Storm Tower Wins the Wood, but Effort Might Be Deceiving

NEW YORK —  Rick Wilson has made his reputation as an aggressive front-running rider, and he used his favorite style to score the biggest victory of his career aboard Storm Tower on Saturday.

He hustled the 3-year-old out of the gate at Aqueduct, seized command of the $500,000 Wood Memorial Stakes, and led all the way for a two-length victory over longshot Tossofthecoin in the East Coast’s principal prep race for the Kentucky Derby.

But Storm Tower’s performance, from the standpoint of time, wasn’t exceptional. He ran 1 1/8 miles in 1:48 2/5 over a very fast track. The $76,000 Cahill Road Stakes, also on the card, was for 3-year-olds who presumably weren’t good enough for the Wood field. Koluctoo Jimmy Al won it in 1:48. A handicap for fillies and mares of moderate quality was run in 1:48 2/5.

Wilson might have expected a challenge from the stretch-runners in the field, particularly Marked Tree, part of the favored Loblolly Stable entry. But after making a brief four-wide move on the turn, Marked Tree didn’t have much punch.

Storm Tower paid $7.20. Tossofthecoin, a 15-to-1 shot who has never won a stakes, rallied to get second place, three-quarters of a length in front of Marked Tree.