In 1973, Tug McGraw a pitcher for the New York Mets created the battle cry “Ya Gotta Believe”. At the time, the Mets were playing poorly and McGraw was trying to rally fans behind the team. I guess you could argue it worked as the Mets made the World Series in 1973 but they ultimately lost to the Oakland Athletics.
This Saturday (April 5) is the Grade 2, $750,0000 Wood Memorial at Aqueduct and I’m going to urge supporters of Woodford Racing et al to adopt that battle cry. Statesman (owned by West Point Thoroughbreds, Woodford Racing and CJ Stables) will be making his stakes debut in the Wood.
Normally, a stakes debut is a big deal, but this debut is a bigger deal. This year’s addition of the Wood Memorial is the 100th running so it carries significant prestige. In addition, it’s a Grade 2 with a purse of $750,000. Lastly, and probably most importantly, the winner and second place finisher will earn enough points to be in the Kentucky Derby starting gate on May 5th!
As if making his stakes debut isn’t enough, Statesman has drawn post position #11 in a bulky 12 horse field. The combination of Bob Baffert shipping in the likely favorite (Rodriquez) from California and several horses with prior stakes experience will require Statesman to take another step forward. While Statesman is coming off two consecutive wins at Tampa Bay Downs, his Beyer, Equibase and Thoro-Graph numbers are light compared to other entrants. With that said, it’s not unusual for 3 year old colts to show dramatic improvement this time of the year.
Post time for the Wood Memorial is 6:10 PM (EST) and it will be shown on Fox, Fox Sports and NYRA Bets.
Ya Gotta Believe!
Paulick Report Article on Stateman