OZONE PARK, N.Y.– If horses are judged by the company they keep, then handicappers should judge Gilded Age with a measure of respect when he makes his stakes debut in Saturday’s Grade 3, $250,000 Withers Stakes at Aqueduct. While he was soundly beaten in his first three starts, Gilded Age faced the likes of Major General, Rattle N Roll, and Call Me Midnight, all of whom came out of those maiden races to win graded stakes either at 2 or early in their 3-year-old season. Even Giant Game, who beat Gilded Age in an Oct. 9 maiden race at Keeneland, came back to run a respectable third in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile at Del Mar. Gilded Age, meanwhile, broke through for his maiden victory last Nov. 19 at Churchill Downs, rallying from last under Martin Garcia with a long, sustained bid to win a 1 1/16-mile race by 2 3/4 lengths. “He seems to be improving,” trainer Bill Mott said Wednesday from Florida. “His last race looked like there had a been a little bit of a wake-up call. Hopefully, he improves to be competitive there.” The Withers, which offers qualifying points to its top four finishers (10-4-2-1) to the May 7 Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs, came up with a highly competitive 11-horse field. It will go as race 8 on a nine-race card that also includes the Grade 3, $150,000 Toboggan, rescheduled from last Saturday’s canceled program. :: For the first time ever, our premium past performances are free! Get free Formulator now! Gilded Age, a son of Medaglia d’Oro out of the Grade 1 winner Angela Renee, wore blinkers for the first time in his maiden victory. Mott downplayed their effectiveness. “The outcome was better,” Mott said. “I’m not so sure it was the blinkers. They obviously didn’t hurt anything.” Following his maiden victory, Gilded Age went to Mott’s winter base, Payson Park, where after a little break he was able to have an uninterrupted series of works. “His last couple of works, he has been a little more willing,” Mott said. Mott said he chose the Withers over other spots down south for the distance and the longer stretch at Aqueduct. “I thought that might be better for him than the short stretch at Gulfstream,” Mott said. Kendrick Carmouche has the call from post 4 on Gilded Age, owned by Grandview Equine and Don Alberto Stable. Trainer Chad Brown won the 2021 Withers with Risk Taking, who was coming off a maiden win at Aqueduct in his third start. Saturday, he will attempt to win the Withers again with Early Voting, a first-out winner going a one-turn mile at Aqueduct last Dec. 18. In his victory, Early Voting pressed the pace three wide before taking command at the five-sixteenths pole. He needed some encouragement from jockey Jose Ortiz to finish the job. “He had never run before, he’s not going to gallop through the lane,” Brown said. “I thought it was a terrific first race, especially at that distance and over that track.” Early Voting, a son of Gun Runner owned by Seth Klarman, stayed in New York and, having to train around the inclement weather, put forth a steady series of works over the Belmont Park training track. Ortiz, who two weeks ago moved his tack to South Florida, is back in New York to ride Early Voting. On New Year’s Day, Ortiz rode Courvoisier to victory in the Jerome Stakes here over a sloppy track, conditions that could be in play on Saturday. Rain was forecast Thursday and Friday before temperatures dip below freezing on Saturday. Ruben Silvera has picked up the mount on Courvoisier, who has incrementally improved with the addition of blinkers three starts back. Trainer Kelly Breen still believes Courvoisier is a work in progress, but should appreciate the 1 1/8 miles of this race. Courvoisier is a son of Tapit out of the champion Take Charge Brandi and is owned by Hill ‘n’ Dale Equine Holdings and James Spry. Smarten Up finished second in the Jerome coming off a nine-length maiden victory at Parx six weeks earlier. His runner-up finish in the Jerome gets upgraded considering the speed-favoring nature of the Aqueduct track on the day. Alfredo Velazquez trains for Happy Tenth Stable. Anthony Salgado rides. Constitutionlawyer finished third behind Courvoisier in a Dec. 2 race and came back to win a Jan. 2 maiden race by 3 1/2 lengths, earning a field-best 85 Beyer Speed Figure. That race came in the mud and at the Withers distance but also with the benefit of Lasix, medication he will not be permitted to race on in the Withers. With jockey Dylan Davis in Florida Saturday, Jose Lezcano has picked up the mount on Constitutionlawyer for trainer Ray Handal and Perrine Time Thoroughbreds and West Paces Racing. Unbridled Bomber rallied from well back to run a respectable fourth in the Jerome. Trainer Jim Ryerson is convinced the 1 1/8 miles of the Withers is what Unbridled Bomber wants. Cooke Creek, third as the favorite in the Jerome, will have to work out a trip from post 11. Grantham, Noneedtoworry, Un Ojo, and Mr Jefferson complete the field.