G2 Winner Irish War Cry Looks to Rebound in Saturday’s Wood
G2 Winner Irish War Cry Looks to Rebound in Saturday’s Wood
Multiple G3 Winner El Areeb Recovering After ‘Perfect’ Knee Surgery
LAUREL, MD –Fair Hill Training Center-based Grade 2 winner Irish War Cry, who suffered his first career loss when seventh as the favorite in the Fountain of Youth (G2) March 4, looks to get back on the winning track in Saturday’s Wood Memorial (G2) at Aqueduct.
Isabelle de Tomaso’s homebred son of Curlin is the 7-2 third choice on the morning line from far outside Post 8 in the 1 1/8-mile Wood. New York-based jockey Rajiv Maragh will be aboard for the first time.
“I wish I could give everyone an explanation for why he ran so poorly last time. I’m not sure I can, I just hope he can bounce back from it,” trainer Graham Motion said. “He’s got to come out and prove himself. He’s coming off a very disappointing effort after running two really big races. He ran big speed numbers and looked very genuine, but he definitely has to bounce back on Saturday.”
Irish War Cry opened his career with back-to-back wins at Laurel Park – a maiden special weight event Nov. 11 and the Marylander Stakes Dec. 31 – prior to a front-running victory in the Holy Bull (G2) Feb. 4 at Gulfstream Park, besting a field that included Triple Crown contenders Classic Empire and Gunnevera.
He has had two works since the Fountain of Youth, the most recent coming Sunday at Fair Hill in his first local move since returning from South Florida.
“I definitely noticed him to be more wound up in the morning before he goes to the track, which is why I thought it would help him to be back here at Fair Hill. He could train on a track where he was familiar,” Motion said. “Right now we’re just trying to get him back on track and I wanted to run him in the race where he has the best chance to show himself.”
Multiple G3 Winner El Areeb Recovering After ‘Perfect’ Knee Surgery
M M G Stables’ multiple Grade 3 winner El Areeb is back at trainer Cal Lynch’s Laurel barn recovering from a knee injury that knocked him off the Triple Crown trail.
The injury was discovered following a March 29 workout at Laurel, and an operation was performed by Dr. Dean Richardson at the New Bolton Center in Kennett Square, Pa. on Monday. El Areeb was being pointed to a start in the Wood Memorial.
“Surgery went perfect,” Lynch said. “Dr. Richardson was very pleased with the outcome, so we came back here the next day. He’ll have a month or so of stall rest, then he’ll go to the farm for a little bit and then he’ll probably go up to Bruce Jackson at Fair Hill for AquaTred and stuff like that. Hopefully by September we’ll be back in full training.”
El Areeb kicked off a four-race win streak with a maiden victory and the James F. Lewis III Stakes at Laurel last fall, opening his 3-year-old season with wins in the Jerome (G3) and Withers (G3) at Aqueduct. He was third after setting a demanding pace in the Withers (G3) March 4 last time out.
