Deterministic, Tuscan Sky square off in Wood Memorial; Life Talk tops Gazelle

Apr 03, 2024 Vance Hanson/Brisnet.com

The $750,000 Wood Memorial (G2) at Aqueduct on Saturday attracted a field of 13, but it looks like a top-heavy renewal on paper. However, given the race has been won in recent years by the likes of Bourbonic ($146.50 in 2021) and Lord Miles ($120.50 in 2023), perhaps any result is possible.

Expected to take the bulk of the betting dollars are Deterministic and Tuscan Sky, both of whom enter the 1 1/8-mile Wood Memorial with a 2-for-2 record. If one could be judged to have more seasoning it would Deterministic, who won on debut last August at Saratoga and then was out of action until the March 2 Gotham (G3) at Aqueduct. Despite the long layoff and the step up into stakes company, Deterministic turned in a strong effort to defeat the promising Just a Touch by two lengths.

Deterministic gained 50 points on the Road to @KentuckyDerby 150 with a win in the Gotham Stakes at Aqueduct on Saturday!

Click the link below to add him to your TwinSpires Stable Alerts!#NeverMissAWinner ⤵️ https://t.co/iUFYXoN07r pic.twitter.com/DQrDxFNja7

— TwinSpires Racing 🏇 (@TwinSpires) March 4, 2024

Tuscan Sky did not debut until January, but won first out convincingly by 5 1/4 lengths going six furlongs at Aqueduct. He then shipped to Fair Grounds, winning a three-horse, 1 1/16-mile allowance by two lengths over subsequent stakes winner Nash. Trained by seven-time Wood winner Todd Pletcher, Tuscan Sky has only competed over off tracks to this point, but is likely to encounter fast going on Saturday.

Resilience perhaps will be third in the wagering pecking order. The Bill Mott trainee was a respectable fourth in his stakes debut in the Feb. 17 Risen Star (G2) at Fair Grounds, in which he finished behind leading Kentucky Derby (G1) contenders Sierra Leone, Track Phantom, and Catching Freedom. He missed by only 3 1/2 lengths, having only broken his maiden in his previous start, and adds blinkers for the Wood.

A cut below that trio are the Withers (G3) one-two Uncle Heavy and El Grande O. Uncle Heavy overcame a slow pace to win the Withers by a nose but missed training time afterwards due to quarantine restrictions at his Parx base. He will break from post 13 on Saturday. The speedy El Grande O also placed in the Gotham (G3) and Jerome S. over the winter in addition to his narrow miss in the Withers, but has given the impression that distance limitations might work against him in a race of this length.

The drop off in logical win contenders from here is steep, but as Bourbonic and Lord Miles showed, another shocker can't be discounted.

The Wood Memorial offers Kentucky Derby qualifying points of 100-50-25-15-10 to the respective top five finishers.

Also offering that point distribution, but for the Kentucky Oaks, is the $200,000 Gazelle (G3) for three-year-old fillies over 1 1/8 miles, which attracted a field of 10.

Life Talk, who impressively captured the Demoiselle (G2) over the track and distance in December, looks to rebound off a puzzling last-place finish as the odds-on choice in the Feb. 10 Suncoast S. at Tampa Bay Downs, a race won by eventual Gulfstream Park Oaks (G2) heroine Power Squeeze.

'It was disappointing no matter how you slice it,' trainer Todd Pletcher said of Life Talk's Suncoast effort. 'We're going to put some blinkers on her. Her last couple of breezes have been with blinkers and seem to have her a little more dialed in as well.'

Also in the mix are stakes winners Gin Gin and Carmelina, California invader Where's My Ring, Suncoast runner-up Whocouldaskformo, and Cincinnati Trophy second Barbratina.

The Wood Memorial and Gazelle can be watched and wagered on at TwinSpires.com.