Moreno the one to catch in Woodward; Clearly Now, Palace head Forego

Moreno the one to catch in Woodward; Clearly Now, Palace

head Forego

Moreno breezed five furlongs in :59 1/5, the fastest of 46 workers at the

distance last weekend in advance of the Woodward. He picks up five pounds off the Whitey, spotting weight to all foes under

a 122-pound impost, and will be the one to catch with a returning Junior

Alvarado.

"The Woodward is just another journey," Guillot said. "This horse is better

doing 30-30-30 days (between races) and training light in between and working

him like I do. He's a fresh horse. He's not tired by any means."

Itsmyluckyday will seek to improve one spot after finishing a clear second in

the Whitney. Runner-up in both the Preakness and Florida Derby last season, the

Lawyer Ron colt reeled off three consecutive listed stakes wins before making

his Saratoga debut last time. Trainer Ed Plesa Jr. adds blinkers and the dark

bay could show more early speed from his innermost post position with regular

rider Paco Lopez.

"I think maybe we can fine-tune him a little bit, maybe focus him down the

lane," Plesa said of the new headgear. "Sometimes, horses need a little

something to shake them up. I don't think Moreno is going to have his own way in

this race, for whatever reason, whether it's me or somebody else. Jockeys get

paid a lot of money to ride these horses; they need to know how fast the horses

are going in front of them.

"(Moreno) won the (Whitney) -- no ifs, ands or buts. He's the horse to beat."

Zivo brings a six-race win streak into the Woodward. Conditioned by Chad

Brown, the surging New York-bred stepped up to face open rivals with a monstrous

performance in the July 5 Suburban, rallying up the rail to win going away at

13-1, and earned a career-best 104 Speed rating. The five-year-old son of True

Direction returns off a 56-day freshening and will be running late with Jose

Lezcano.

Palace will pursue his second Grade 1 of the meet following his one-length

victory in the A.G. Vanderbilt on August 2 and the Linda Rice-trained horse also

impressively captured the Grade 2 True North at Belmont Park three starts back,

recording respective Speed ratings of 104 and 107 for those efforts. The

five-year-old son of City Zip sandwiched a runner-up in the Grade 3 Belmont

Sprint between those efforts and will resume his budding rivalry with Clearly

Now on Saturday. Cornelio Velasquez rides.

Clearly Now will make his first start since a superb 6 1/4-length score in

the Belmont Sprint, establishing a new track at Belmont Park when blitzing seven

furlongs in 1:19.96. The four-year-old son of Horse Greeley has been freshened

56 days in advance of this appearance by trainer Brian Lynch and will keep

Lezcano in the irons.

Grade 3 winner Falling Sky merits respect following his third in the

Vanderbilt, and Capo Bastone, a two-length winner of last year's King's Bishop

at Saratoga, is also entered. Weekend Hideaway and Big Business, the one-two

finishers in the restricted John Morrissey 15 days earlier, will both try open

rivals again.

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