Cash is King and LC Racing's Mailata (Maximus Mischief), a romping 19-length winner of the Parx Future Stakes Dec. 30, will now aim to garner some GI Kentucky Derby points in the GIII Gotham Stakes at Aqueduct Feb. 28. Butch Reid cross-entered the colt in the Jan. 3 Jerome Stakes before opting to remain at his Parx base for the seven-furlong Future Stakes–where he faced just two rivals–and the trainer expects to bypass the nine-furlong Withers Stakes Jan. 31 and wait for the one-turn mile Gotham a month later.
“It's not 100% certain and we'll see how it comes up, but I don't think we'll go to the Withers,” Reid said. “We're leaning towards the Gotham–the Withers is a little tight for us and it would be a big jump going [from seven furlongs] to the mile and an eighth. I do think he's perfectly capable of it [the distance], but the more sensible thing is to just give him a little more time and shoot for the one-turn mile race.”
Mailata is on a three-race win streak since adding blinkers. He broke his maiden going one mile at Parx Oct. 29 and added the Pennsylvania Nursery Stakes Nov. 26.
The Gotham offers Kentucky Derby qualifier points of 50-25-15-10-5.
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