OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Zandon has recorded six triple-digit Beyer Speed Figures in his career and amassed earnings just shy of $2 million, yet his career record stands at 2 for 12. His string of second-place finishes in graded stakes is impressive, considering the roster of horses he has finished behind – Epicenter, Taiba, Repo Rocks, Cody’s Wish, and White Abarrio. None of those horses – or any that have approached their level of success – appear in the past performances of Sunday’s Grade 2, $400,000 Woodward at Belmont at Aqueduct, which is where Zandon will try to end an eight-race losing streak since his victory in the Grade 1 Blue Grass in April 2022. Zandon is the only Grade 1 winner in the field of 10 entered for the Woodward, a 1 1/8-mile stakes that could be used as either a prep for the $6 million Breeders’ Cup Classic at 1 1/4 miles or the $1 million BC Dirt Mile. The Woodward shares billing Sunday with the Grade 1 Joe Hirsch Turf Classic at 1 1/2 miles on turf, the Grade 2 Vosburgh at seven furlongs on dirt featuring Cody’s Wish, and the Grade 2 Gallant Bloom for filly and mare sprinters at 6 1/2 furlongs on dirt. :: Get Belmont at the Big A Clocker Reports from Mike Welsch and the Clocker Team. Available every race day. The Woodward was rescheduled with three other stakes from Saturday’s card after that program was moved to Sunday. With the exception of a fourth-place finish as the 3-5 favorite in last year’s Cigar Mile, run over a sloppy track, Zandon has not finished worse than third. This year, he was second to Repo Rocks in the Westchester, second to Cody’s Wish in the Metropolitan, and second to White Abarrio in the Whitney. “It’s unfortunate he’s run really well in a few spots and just ran into a horse that was better on the day,” said Chad Brown, who trains Zandon for owner Jeff Drown. “He’s run against some really good horses. It’s not like I’ve spotted him around ducking anybody. He’s run right at the best horses and he’s come up second best. He’s beaten a lot of good horses when finishing second.” Brown said he tinkered with blinkers in Zandon’s training but is not using them in the race. “I didn’t see enough of a forward move to go ahead and put them on a horse that’s not in bad form, so I didn’t want it to backfire on me when he’s set up for another good race,” Brown said. Brown also runs Pipeline, who stretches back out after a fourth-place finish in the Forego. Charge It has been a bit of enigma for his connections. At 3, he won the Grade 3 Dwyer by 23 lengths. Earlier this year, he was a dominant winner of the Grade 2 Suburban. Otherwise, it’s been a mixed bag of performances, and his fourth-place finish in the Whitney last out didn’t seem to come with much excuse. “He’s got a lot of talent, just need him to string together some consecutive performances that meet his capabilities,” trainer Todd Pletcher said. “He ran that brilliant race in the Dwyer. We’ve seen him do some impressive things; we’ve also seen him lose focus a little bit.” The intriguing member of the field is Algiers, who comes in from England for the father-son training tandem of Simon and Ed Crisford. Algiers hasn’t run since a second in the Dubai World Cup at 1 1/4 miles in March. The horse who beat him, Ushba Tesoro, came off a similar layoff to win a minor stakes in Japan on Wednesday to set him up for the Breeders’ Cup Classic. “He ran a super race on World Cup night,” Ed Crisford said of Algiers. “He was quite near the pace and they were going fierce fractions and that last furlong he was just a bit leg-weary. I think the Woodward at a [mile and an eighth] would be perfect.” Law Professor, at 26-1, finished second to Life Is Good in last year’s Woodward, which was a four-horse field. Law Professor’s two wins since – the Queens County and Excelsior – have both come at Aqueduct and at 1 1/8 miles. Trainer Rob Atras returns him from a freshening since he finished sixth in the Pimlico Special in May. Atras believes this year’s Woodward is a deeper and tougher race, but “I think if he runs back to some of his races last fall we got a decent shot,” he said. Linda Rice entered the trio of Film Star, Costa Terra, and Un Ojo. Film Star and Costa Terra are in the best form. Film Star has won two straight on the front end, while Costa Terra has been barely beaten in his last two starts, both from off the pace. “One’s a speed horse, one’s a closer. I think they both like an off track,” Rice said. Film Star “has been improving all the time after struggling through his a-other-than.” Un Ojo, who at age 3 won the Grade 2 Rebel at 75-1, was entered as a main-track-only entrant in Friday’s Ashley T. Cole Stakes, but that race has been rescheduled for next Friday. Tyson comes off a decent third-place finish in the Jockey Club Gold Cup for trainer Josie Carroll. O’Connor, trained by Saffie Joseph Jr., comes off a runner-up finish in the Charles Town Classic. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.