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On the Derby Trail: Gotham Stakes at Aqueduct this Saturday
On Saturday, Aqueduct will hold the final prep race for the April 5th Wood Memorial. (AP Images)
The race card consists of 10 entries for the 1 1/16th mile Gotham Stakes, which carries $250,000 purse.
Visionaire, who is trained by Mike Matz is definitely a horse to watch, he’s coming off a 3rd place finish to the well known Pyro in the Risen Star Stakes at Fair Grounds. Visionaire is owned by Team Valor and this will be his fifth start, 2 of which he has won.
"I was very pleased with his race in the Risen Star," Matz said. "It was his first time around two turns and he only got beat 2 ¾ lengths by some nice horses. Each time he's run, he's improved."
Another name to watch on Saturday is the undefeated Giant Moon, winner of the Count Fleet Stakes at Aqueduct. Giant Moon will be ridden by Ramon Dominguez from the inside post. The three-year-old has earned $184,785, with three of his wins coming in stakes races.
"He's on the outside looking in, which is as it should be," said Schosberg about Giant Moon. "Hopefully, after Saturday, he'll be on the inside, looking out. Any advantage we have is that he has proven himself around two turns over this track."
Owned by Puglisi Stables, Roman Emperor will be sharing the same field once again with Giant Moon as he did in the Count Fleet, the colt ended up placing third.
"He's doing very good and has been incredibly sharp in his training," said Klesaris. "Obviously, this is going to be his stiffest test to date. He's got the versatility, that's for sure. My only reservation is I wish we had races with more ground to run in. This colt is a true mile and a half horse. He's really gonna excel with the big distances."
The complete field for the Gotham Stakes is: Giant Moon, Laysh Laysh Laysh, Roman Emperor, Saratoga Russell, Southern Terminus, Holidaze, Texas Wildcatter, Larrys Revenge, Ling Ling Qi, and Visionaire.
The Gotham Stakes has a scheduled post-time of 4:50 p.m. Get your Kentucky Derby futures in the Bodog Racebook.