Friday, April 5, 2013 |
Verrazano has been entered in the 11th race at Aqueduct on Saturday, April 6th. It is the Wood Memorial S. (G1) for 3-year-olds, going 1 1/8 miles on the dirt. He has drawn post position 8 of 10 and will be ridden by John Velazquez. The purse is $1,000,000, and approximate post time is 6:28.
Coming off another impressive three length score in the Tampa Bay Dery (G2) on March 9th, Verrazano comes into the Wood Memorial S. (G1) undefeated and atop the national 3-year-old rankings.
In the following days, Verrazano resumed training at Palm Meadows Training Center in Boynton Beach, FL, and more recently he breezed an easy 5/8 of a mile in 1:01 on March 31st and went very well. Verrazano shipped out of south Florida on Wednesday, April 3rd arriving at Belmont Park around 3:30 PM that afternoon safely and in good order.
The Wood Memorial S. (G1) presents several new challenges for our talented colt by More Than Ready including added distance and a new racetrack. However, we're confident in our colt's ability to handle different surfaces, and we have no reason to believe he'll have trouble getting the 1 1/8 miles distance. Verrazano's greatest challenge is likley to be the Grade 1 competition, as many believe the Wood Memorial S. (G1) is the toughest Kentucky Derby prep race to-date.
Taking on the likes of Normandy Invasion and the undefeated Vyjack - both of whom boast wins at Aqueduct - is by no means an easy task, and the field overall is a talented group of well-bred 3-year-olds with very good credentials. In many ways, this race will be an acid test for Verrazano, and we're confident he'll rise to the occasion.
Verrazano is coming into the race feeling good and in great form.We're very excited to have him running in New York and look forward to an exciting Wood Memorial S. (G1) on a gorgeous April day.
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