Mo Quality is a quality contender in Listed $250K Withers

Walmac Farm’s stakes-placed Mo Quality looks for his first stakes win and the possibility of adding more Kentucky Derby qualifying points in Saturday’s Listed $250,000 Withers, a nine-furlong test for sophomores, at Aqueduct Racetrack. 

The Withers, a prep race on the Road to the Kentucky Derby, will award the top-five finishers 20-10-6-4-2 qualifying points, respectively, towards the prestigious Grade 1 test on May 3 at Churchill Downs.

Trained by Christopher Davis, Mo Quality picked up five points towards the Run for the Roses when second last out in the 1 1/16-mile Listed Smarty Jones on January 4 at Oaklawn Park. There, the Mo Town bay attended the pace for the opening quarter-mile, before settling into a stalking third position 1 1/2 lengths back and closing for second as the pacesetting multiple stakes-winner Coal Battle got the jump to a four-length victory.

“I thought we let the horse get away on the easy lead and I think we should have pressed the pace and gone a little bit faster, to make the race a little more honest,” said Davis. “I don’t want to take anything away from the winner, who is proven and kicked away a little bit, but I think we kind of took our horse out of what he wants to do.

“He has a lot more natural speed than what he was allowed to show the other day. He wasn’t tired after the race,” Davis continued. 

Mo Quality [post 5, Kendrick Carmouche] graduated by one length in prominent fashion second-out in a 6 1/2-furlong November maiden at Churchill Downs. He earned a career-best 83 Beyer Speed Figure, showing improvement from a debut runner-up effort to stakes-placed Touchy when rallying from last at the same distance one month prior at Keeneland.

“He is a horse that has come to fruition pretty early. I ran him sooner than I thought I would because he started waking up really fast,” Davis said. “He is a big, strong horse. We are trying to teach him to go two turns. Going from six and a half, to a mile and a sixteenth, it was a big difference, but I don’t think it was the distance – it was overall the way the race set up for us.”

Bred in Kentucky by Titletown Racing Stables, Mo Quality, out of the Quality Road mare Revealing Quality, was a $50,000 purchase at the 2023 Keeneland September Yearling Sale. His third dam, Revealed, produced dual Grade 1-winning millionaire Belle Gallantey.
  
St. Elias Stable’s Captain Cook [post 6, Manny Franco] was impressive when graduating second-out by 9 1/4 lengths in a local seven-furlong maiden on December 28 in his first start for trainer Rick Dutrow, Jr.  

The Practical Joke bay stalked one length off the pace in second position before drawing clear in the turn and extending to a big lead over the sloppy and sealed going. The performance, engineered by returning rider Manny Franco, earned a career-best 83 Beyer.

“He ran big. We were very, very happy with his race,” said Dutrow, Jr. “That is why we are pointing him to a big race now, because he was very impressive with what we saw from him. Manny was happy with the horse, excited, and liked the feel the horse gave him. He’s an exciting horse who ran a big race and I can’t wait to watch him run again.” 

Captain Cook was sixth in his six-furlong debut for conditioner Norm Casse in October at Churchill Downs. He will travel two turns for the first time. 

“We are willing to try it. He won going seven-eighths and ran big, so we are looking forward to it,” Dutrow, Jr. said. “He is leading us to believe that he will be able to do it.” 

Bred by Marylou Whitney Stables, Captain Cook, a $410,000 purchase at the 2024 Keeneland November Horses of Racing Age sale, is out of the Grade 2-placed Indian Charlie mare Pow Wow Wow. His third dam is 2003 Grade 1 Kentucky Oaks winner and Champion 3-Year-Old Filly Bird Town, a half-sister of 2004 Grade 1 Belmont Stakes and Travers-victor Birdstone – both out of 2004 Broodmare of the Year Dear Birdie. 

Cash is King and LC Racing’s stakes-winner Global Steve [post 1, Mychel Sanchez] looks to defend trainer Butch Reid, Jr.’s title in the Withers after winning last year with Uncle Heavy – he also won with Afleet Again in 2010. 

The Bucchero chestnut is 2-for-2, entering from a rallying 1 1/2-length score in the seven-furlong Parx Future Stars on December 30 at its namesake oval. He won over that same course and distance in his November debut, coming from off the pace under returning jockey Mychel Sanchez in both. 

“His first two starts were very good. If you watch the races, it does look like he's playing around a bit out there,” said Reid, Jr. “He runs with his head up in the air and we've been working on him to get him to drop that chin down a little bit. He's not going to be able to fool around like that against his group, so he's going to have to step it up.”

Global Steve, who will test his stamina beyond seven furlongs for the first time, has worked back twice over the Parx dirt, including a bullet five-eighths in 59.82 seconds on January 18 and a half-mile in 50.43 Saturday.

"He went an unbelievable five-eighths last week and galloped out good and strong. We couldn't get him pulled up until around the backside,” Reid, Jr. said. “He trains good and long, and I don't see any reason why he can't [stretch out]. This has been a favorite race of ours and hopefully he can keep up the good luck in it."

Reid, Jr. said Global Steve will again race with a shadow roll which he wore last time out.

"We added a shadow roll in his last start, and it didn't seem to help. We were back and forth about taking it off, but his last two breezes have just been great with the shadow roll on, so we're going to leave it on,” Reid, Jr. said. “It's more of a matter of him getting experience and the rider getting experience with it. That's one of the reasons we're keeping Mikey Sanchez on him - Mikey knows the horse and how to handle him.”

Global Steve, out of the Hard Spun mare A Rosefor Isabelle, is a half-brother to multiple graded stakes-placed Cagliostro, who landed a close second to Highland Falls in the nine-furlong Grade 3 Blame in June at Churchill Downs.

Dual Eclipse Award-winning trainer Brad Cox will send out maiden-winner Uncle Jim [post 4, Jose Lezcano]. Perhaps it is a good omen that last year’s Withers went to an “Uncle” in the aforementioned Uncle Heavy. 

Uncle Jim, a City of Light dark bay owned by Robert V. LaPenta and Madaket Stables, won his seven-furlong debut in October at Keeneland and was next third in a one-turn mile optional-claimer in December here. He traveled in second position behind next-out Jerome-winner Cyclone State and weakened to land 3 1/2 lengths back in third. 

Out of the Tiznow mare Now Now, Uncle Jim was a $240,000 purchase at the 2023 Keeneland September Yearling Sale. His second dam, Listen Now, is a half-sister to dual Grade 1-winner Listening, as well as dual Grade 1-placed Solar Echo and Grade 1-placed Beautiful Noise. 

Rounding out the field is last-out closing Jerome runner-up Omaha Omaha [post 7, Raul Mena] for conditioner Michael Gorham, along with maiden-winners Surfside Moon [post 2, Sahin Civaci] for trainer James Lawrence, II, and Corvus [post 3, Romero Maragh] for conditioner Jose Jimenez. 

The Withers is slated as Race 7 on Saturday’s nine-race program, which includes the Listed $175,000 Toboggan [Race 6] and the $125,000 Ruthless [Race 3]. First post is 12:40 p.m. Eastern.

America’s Day at the Races will present live coverage and analysis of the Aqueduct Racetrack winter meet on the networks of FOX Sports. For the broadcast schedule and channel finder, visit https://www.nyra.com/aqueduct/racing/tv-schedule/.
 
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