Gotham trifecta horses headed for Wood Memorial

By: SPORTS NETWORK

Ozone Park, NY (SportsNetwork.com) - Gotham Stakes winner Samraat and the next two 3-year-ods under the wire are all headed for another meeting in Aqueduct's $1 million Wood Memorial on April 5.

Samraat, who posted a neck victory over Uncle Sigh with In Trouble another neck back, will traine for the 1 1/8-mile Wood at Palm Meadows Training Center in Florida.

"He came out of the race great," said Rick Violette, who trains Samraat for Leonard Riggio's My Meadowview Farms. "He's a little tired, but he's supposed to be. Going to Florida this time is a different function than it was last time going down there. It's more for him to get some sun, graze a little bit ... they spend 75 percent of their energy keeping warm, no matter how many heat lamps or blankets you have. We're not going to have to do any of that. We'll have a fan."

Uncle Sigh, trained by Gary Contessa for Wounded Warrior Stables and Anthony C. Robertson, suffered his second straight stakes defeat to Samraat in the Gotham. Uncle Sigh was a length behind Samraat in the Withers Stakes at Aqueduct.

"He came out of the race excellent," said Contessa. "He's happy, he ate up, and he looks like a million bucks.

"Having to run the way he did probably didn't help us any (in the Gotham). Last time it was on the lead, (in the Gotham) it was between horses, getting jostled."

In Trouble, Owned by Team D Stable, was making his 2014 debut in the Gotham in which he set most of the pace.

"You can't be too disappointed when they run like that," said trainer Tony Dutrow. "Right now my mind is on the Wood Memorial. He still has questions to answer and I'm going to look at (the Wood)."

Winning the Gotham was worth 50 points for Samraat in the Kentucky Derby points system. Overall, the colt has 60 points which should be enough to start in the Run for the Roses at Churchill Downs on May 3.