NEWS
Bob and John drives to Wood victory
Posted: Saturday, April 08, 2006
Stonerside Stable's homebred Bob and John moved to the top of trainer Bob Baffert's Triple Crown team, parlaying a head-to-head stretch duel with front-runner Keyed Entry into a game 1 1/2-length victory Saturday in the $750,000 Wood Memorial Stakes (G1), run over a sloppy track at Aqueduct.
Keyed Entry broke on top in the 1 1/8-mile Wood and Bob and John immediately came up to challenge. He found himself in tight quarters with Marco's Tale, prompting jockey Garrett Gomez to deftly drop Bob and John back to third.
Keyed Entry continued to set the pace, with Marco's Tale and Bob and John tracking him. Marco's Tale dropped out of contention after a half-mile as Bob and John took dead aim on Keyed Entry. The two hooked up in early stretch with neither willing to give in as they dueled down the lane until Bob and John began to pull away nearing the wire. Jazil, who trailed the field in the early going, closed gamely to take second, a half-length ahead of Keyed Entry. Time of the race was 1:51.54.
"He's done everything [trainer Bob Baffert has] asked him to do, and he came into this race really good," Gomez said. "I had to make some adjustments in this race, and he did everything. I think a mile-and-a-quarter will be right up his alley."
Trainer Kiaran McLaughlin indicated that Jazil's impressive late run earned him a ticket to the Kentucky Derby (G1), while trainer Todd Pletcher said he would wait a few days before making any decision about Keyed Entry.
"It just shows you that there is so much speed in California," Baffert said. "It's like a vacation when you get away from there. We tried something different. When he hit the wire, his ears went up and he wanted to shut down."
The Kentucky-bred, now one of the top candidates for the Kentucky Derby, is out of the Deputy Minister mare Minister's Melody.
For an Equibase chart, click here.
