5 Abr. USA. Wood Memorial S. G1. Aqueduct. 9f. Dirt. 750.000 $
1.- TALE OF EKATI (E.Prado)
2.- WAR PASS (C.Velasquez)
3.- COURT VISION (G.Gomez)


War Pass broke well, took the lead and ran fast, just the way trainer Nick Zito had hoped he would. But sitting third through those early fractions was Tale of Ekati and Edgar Prado, who would send his horse to the lead just before the wire to win the Grade I, $750,000 Wood Memorial by a half-length.

In a media viewing room under the grandstands at Aqueduct Racetrack, trainer Barclay Tagg sat with a rolled program in his hand, watching the 1 1/8 -mile race unfold. You could feel his edginess as the race began, and as the horses turned for home you could hear him yelling encouragement for Ekati.

By the time the horse crossed the finish line in 1:52.35 on the slow but somewhat heavy race track, Tagg was out of his seat and bolting for the winner's circle.

"I thought he might be running a little close, a little faster than I'd have liked early," Tagg said. "But Edgar is pretty savvy, and his intuition has served him well over 30 years. He knows what he's doing."

In fact, Prado was enjoying the view before him as much as his own ride.

War Pass' jockey, Cornelio Velasquez, was following his instructions to the letter. Zito had told him to break well, go to the lead and then get off the rail down the stretch because the trainer had noticed the rail was "dead," tiring to the horses.

It had rained here for two days prior to the race, and track officials had canceled racing Friday in an effort to protect the track for yesterday's major race. When the sun came out, the track dried nicely and was considered fast, but Zito and Tagg said they felt the surface was still "heavy" and tiring.

What wasn't in War Pass' game plan was to have a running mate. Inner Light, part of a WinStar Farm entry with Court Vision, trained by Bill Mott, took up position beside War Pass and pressed him through the first half mile.

Although the Wood started fast, with the first quarter run in 22:46, the winning time was the slowest for the Wood since 1952.

Still, Tagg was not disappointed.

"Time only matters when you're doing it," he joked.

Certainly, the early pressing pace took its toll on the leaders.

"It helped my horse a great deal," said Prado, who just sat and waited for Inner Light to run his race and eventually fade to last in the nine-horse field. "It was good for my horse. War Pass was running very fast, but I was having a beautiful trip."