Donegal Racing’s Mo Donegal (Uncle Mo – Callingmissbrown, by Pulpit) rallied from well off the pace and caught previously unbeaten Early Voting to capture Saturday’s Grade 2, $750,000 Wood Memorial presented by Resorts World Casino, a nine-furlong test for sophomores at Aqueduct Racetrack. The victory provided Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher a record-tying seventh win in the Wood Memorial, joining fellow Hall of Famer “Sunny Jim” Fitzsimmons.
Mo Donegal picked up the Wood’s maximum points allotment, which provided 100-40-20-10 qualifying points to the top-four finishers towards the Grade 1, $3 million Kentucky Derby on May 7 at Churchill Downs.
“I thought he was on wings,” said Jerry Crawford of Donegal Racing, a syndicate-oriented ownership stable. “I think the performance he gave today was even better than it looked to the naked eye. I’ve been here all day yesterday and today and not one horse has closed on the dirt in two days and he came from far back. So, he had to be not just the best today, he had to be much-the-best to prevail. You never celebrate ahead of time, but I was confident for the last 100 yards at least. I love that we won today, not for me, but for my partners.”
