wood for two months since the Withers. Chad Brown likes to give his horses plenty of time between starts, so concerns about the layoff are unnecessary. The one to beat.

4.Long Term(20-1 – Curlin – Todd Pletcher / Javier Castellano – 4: M-4-0 - $59,743 – 0 Derby points) This guy is still a maiden after four second-place finishes in a row at Aqueduct at distances of seven to nine furlongs, each time racing on the early pace. As a Todd Pletcher runner, he was a heavy favorite in his last three starts, but that certainly will not be the case in this spot. Toss.

5.(9-5 – Classic Empire – Steve Asmussen / Jose Lezcano – 3: 3-0-0 - $264,000 – 50 Derby points) Morello is one of the three unbeaten horses in this field. From the Steve Asmussen barn, he has trained and run exclusively in New York under the care of assistant Toby Sheets His wins at Aqueduct came while pressing the pace in a maiden, then in the Jimmy Winkfield and the Gotham (G3). The three winning margins totaled almost 14 lengths as the race distances increased from six furlongs to seven and then a mile. Top choice.

6.Skippylongstocking(12-1 – Exaggerator – Saffie Joseph Jr. / Junior Alvarado – 8: 2-1-1 - $90,100 – 0 Derby points) This son of Exaggerator is 2-for-8 with a maiden win and most recently an allowance at Gulfstream going the 1 1/8-mile distance of the Wood Memorial. This will be his first start on the Derby trail. His last two starts were with Lasix, but he will not be able to use it in this New York stakes. He will come with the longest odds of his career, and it is hard to completely overlook this Saffie Joseph runner. Use underneath.

7.A. P.'s Secret(12-1 – Cupid – Saffie Joseph Jr. / Manny Franco – 4: 2-1-0 - $74,740 – 0 Derby points) A. P.'s Secret was involved in the incident in the Fountain of Youth that was caused by Paco Lopez. This son of Cupid was pressing the pace around the quarter pole and had his heels clipped which caused him to lose all of his momentum. He ships up to Aqueduct from Florida to give him another chance on the Kentucky Derby trail. He broke his maiden and won an allowance at Gulfstream Park. The Joseph barn is hot right now, having dethroned Todd Pletcher as the leading trainer at the Gulfstream championship meeting. Use underneath.

8.Barese(8-1 – Laoban – Mike Maker / Dylan Davis – 3: 3-0-0 - $151,250 – 0 Derby points) The New York-bred Barese is unbeaten in three starts, which include a pair of state-bred stakes at Aqueduct. Most recently, he won the Gander going a mile. Barese used a stalking trip to win each time as distance increased from five furlongs to 6 1/2 to a one-turn mile. Yes, he will need to continue to improve but he likely will come with the highest odds of his career. Live long shot.

Summary: Big-name trainers like Todd Pletcher, Steve Asmussen and Chad Brown have selected the Wood Memorial for runners from their barns who have past success at Aqueduct. Mo Donegal won the Remsen for Pletcher, unbeaten Morello has three victories at the Big A for Asmussen, and Early Voting won both of his races for Brown at the New York City track. Five horses in the Wood field have won a total of nine races at Aqueduct.

That trio gains an important edge by having experience on an Aqueduct racing surface that is known to be very deep and can produce slow times. Although Epicenter is deservedly the top-ranked Derby contender from the Asmussen barn, Morello deserves notice for his three open-length victories at increasing distances using an ideal stalking style. That will make him my top choice to win the Wood Memorial.