The Woodward Stakes (G2), among the most prestigious races in the country since its start in 1954, features an intriguing field for bettors Saturday at Aqueduct as part of a card boasting five graded stakes races.
Although the Woodward is not part of the Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series: "Win and You’re In" program, the 1 1/8-mile race is likely to produce a horse or two with the Breeders’ Cup at Del Mar on Oct. 31-Nov. 1 as a next stop.
Let’s begin with Locked, the 4-year-old Gun Runner colt with two Grade 1 wins on his resume – the Breeders’ Futurity at Keeneland as a 2-year-old and the Santa Anita Handicap on March 1.
If Locked is on his game again after a fourth in the Alysheba Stakes (G2) at Churchill Downs on May 2 and a third in the Suburban Stakes (G2) at Aqueduct, he will be difficult to beat. He’s the 9-5 morning-line favorite
Trained by Hall of Famer Todd Pletcher, Locked will be ridden by Hall of Famer John Velazquez leaving from post 7. Pletcher is looking for a sixth Woodward win, Velazquez is seeking a fifth win in the race.
“He just didn’t have that ‘oomph’ that we know he’s capable of in the Suburban,” Aron Wellman of owners Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners, said. “He was inside and closer to the pace than usual, which might not have been to his liking, but no excuses. He just wasn’t the Locked that we know can be so brilliant. We really decided to hit the reboot button, and the last month he’s been training like the ‘A’ version of Locked, which is highly encouraging.
“He’s run very well at Aqueduct in the past, the Woodward is a historic race, and we’re very much looking forward to getting him back on top.”
The competition is tough. Suburban winner Phileas Fogg (2-1), who finished third behind Antiquarian and Sierra Leone in the Jockey Club Gold Cup (G1) but was disqualified for interference and unplaced, has finished first or second in seven of his last eight races for trainer Gustavo Rodriguez.
The 5-year-old gelding claimed for $62,500 last summer, will be ridden again by Kendrick Carmouche out of post 6.
Post Time (7-2) comes into the race with 12 wins in 20 starts and has been off the board just once – sixth in the Whitney Stakes (G1) -- for Maryland-based trainer Brittany Russell. In his race after the Whitney the 5-year-old gray son of Frosted won the 1-mile Polynesian Stakes at Laurel by 17 lengths.
Russell believes Post Time, runner-up in the 2024 Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile (G1), is ready for another strong performance.
“He’s done really well since his run at Laurel, and it didn’t take much out of him, so it seems logical to come back in three weeks,” Russell said. “We were lucky that they got the race to go, and we were able to run at home, but it’s going to be hard to keep him there because I think a lot of them don’t want to come and run against him. We’re probably going to have to keep him on the road a little bit.”
Looking for a longshot?
Film Star, listed at 20-1, finished second in the 2023 Woodward after leading into the final furlong, and comes in off a pair of victories in allowance optional claimers at Saratoga. Trained by Rob Atras, the 6-year-old son of Flatter is seeking his first graded stakes win in what will be his 30th career start. Manny Franco has the call from gate 4.
The Woodward is carded as race 6 on the 12-race program with a post time of 3:08 p.m. ET. The other stakes are the $500,000 Joe Hirsch Turf Classic (G1), the $250,000 Gallant Bloom (G2), the $200,000 Belmont Turf Sprint (G3), and the $200,000 Vosburgh Stakes (G3), a BC Win and You’re In race for the Breeders’ Cup Sprint (G1) on Nov. 1.
1 Awesome Aaron (Ricardo Santana, Jr., Norm Casse), 12-1
2 Post Time (Sheldon Russell, Brittany Russell), 7-2
3 Willy D's (Flavien Prat, Mike Maker), 6-1
4 Film Star (Manny Franco, Rob Atras), 20-1
5 Gould's Gold (Javier Castellano, Kenny McPeek), 10-1
6 Phileas Fogg (Kendrick Carmouche, Gustavo Rodriguez), 2-1
7 Locked (John Velazquez, Todd Pletcher), 9-5
