Wood notes/ More is better

The cast of characters for Saturday’s Wood Memorial, which will be drawn on Thursday morning at Aqueduct, is growing.

Previously confirmed: Champagne Stakes and Breeders’ Cup Juvenile-winner War Pass, last year’s juvenile champion, Remsen winner Court Vision, Anak Nakal , Giant Moon, Roman Emperor, Spurrier, Tale of Ekati and narrowly beaten Gotham Stakes runner-up Texas Wildcatter. New shooters: Inner Light, who will be coupled with Court Vision, and possibly First Commandment and Gattopardo.

The nine-furlong Wood Memorial will be race ninth of 11 races on a card that includes the Bay Shore for three-year-olds at seven furlongs, Excelsior Handicap at nine furlongs and the 108th running of the Grade 1 Carter Handicap at seven furlongs.

Bill Mott believes he has two horses heading in the right direction for the Wood in Court Vision and Inner Light.

Court Vision, a son of 1987 Wood Memorial winner Gulch, closed out a three-for-four two-year-old season by winning the nine-furlong Remsen by a neck over Atoned. In his only start of 2008, he was a distant third behind Cool Coal Man and Elysium Fields in Gulfstream Park’s Fountain of Youth on February 24.

“It was his first race back and he ran well, considering he was on a speed-favoring racetrack,” Mott said. “He was pretty far back, and he wasn’t going to make up any kind of ground on that track. Still, he was the only one running at the end and he has been doing very well ever since.”

Inner Light, who like Court Vision is owned by IEAH Stable and WinStar Farm, is a son of Songandaprayer who won a one-mile Gulfstream Park allowance on March 7.

“We’ve kind of looked at the Wood for awhile for Inner Light and we decided to give him a chance to play the game. He’s always been overanxious, but he seemed to settle much better in his last race. Will he handle two turns? We don’t know for sure, but he seems he is heading in the right direction.”

Mott said that Garrett Gomez would ride Court Vision, while C.C. Lopez has the mount on Inner Light. They will ship from Florida to Aqueduct on Thursday.

“It didn’t make much sense to ship to Belmont Park and then ship again for the Wood,” Mott said. “This way, they ship in and stay for the race.”

Barclay Tagg said he was pleased with Tale of Ekati’s half-mile work on Tuesday --:47 2/5, handily, from the gate at Palm Meadows in Florida. The Tale of the Cat colt will ship to Aqueduct Thursday.

Tale of Ekati, last year’s Futurity winner, has only made one start in 2008 and that was a sixth-place finish behind Pyro in the March 8 Louisiana Derby.

“He ran all right,” Tagg said of the colt’s effort in New Orleans. “The assistant starter had his head turned sideways at the start, so he got away from the gate bad and that ruined his chances.”
Edgar Prado has the mount.

Trainer Carlos Martin says that he is “50-50” about running First Commandment in the Wood. A son of 1997 Travers winner Deputy Commander, First Commandment has only had three career starts, all on Aqueduct’s inner track. He lost his debut race in the mud, but has won his next two races.

“I nominated him to the Wood Memorial because this has become a very unpredictable year for three-year-olds,” Martin said. “We all know that War Pass is a terrific horse, but his race at Tampa Bay is a puzzle. Take of Ekati didn’t run so well off the layoff.

“This is one of these situations where you take a shot and if it works out, you look like a genius. We know we are taking a big step with a New York-bred, but like I said, this has been a year when good three-year-olds suddenly are not running their races. War Pass could get on the lead and not look back, but he could also run a race like he did at Tampa Bay. You just don’t know. I know that First Commandment can get a mile and an eighth, and that is still a question with some horses. We have some time. I’ll probably bring him to the (Belmont Park) training track on Thursday, ask him to pick it up on the backside and see where his energy level is at.”

According to trainer Tim Tullock Jr., Germania Farms Inc.’s Gattopardo will likely be running in the Bay Shore.“Right now it’s 80/20 that we’ll run the Bay Shore,” Tullock said. “We still need to talk a little this afternoon and tomorrow, but that’s the way it’s looking.”

WinStar Farms’ Spring at Last figures to be the starting highweight at 121 pound in Carter. The five-year-old is on a three-race winning streak, with his most recent score coming in the Grade 1 Donn Handicap at Gulfstream Park. He also won the Group 2 Godolphin Mile in March 2007, then returned to the races in December with a turf allowance victory.

Also expected are Bustin Stones (116), City Attraction (115), King of the Roxy (115), Lord Snowdon (115), Stormin Normandy (115), Not for Money (114), Premium Wine (114) and Ryan’s for Real (114).