Albus All Business, Upsets Wood Memorial

Make that two spots in the starting gate reserved for the Bernhard Family's Pin Oak Stud and trainer Riley Mott in the GI Kentucky Derby.

Albus (Yaupon), a visually impressive maiden winner at third asking at Tampa Bay Downs Feb. 27, punched his ticket to Louisville with an 11-1 upset in Saturday's GII Wood Memorial S. at Aqueduct. Fellow longshots Right to Party (Constitution) and Ocelli (Connect) were second and third, respectively. Favored GIII Gotham S. winner Iron Honor (Nyquist) tired to seventh after getting bumped hard on the clubhouse turn.

Pin Oak Stud and Mott will also represented by Virginia Derby winner Incredibolt (Bolt d'Oro) on the first Saturday in May. It's been an emotional ride for Pin Oak. The operation's leader Jim Bernhard passed away last November.

“To have one Kentucky Derby contender is a dream come true… to have two is simply unbelievable,” Pin Oak Stud posted on X. “This was Jim Bernhard's dream and we know he's throwing one heck of a party up there.”

“Never would I have thought going into this year that would be happening, but we still have a long ways to go and I just hope both colts stay happy and healthy and that we can put them in the gate that day,” Mott said.

“I'm so tickled for the Bernhard family and our team. We put in a lot of hard work every day and this is my life's work. I take a lot of pride in how we do things and how the barn is performing. It hasn't really sunk in yet, this year in general. Tomorrow is a new day, and we've got to wake up and work hard again.”

Albus raced in eighth as the GI Champagne S. winner Napoleon Solo (Liam's Map) led through fractions of :22.92 and :47.30. Albus crept up closer on the far turn, split horses in the stretch, and, despite switching to his left lead late, had 1 1/4 lengths to spare at the wire.

Albus was scratched out of last Saturday's GI Curlin Florida Derby at Gulfstream and shipped up to New York for the final Wood Memorial held at the Big A.

“(Jockey) Jaime (Torres) said when he asked him, he felt like the horse really had a lot of power underneath him,” Mott said. “At the eighth pole, when he made the lead, the horse tried to idle a little bit, sort of waiting on horses and being a little bit immature, which he is still–it's his fourth career start. It was great to see him finish it off like that.”

Pedigree Notes:

Albus, a $320,000 Keeneland September graduate, is the 10th stakes winner and first graded stakes winner for Yaupon. His dam Adream (Bernardini), a Peter Blum-bred maiden of three career starts and half-sister to MGISW Dream Rush (Wild Rush), has also produced GSW Song of Spring (Spring At Last). She was bred to Liam's Map for 2026. This is also the family of two-time champion Malathaat (Curlin).

“(Yaupon) is a son of Uncle Mo, and there's Bernardini underneath,” Mott said. “He always struck us– from the time he was getting broke on the farm–that he'd be a two-turn type.”

ALBUS wins the final Aqueduct running of the Grade 2 Wood Memorial Stakes pres. by @ResortsWorldNYC with @jaimetorresjcky up for trainer @Riley_Mott!

🌹 Next stop: @KentuckyDerby! pic.twitter.com/bAl3XX18Zh

— NYRA (🗽) (@TheNYRA) April 4, 2026

Saturday, Aqueduct
WOOD MEMORIAL S. PRESENTED BY RESORTS WORLD CASINO-GII, $750,000, Aqueduct, 4-4, 3yo, 1 1/8m, 1:51.71, ft.
1–ALBUS, 123, c, 3, by Yaupon
            1st Dam: Adream, by Bernardini
            2nd Dam: Turbo Dream, by Unbridled
            3rd Dam: Reve de Fee, by Mr. Prospector
1ST BLACK TYPE WIN, 1ST GRADED STAKES WIN. ($320,000
Ylg '24 KEESEP). O-Pin Oak Stud LLC; B-Susan Casner (KY);
T-Riley Mott; J-Jaime A. Torres. $400,000. Lifetime Record:
4-2-0-1, $436,288. *1/2 to Song of Spring (Spring At Last),
GSW, $234,403. Werk Nick Rating: A+++. *Triple Plus*
Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
Click for the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Right to Party, 123, c, 3, Constitution–Havin' a Party,
by Emcee. ($325,000 Ylg '24 KEESEP). O-Chester Broman, Sr.;
B-Tony Holmes & Timothy C. Thornton (KY); T-Kenneth G.
McPeek. $140,000.
3–Ocelli, 123, c, 3, Connect–Zalia, by Scat Daddy. 1ST BLACK
TYPE, 1ST GRADED BLACK TYPE. ($12,000 Ylg '24 FTKOCT).
O-Ashley Durr, Anthony Tate and Front Page Equestrian, LLC;
B-Rosedown Racing Stables, LLC (KY); T-D. Whitworth
Beckman. $75,000.
Margins: 1 1/4, NO, 1 1/4. Odds: 11.89, 38.72, 28.21.
Also Ran: Bravaro, Napoleon Solo, Courting, Iron Honor, Talk to Me Jimmy, Steel, Minorinconvenience, Buetane, Red Zone Runner. Scratched: Ottinho. Click for the Equibase.com chart and the TJCIS.com PPs. VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV.