El Kabeir takes charge to capture Gotham Stakes
OZONE PARK, N.Y. -- Zayat Stables' 6-5 favorite El Kabeir came off the pace and powered home with a quarter mile remaining to win Saturday's $400,000 Gotham Stakes at Aqueduct Racetrack by 2¾ lengths under 54-year-old jockey C.C. "Chucky" Lopez, and earned 50 points in the "Road to the Kentucky Derby" points system.
El Kabeir, a 3-year-old gray/roan son of Scat Daddy, now has 75 points to lead all Derby contenders for the May 2 Run for the Roses at Churchill Downs. Trained by John Terranova, El Kabeir won his second race in three starts this year, and made amends after losing Aqueduct's Withers Stakes as the odds-on favorite four weeks ago.
"He overcame a lot today and it was a big jump forward," said Terranova. "He got everything thrown at him today and he still managed to overcome it all."
Wachtel Stable's 11-1 Tiz D Shea, currently not nominated for the Triple Crown races, finished second, and earned 20 Derby points, just a head in front of Classy Class, who gained 10 points. Fourth-place finisher Toasting Master earned five points. The Kentucky Derby field is limited to 20 starters.
Following Toasting Master, the order of finish in the Gotham: Tencendur, Dontbetwithbruno, Uninfluenced, Blame Jim, Combat Diver and Lieutenant Colonel.
El Kabeir, paid $4.60 for the win, and completed the 1 1/16 miles in 1:45.56 over a muddy track in a 10-horse field.
The Gotham served as the local prep for the $1 million Twinspires.com Wood Memorial on April 4. Terranova indicated that El Kabeir could start next in the 1 1/8 mile Wood. "We'd like to stay here and run in the Wood Memorial because he's done very well here," the trainer said.
While Lopez had planned to get to the lead on the gate break, El Kabeir was shuffled back in the early going. Still, Lopez did not panic while Toasting Master shot to the lead and put in solid fractions of 23 seconds for first quarter mile and :46.63 for the half-mile. "I was riding the best horse in the race," said Lopez, who had settled in his mount to fifth place along the inside at the far turn.
"He was much easier behind horses to throttle the speed and when I called on him going into the three eighths pole. From there, when he changed leads turning for home, he just exploded."
El Keiber drew clear of Toasting Master and Tiz Shea D in the stretch to secure the victory.
Terranova was impressed. "I had not seen any deep closers do anything," he said. "With this level of horses, sometimes you throw out biases.
"From 2 to 3 years old, he's been a completely different horse. He was very fast and we knew he was very talented, but we didn't know how he would be mentally. Now we've focused him to use his energy the right way."
El Kabeir, bred in Florida by Rustlewood Farms, began the year on January 3 at Aqueduct by winning the 1 mile and 70 yard Jerome by 4 ¾ lengths. He won twice in five starts as 2-year-old, including the Kentucky Jockey Club at Churchill Downs. He's now won five times in eight career starts.
The 1973 Kentucky Derby and Triple Crown winner Secretariat is the only Gotham winner to capture the Derby. Bill Shoemaker is the oldest jockey to win the Kentucky Derby. At 54, Shoemaker rode Ferdinand to victory in the 1986 Derby.