Stronach colt holds off late-running Aptitude in New York's first major Derby preview

In the winner's circle at Aqueduct on March 19, with the wind whipping raw and chill off Jamaica Bay and the seagulls squawking at each other in the infield, trainer Joe Orseno beamed as if it were a sunny, warm afternoon somewhere else. Say, in Kentucky on the first Saturday in May.

Gotham S. (G3)
Aqueduct, March 19, $200,000, 1 mile, fast, 1:34.27
1-RED BULLET, c. 3, Unbridled-Cargo, by Caro (Ire).
2-Aptitude, c. 3, A.P. Indy-Dokki, by Northern Dancer.
3-Performing Magic, c. 3, Gone West-Performing Arts (Ire), by The Minstrel.

Certainly that is where his thoughts were after his prize pupil, Stronach Stable's Red Bullet, shot to his third straight victory with his performance in the $200,000 Gotham Stakes (G3). The lean, rangy chestnut, a son of 1990 Kentucky Derby (G1) winner Unbridled, handled a respectable field of eight other three-year-olds with elan, overcoming traffic and a fast-closing Aptitude to win the one-mile race by a half-length.

"This is one step; now he's ready to take the next," said Orseno. "Next is the two-turn Wood (Memorial Stakes [G2] on April 15) and then hopefully the Kentucky Derby. That was our plan all along: a seven-furlong allowance race, the one-turn mile, and then the Wood. As long as he handles two turns (in the Wood) and doesn't get rank-it's going to have to be a good experience."

The Gotham, the penultimate major New York prep for the Derby, had been penciled in on Red Bullet's schedule ever since his eye-popping seven-length maiden victory on January 8 in 1:10.92. Red Bullet's next assignment was a seven-furlong allowance race at Gulfstream Park, which he won for fun in 1:24.27.

"When I first got him, (trainer) Danny Vella told me he was in the top five," Orseno said of the Frank Stronach homebred. "I didn't see that the first month. From the farm to here (at Belmont Park) he went backward. Mentally, he wasn't ready. But from then to now, well, I'm on the phone every day with Vella, saying, ÔYou were right, you were right'."

Four starts to Derby

Now, Orseno, who like Stronach has never had a Derby starter, hopes he is right as he prepares to send Red Bullet for the run for the roses with just four starts and the added onus of never having raced at age two.

"Horses are individuals," Orseno said. "Do they have to run four or five times as two-year-olds? They're put away after that anyway. I know my horse, and I am totally confident that with my training style I can get him ready to run 1 1/4 miles the first Saturday in May."

He was certainly ready to run in New York on the third Sunday in March. Under jockey Alex Solis, who will return to ride him in the $750,000, 1 1/8-mile Wood, Red Bullet broke alertly and then relaxed nicely along the inside in fifth, not far behind Appealing Danger, who led through fractions of 22.82, 45.62, and 1:09.70 for the first six furlongs.

On the far turn, Solis angled Red Bullet off the rail and, after some bumping, finally found room at the top of the lane. In an instant, the colt accelerated to the front and opened up on the field inside the three-sixteenths pole. At the same time, Aptitude was altering course and coming on full bore, much to the delight of trainer Bobby Frankel.

At the end, Aptitude could not close to more than a half-length of the winner. but for his colt's first start since January, Frankel could not have been more pleased.

"I'm really happy with his race," said Frankel, who came in from California to saddle the colt. He said Aptitude would be returned to California and then shipped back to New York for the Wood. "He hadn't run since January. I was just looking for a good race from him today. I'd rather get beat a neck here than in the Kentucky Derby."

"Once we got into the lane he exploded," said Brice Blanc, who rode Aptitude. "He had broken well and settled and made his typical late run. That was pretty much the plan because he is not a speed horse."

Likewise, jockey Garrett Gomez was pleased with the performance of Performing Magic, who finished four lengths back in third.

Bumped by Red Bullet

"He actually had a pretty good trip, even though we were wide," said Gomez. "He's not a big horse, and he was knocked off stride a couple of times by Red Bullet. It took him a few strides to get back in gear, and he kept on going gamely."

Following Performing Magic under the wire were Fight for Ally; Appealing Danger; Acres, who had won the 1 1/8--mile Deputed Testamony Stakes at Laurel Park; Max's Pal, who had been 3-for-3 on Aqueduct's inner track; Fajardo; and Gangsta Rap. Critical Thinker was scratched.

Solis, aboard Red Bullet for the first time, was impressed with the professionalism the colt showed in only his third career start.

"He is real professional," said Solis. "He relaxed off the pace fine and took dirt well. I was a little concerned about going wide on the far turn because we were getting jostled around inside horses, but it didn't faze him-he really took off inside the three-sixteenths pole. He looks like he's going to be better going longer. I see no problem with him stretching out."

Sent off at 1.05-to-1 ("That's pressure," said Orseno.), and with Stronach and full entourage looking on ("That's real pressure," Orseno said.), Red Bullet ran the mile in 1:34.27.

"I was a little concerned because I thought he might get trapped on the inside," said Orseno. "He had some traffic on the turn, but plenty of horse to get through. He was getting bumped pretty bad and showed good determination. He lived up to his expectations."

Looking back, Orseno was actually glad Red Bullet had to overcome a little trouble in his first stakes start. Even in the week leading up to the race, however, Orseno exuded confidence, particularly after the colt's 1:12 1/5 work seven days earlier; the traffic problems in the Gotham were no concern, either.

"Not that I was worried-if you saw the traffic this horse had in his first race, you'd know it wouldn't bother him," he said. "When I saw him up in there, well, I know his determination. He was getting bumped pretty good and fought his way through. No jockey can do that for the horse. He really muscled his way through. He makes it look so easy that even when I saw the other horse coming, I knew he had something left."

On March 18, longshot Brutally Frank won the first stakes race on the newly opened main track at Aqueduct, taking the $82,350 Toboggan Handicap by three-quarters of a length over Master O Foxhounds.

Trained by Mitchell Friedman and ridden by Shaun Bridgmohan, the six-year-old gelded son of Groovy covered the seven furlongs in 1:20.30 at odds of 12.70-to-1. Completing the order of finish were Watchman's Warning, Chasin' Wimmin, Romano Gucci, 1.90-to-1 favorite Unreal Madness, Klabin's Gold, and Parental Pressure.