Six days later than expected, New York's Road to the Kentucky Derby (G1) will be plowed and open for business. Extreme cold forced a cancellation of the Jan. 31 stakes and delayed it until Feb. 6 at Aqueduct Racetrack. There was only one defection from the original Withers Stakes field of eight, leaving seven 3-year-olds to travel 1 1/8 miles with 20 Kentucky Derby qualifying points going to the winner.
1. Grittiness: Still a maiden after four starts. Faced better company last time out in the Remsen Stakes (G2) and finished fifth. Could figure in the superfecta here.
Jockey: Ricardo Santana Jr.; Trainer: Todd Pletcher
2. Schoolyardsuperman: One of two Chad Brown-trained entrants coming off nice maiden wins. He'll be tackling two turns for the first time after winning by 5 3/4 lengths at a 1 mile. But if he can duplicate his last try, he will be a top contender.
Jockey: Manny Franco; Trainer: Chad Brown
3. Ottinho: Brown's other starter broke his maiden by a head with a slightly slower speed figure. The big difference is that he won here at the Big A at this 1 1/8-mile distance. Cannot be overlooked here.
Jockey: Jose Lezcano; Trainer: Chad Brown
4. Star Sweeper: Has yet to win beyond 6 1/2 furlongs and was not competitive in two stakes tries. Seems overmatched.
Jockey: Angel Rodriguez; Trainer: Louis Linder Jr.
5. Mailata: Has won his last three starts, topped by a 19-length romp in a Parx Racing 7-furlong stakes. Will get tested for class here, but hails from a barn that is highly effective shipping into New York.
Jockey: Mychal Sanchez; Trainer: Butch Reid
6. Talk to Me Jimmy: Has been training sharply since winning a New York-bred maiden race by 5 1/2 lengths Nov. 9. Should be part of the early pace and seems capable of hanging around until the end.
Jockey: Ruben Silvera; Trainer: Rudy Rodriguez
7. Fourth and One: New York-bred maiden winner has never been worse than third in four career starts. Placed in two stakes before securing his first win by 7 1/4 lengths at 1 mile. Should be part of a contested pace.
Jockey: Jaime Rodriguez; Trainer: Jeremiah Englehart
THE PICK: Schoolyardsuperman
LIVE LONGSHOT: Mailata
SUPERFECTA: 2-5-3-1
