2025 Go for Wand Stakes Contenders at Aqueduct

Weigh the Risks (Klaravich Stables) is 3-for-4 this year and in top form entering the Listed $150,000 Go for Wand Stakes, a one-turn mile for fillies and mares 3-years-old and up, at Aqueduct Racetrack on Saturday, December 13.

Trained by five-time Eclipse Award-winner Chad Brown, the 4-year-old Mendelssohn chestnut made six of her first seven starts on turf, yielding just one win, but has shown significant improvement since returning to dirt for her last five outings.

The Go for Wand is slated as Race 7 on Saturday's nine-race card. First post is 12:10 p.m. Eastern.

Weigh the Risks, when switching back to dirt five starts ago last November, dominated an optional claimer over Saturday's course and distance by nine lengths. She next contested two more one-turn miles here, winning an optional claimer in January ahead of a 6 1/4-length second to Bernietakescharge in the Heavenly Prize Invitational in February.

“She's really come around since we've had her running just on dirt,” Brown said. “We allowed her some time to develop. This seems to be her level. She is a solid Listed stakes level horse, I think. The distance shouldn't be an issue for her. I'm very pleased with how she is coming into the race.”

Weigh the Risks' last two efforts have been at seven furlongs, overpowering an optional claiming field in July at Saratoga Race Course, which earned a career and field-best 101 Beyer Speed Figure, and capturing the Listed Pumpkin Pie by 1 1/4 lengths last out on November 8 here.

“The Mendelssohns I've had have been successful on turf, so I just sort of followed that path at first,” said Brown. “Before too long, and after a couple bits of feedback from jockeys, I thought let's try her back on dirt. Turf might not have been what she was looking for, can't get a hold of the ground too well, so we put her back on dirt and she hasn't looked back.”

Weigh the Risks [post 3, Manny Franco] completed her preparations with a half-mile breeze in 49.83 seconds on Sunday over the Belmont Park dirt training track.

“She did well. She had a maintenance work,” Brown said. “We're looking forward to running her in here. She's had a solid season.”

Bred in Kentucky by Porta Pia Stables, Weigh the Risks, a $205,000 purchase at the 2022 Fasig-Tipton Fall Yearling Sale, is a half-sister to dual stakes-winner Cheapskate Diva out of the Candy Ride mare Beautiful Liar. Her second dam is Grade 3-placed Forty Moves.

Repole Stable's Grade 3-winner Scalable [post 2, Kendrick Carmouche] closed from 10 lengths back and last-of-7 for a 1 3/4-length third to Weigh the Risks in the Pumpkin Pie. Trained by Hall of Famer Todd Pletcher, the 4-year-old Speightstown gray captured the seven-furlong Interborough in January here ahead of a sixth off an eight-month layoff in the Grade 2 Gallant Bloom in September before her last effort.

“The Pumpkin Pie, she was too far back,” Pletcher said. “She made a good late run. We are hoping the extra eighth of a mile helps her out. It seems like it should suit her well.”

Scalable, among an eight-start campaign last year, captured the 1 1/16-mile Grade 3 Monmouth Oaks in July at its namesake oval. Scalable was a $200,000 purchase at the 2022 Keeneland September Yearling Sale and is out of the Tapit mare Passion Flower, a half-sister to the Pletcher-trained multiple Grade 1-winner Stopchargingmaria. She is 14-4-1-2 overall with $529,878 in earnings.

Pletcher captured this race last year, then a Grade 3, with Tizzy in the Sky. His past winners include Ashado [2005], Spun Sugar [2006] and Royal Lahaina [2013].

R.T Racing Stable's Just Katherine [post 5, Sahin Civaci] returns from an over one-year layoff dating to a half-length optional claiming score sprinting seven furlongs last September here. Trained by Jose Jimenez, the 5-year-old Justify bay was a close second to the Brown-trained Accede in the seven-furlong Grade 2 Bed o' Roses last June at the Big A.

Just Katherine has hit the board in 10-of-15 career starts while posting a 4-3-3 record. Her top Beyer is a 94 for a 1 1/2-length second to subsequent dual Grade 1-winning Brown-trained millionaire Randomized in the one-mile restricted Wilton in 2023 at the Spa.

Rounding out the field is multiple stakes-winning New York-bred Stonewall Star [post 6, Jaime Rodriguez] for trainer Horacio De Paz; as well as stakes-placed Zadorsky [post 4, Jose Gomez] for trainer Whit Beckman and Tipple [post 1, Jose Lezcano] for conditioner Linda Rice.

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