Chiefswood Stables' Playing at Highest Level; Weyburn in Gotham

Chiefswood Stables’ Ontario homebred Weyburn, a 20-1 morning-line assessment for Saturday’s Grade 3 Gotham Stakes at Aqueduct, breezed three-eighths in 35.42 seconds Thursday on the Belmont dirt training track.

Rob Landry, a Canadian Hall of Fame jockey and general manager for Chiefswood, said the Jimmy Jerkens trainee will be ready to fire fresh off a third-out maiden win in December when sprinting seven furlongs over a sloppy and sealed Big A main track that garnered a 69 Beyer. The colt was the farm’s 13th winner of 2020.

“Jimmy said he’s been training well. He went in 35 and change this morning,” said Landry. “We had him entered a few weeks’ back in a stakes at Aqueduct [Jimmy Winkfield on January 31] but he had a foot abscess and had to scratch, so we’re looking to get him started back.”

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Voted Canada’s Outstanding Jockey in both 1993 and 1994, Landry was aboard Chiefswood Stables’ Niigon to win a thrilling renewal of the 2004 Queen’s Plate, ahead of a third at Saratoga in the Grade 2 Jim Dandy won by Purge.

Landry enjoyed his best moment in New York when piloting Careless Jewel to victory in the 2009 edition of the Grade 1 Alabama at Saratoga.

“I had some luck at Saratoga and ended up winning one race there, but it was a Grade 1,” said Landry. “I loved riding at Saratoga because of the history.”

Weyburn, a son of Pioneerof the Nile, is out of the A.P. Indy mare Sunday Affair, making him a half-brother to the versatile multiple graded stakes winner Yorkton, who now stands at Pope McLean’s Crestwood Farm in Kentucky.

While Yorkton displayed sprint speed through stakes wins on turf and synthetic, Landry said the sizable Weyburn will appreciate a distance of ground.

“I see him having a lot of stamina,” said Landry. “Yorkton is a son of Speightstown and lot of them are very good at a mile. Yorkton was a very quick horse. I think Weyburn is a little different as he has a high cruising speed but he doesn’t have the speed Yorkton had. I see Weyburn flourishing when he goes two turns. He’s built like that and he’s a big horse. He’s lightly raced and I think he’ll get better with age.”

Landry acknowledged the Gotham, a 50-20-10-5 Kentucky Derby qualifying race, is a difficult spot to start Weyburn back in action.

“We didn’t nominate him for the American Triple Crown because of where we were at with him,” said Landry. “Our plan was an allowance race and to go through his conditions but that didn’t pan out and this race is here. We didn’t want to cut him back and I don’t want to keep him sitting in the barn. We’ll see where we’re at, it’s a very difficult race.”

Chiefswood Stables have expanded their U.S. presence in recent years and in addition to a trio of horses with Jerkens [Edge of Fire, Hard Edge], the Ontario-based outfit also have horses in training with Graham Motion and Hall of Famer Shug McGaughey.

Landry said he is hopeful Weyburn can progress towards a start in the second and third leg of the U.S. Triple Crown, although the 162nd running of the $1 million Queen’s Plate, first jewel of the Canadian Triple Crown on August 22 at Woodbine Racetrack remains in play.

“It might be a little late now for the Derby, but if he was ever good enough for the Preakness or the Belmont this is when you’re going to tell,” said Landry. “We’ve sent a lot of horses down to the states and we’re trying to focus on the U.S. races

“We’d never take the Plate out of the question, but we’re trying to play the game at the highest level. With Weyburn being a half-brother to Yorkton, a good result in this race would really help Yorkton’s profile as well.”

The Gotham field includes Highly Motivated, who earned a 96 Beyer Speed Figure when he won the Nyquist Stakes at Keeneland in November, Jerome Stakes winner Capo Kane and Bob Baffert trainee Freedom Fight, second in the San Vicenta at Santa Anita Feb. 6.

Saturday, Aqueduct, post time: 5:07 p.m. EST
GOTHAM S.-GIII, $300,000, 3yo, 1m
PP HORSE SIRE OWNER TRAINER JOCKEY WT
1. Atlantic Road – Quality Road Starlight Racing Pletcher Vargas, Jr. 118
2. The Reds – Tonalist Flanagan Racing Kimmel Morales 118
3. Highly Motivated – Into Mischief Klaravich Stables, Inc. Brown Castellano 120
4. Wipe the Slate – Nyquist Reddam Racing LLC O’Neill Carmouche 118
5. Crowded Trade – More Than Ready Klaravich Stables, Inc. Brown Cancel 118
6. Capo Kane – Street Sense Bing Cherry Racing, Inc. and Liberto, Leonard Wyner Davis 120
7. Freedom Fighter – Violence SF Racing, Starlight Racing, Madaket Stables, Golconda Stables, Siena Farm & Masterson, R Baffert Franco 118
8. Weyburn – Pioneerof the Nile Chiefswood Stables Limited Jerkens McCarthy 118
Breeders: 1-F. Thomas Conway, 2-R. S. Evans, 3-Klaravich Stables, 4-Brookfield Stud, 5-Forging Oaks LLC, 6-Rising Star Farm LLC, 7-Mr. & Mrs. Troy Reed, 8-Chiefswood Stables Limited

~ with files from the NYRA media office