By David Grening
OZONE PARK, N.Y. - There have been limited sightings of D. Wayne Lukas-trained horses during Aqueduct's winter meeting the last few years. But with the chance to get a 3-year-old on the Triple Crown trail, Lukas has shipped Wow Wow Wow to New York for Saturday's Grade 3, 250,000 Gotham Stakes.
Wow Wow Wow, owned and bred by Saratoga socialite Marylou Whitney, was one of 10 nondescript 3-year-olds entered for the Gotham, which offers $150,000 in graded stakes earnings and is also a stepping-stone to the Grade 1 Wood Memorial to be run here on April 3. Wow Wow Wow has won 2 of 7 starts for Lukas, who has not run a horse over the inner track since Dec. 7, 2007.
Peppi Knows, who won the Whirlaway here on Feb. 6, is one of only two stakes winners entered in the field set to contest 1 1/16 miles around two turns over the inner track. Turf Melody is the other.
In his only stakes try, Wow Wow Wow finished eighth of 12 in the Smarty Jones Stakes at Oaklawn Park on Feb. 13. Lukas said the colt was hampered by starting from post 12 and "never got untangled that day." Wow Wow Wow, a son of Broken Vow, came back with a front-running victory in a first-level allowance from post 10 at Oaklawn on Feb. 13.
"He's really getting better. He's one of those that around this time of year is getting the idea what he's supposed to," Lukas said. "He's a strong, big, powerful-running horse."
For the third straight race, Wow Wow Wow was saddled with the extreme outside in the 10-horse Gotham, but his speed may allow him to overcome that draw. Corey Nakatani has the call.
Lukas has never won the Gotham. Since 1985, he is 0 for 10 - he started two horses in 1990 - with his best finish being Pancho Villa, second in 1985 as the even-money favorite.
"We're due," Lukas said.
One of the surprise entrants in the Gotham was Three Day Rush, who finished third in the Whirlaway and who was initially being pointed to the Fred "Cappy" Capossela going six furlongs. His connections are willing to give Three Day Rush, a son of Harlan's Holiday, another shot around two turns.
From the rail out, the Gotham field is: Three Day Rush, Yawanna Twist, Nacho Friend, Awesome Act, I've Got the Fever, Peppi Knows, Shrimp Dancer, Turf Melody, Afleet Again, and Wow Wow Wow.
The Gotham is one of three stakes on an 11-race Saturday card that begins at 1 p.m. Eastern. The card also includes the Grade 3, $100,000 Toboggan for older sprinters and the $65,000 Capossela Stakes for 3-year-old sprinters.
The late pick four, which has a guaranteed pool of $250,000, will be held on races 8 through 11.
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