Aqueduct Racetrack Racing Picks: Withers Day, 2/1/25

The New York Racing Association spur of the Kentucky Derby trail picks back up on Saturday, February 1, at Aqueduct Racetrack for the Withers Stakes. The 1 ⅛-mile dirt race offers a purse of $250,000, as well as Kentucky Derby points, including 20 for the winner of the race. The race is one of three stakes on Saturday’s racing card in Queens. Sophomore filly sprinters take the spotlight in the Ruthless, and older sprinters shine in the Toboggan.

Saturday’s nine-race card at Aqueduct Racetrack gets underway at 12:40 p.m. Eastern. With class horses and great betting opportunities all day long, as well as Kentucky Derby prep races happening at Gulfstream Park and Santa Anita Park as well as at Aqueduct Racetrack, make sure to watch all day at FanDuel TV and place your bets at FanDuel.

It is also a good idea to check the weather and the program scratches on race day. Dry weather is expected on Saturday, though with some rain in the forecast both Friday and Sunday, there is a chance that could change closer to race day.

Aqueduct Racetrack Picks

Race 3 - Ruthless Stakes, seven furlongs on the dirt - Win N Your In, Moonlit Drive

FanDuel odds: 2-1 and 6-5

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Money will probably come in on Hollywood Beauty off the fast race last out, but over and over again, horses come from Parx with huge races there, but can't replicate the form at Aqueduct. If there were no possible other speed perhaps she could steal it anyway, but Win N Your In (2-1) on the inside is an appealing alternative. She has been on or near the lead in most of her races, meaning she can be tactical if she needs to be, but her new blinkers for the Ruthless cuold sharpen her enough to make the top. She also ran credibly enough in the Gasparilla at Tampa Bay Downs last out to suggest that she does not need to be at Gulfstream to do her best work.

Moonlit Drive (6-5) also deserves a look. She cedes experience to the rest of the field, as she has only run once, but that one victory was a maiden win over the course. This makes her the only horse in the race to have run at Aqueduct, much less won there. She steps up from six furlongs to a mile, but has appealing breeding top and bottom for the extra ground. She proved she could pass horses, too, meaning if things get contested up front between Win N Your In and Hollywood Beauty, she has a good chance to be the one to run them down.

Race 7 - Withers Stakes, 1 ⅛ miles on the dirt - Captain Cook, Omaha Omaha

FanDuel odds: 5-2 and 4-1

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Despite there being only seven entrants in the Withers, it is an interesting puzzle since no horse has tried the 1 1/8-mile distance before. In terms of pace, no horse is one-way speed, but a few of them can be forward. Between the field size and the way Aqueduct can play, speed could be a good thing, and Captain Cook (5-2) is the one most likely to take advantage. Stretching out from a pair of sprint starts, Captain Cook has drawn outside of horses like Uncle Jim and Mo Quality who have shown a bit of pace, and should shake out fastest of the bunch early. The route is a question, as he has yet to stretch out past seven furlongs, but there is enough distance in his pedigree to make it worth a shot. He ran well in that maiden win first off the lay, trainer Rick Dutrow shines second off a break, and both Dutrow and hockey Manny Franco are having a strong meet.

In a race this long with so many question marks, two-turn experience is at a premium. The only horse who has won at two turns on the dirt is Omaha Omaha (4-1), who ran a credible second in the one-turn Jerome over this course but before that has won twice at two turns. He obliterated an allowance field at Laurel two back, getting a fast pace to rally into, but perhaps more interesting is the maiden win at Delaware two back. In that two-turn mile, he got a pedestrian pace to close into, executed a well-timed move, and won going away. A trip like that could beat this group.

Race 9 - $16,000 claiming, 1 ⅛ miles on the dirt - Jansson, Bold Victory

FanDuel odds: 6-1, 8-5

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There are a few horses with back class in here including graded-stakes winner Helium as well as Portos, but their best days have gone by and their current form is not great. However, in a race with form as muddled as this, a horse with recent form appeals significantly more. The only horse with much in the way of recent form is Jansson (6-1), who came close at the $16,000 non-winners of two life level two back and then followed that up with a frontrunning win at that level. He steps up to a tougher condition here, but returns to the same course and distance as both of his career wins. He also broke his maiden four back while attending the pace, a positive since there are others in here who show speed at times. In short, Janssen is the only real "now" horse in a field of runners who are struggling.

In a race with a lifetime condition or a beaten condition, there is also a chance that a horse who comes in under the beaten condition jumps up, especially if they are making a significant class move. Bold Victory (8-5) is doing just that. Though none of his five wins are recent, he has been facing much harder lately. He has made up some late ground in recent starts at the open $20,000 level, and now he not only drops in price but, more importantly, is the only horse in the field dropping from open claimers to a beaten condition. If he can reproduce his recent form against this field, he may be good enough to pass them all.

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