Sports

Vyjack captures Gotham Stakes

Just a few years ago, Rudy Rodriguez was a journeyman jockey of little note, picking up extra cash in the mornings — and not a little bit of wisdom besides — as an exercise rider for trainers Bobby Frankel and Rick Dutrow Jr. In 2010 Rodriguez, whose first job after coming to the U.S. from Mexico was picking oranges and cucumbers in Florida, took out his own trainer’s license, and he was an immediate success, finishing third in the NYRA standings with 71 winners.

Now, at age 40, Rodriguez is heading to the Kentucky Derby with a strapping bay gelding named Vyjack, who roared from next-to-last in the field of 11 to win yesterday’s Grade 3, $400,000 Gotham Stakes by 2 1/4 lengths under new rider Joel Rosario.

“We’ll take it one step at a time,” Rodriguez said. “Hopefully, he’ll keep improving. I’m excited about him, that’s for sure. We thought maybe this horse could take us there.”

A son of the first-year stallion into Mischief (by Harlan’s Holiday, the beaten favorite in the 2002 Derby), Vyjack is unbeaten in four starts, and the 50 points he earned for his Gotham victory is enough under Churchill Downs’ new system to earn a starting berth in the Derby’s 20-horse field.

A $100,000 purchase by the Pick Six Racing stable, Vyjack won first time out at Aqueduct last Nov. 10 at 17-1. He followed that with a 5 3/4-length romp in the slop on Dec. 9, then survived a grueling stretch battle to win the Grade 2 Jerome by a head on Jan. 5.

Cornelio Velasquez was aboard in all three of those wins, but he was replaced by Rosario for the Gotham. Avoiding a traffic jam that saw several horses being squeezed into the clubhouse turn, Vyjack dropped well off the moderate pace (24.16 and 48.68 seconds) set by 33-1 West Hills Giant, pressed by 11-1 Transparent.

Those two were still in front as the field turned for home, when Rosario swung Vyjack outside, then came rolling through the stretch like a freight train to win going away in 1:44.09 for the 1 1/16 miles.

“A perfect trip,” Rosario said. “He had always showed a lot of speed, but he was very relaxed today. I just let him do whatever he wanted, and he did everything right.”

Mike Repole’s Overanalyze, favored at 8-5 making his first start for trainer Todd Pletcher since winning the Nov. 24 Remsen, was a major disappointment. In perfect position all the way under John Velazquez despite breaking from the far outside post, Overanalyze did not kick in when put to a drive on the far turn, then made a bit of headway late to finish fifth.

“I was where I wanted to be,” Velazquez said. “He didn’t come up with any run at all. Maybe he needed the race.”

ed.fountaine@nypost.com