'TDN Rising Star' El Areeb (Exchange Rate), a disappointing third at 2-5 in Aqueduct's GIII Gotham S. Mar. 4, breezed Thursday at Laurel, covering four panels in :49.40 (7/14). The work came in company with stakes-winning 4-year-old stablemates Winter (Awesome Again) and Vorticity (Distorted Humor), who were each credited with :50 flat drills. The M M G Stables colorbearer, who took the GIII Jerome S. and GIII Withers S. at the Big A in January and February, respectively, is pointing for the GII Wood Memorial S. back in Ozone Park Apr. 8.
“He worked a mile and an eighth and finished up really, really well. We were very pleased. Everything's good,” conditioner Cal Lynch said. “I'll talk to the owners after his work next week and we'll make a plan, but it looks like the Wood's on schedule unless something changes.”
The $340,000 OBS March acquisition is scheduled to breeze Mar. 29 and Apr. 4 in continued preparation for the Wood. Being up on a hot pace cost him in the Gotham, and the goal appears to be to work on his ability to settle ahead of his final
GI Kentucky Derby prep.
“I put him in behind horses [Thursday],” Lynch noted. “He was like two or three lengths behind those two horses and then finished up a little stronger than they did. I just wanted to make sure Trevor felt the horse relaxing for him. It's going to be him on him in the afternoon so I just wanted to give him the feel of a race scenario and have him on there to know how he felt. He was very good today. I was very pleased.”
Lynch remains hopeful of El Areeb's Wood and Derby prospects.
“I'm pleased with him,” the Irishman said. “We were pleased with how he came out of the race, it was just one of those things with the pace scenario unfortunately. He's always been a nice horse and he's continued to be. We're just optimistic he shows up with a little different pace scenario next time and we're hopefully looking at a different result.”
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