Like so many of the major races on the East Coast, Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott owns a victory in the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve.

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But it did not come like the vast majority of his more than 5,000 victories in a Hall of Fame career.

His victory in the 2019 run for the roses was a result of Maximum Security’s disqualification and the elevation of Mott’s Country House into the win spot.

On the upcoming first Saturday in May, Mott may get another crack at winning the Kentucky Derby in a more time-honored fashion after sending out Emily Bushnell and Ric Waldman’s Resilience to post a 2 1/4-length victory in the $750,000 Wood Memorial Stakes Presented by Resorts World Casino for 3-year-olds at Aqueduct and secure a spot in the field of 20 for the May 4 opening leg of the Triple Crown.

“He ran very well. Leana [Willaford, the assistant trainer who saddled Resilience] did a great job with him. It was a similar trip to what we were hoping for,” Mott said.

After picking up 100 qualifying points for the Kentucky Derby through his decisive win in the Wood, Resilience has 110 points and is well clear of the cutoff for the run for the roses, which will most likely be in the neighborhood of 40 points.

“It’s our first Derby. I grew up in Louisville and I cut my teeth cutting school and going to Churchill Downs. It means a lot,” Waldman said.

Society Man also seems bound for Churchill Downs after finishing second at monstrous 106.75-1 odds and picking up 50 points in the 1 1/8-mile Wood, while 9-10 favorite Deterministic failed to fire and wound up eighth in an effort that left trainer Christophe Clement at a loss for an excuse.

While he has the necessary points, the Kentucky-bred son of Into Mischief looked the part of Triple Crown material as Resilience responded positively to the addition of blinkers in posting his initial stakes win.

Happy winner's circle celebration. (Eclipse Sportswire)

In his last start, which came on the heels of a maiden win at Gulfstream Park, Resilience chased the pace and faded to fourth in the Risen Star Stakes, finishing behind a trio of the top-rated 3-year-olds in Sierra Leone, Track Phantom, and Catching Freedom.

“We put blinkers on because he’s kind of hesitant to pass horses. So, I engaged him early to see if he would pass horses and when he did it was great,” jockey John Velazquez said. “I may have pushed the button a little too soon but he finished up like a nice horse.”

Mott saw it the same way.

“The blinkers didn’t hurt, did they?” he said.

The big question, of course, involves Resilience’s ability to handle the added furlong in the 1 ¼-mile Kentucky Derby, but Velazquez was optimistic.

“None of them have done it, so they are all in the same boat,” Velazquez said. “I don’t see why he couldn’t handle it.”

In a field of 12, Resilience moved up to the third in the early stages as 52.75-1 shot Evening News and 80-1 shot Lonesome Boy were 1-2 through quarter-mile fractions of :23.45 and :47.49. Moving four wide on the turn, Velazquez sent the son of the Smart Strike mare Meadowsweet after the leaders and grabbed the lead leaving the quarter pole.

Wood Memorial winner Resilience (Eclipse Sportswire)

The bay colt, bred by Pam and Martin Wygod, drew clear at the top of the stretch with no real threat emerging from the back of the pack. The 9-2 third choice ($11) led by 2 1/2 lengths at the eighth pole and basically maintained that margin while crossing the finish line in 1:50.28 for the nine furlongs.

GMP Stables, trainer Danny Gargan, and West Paces Racing’s Society Man was fifth early on and moved into contention with Resilience while also traveling wide. The son of Good Magic was 1 1/2 lengths clear of 38-1 shot Protective, who was third.

“He ran great. We’ve always been high on him,” Gargan said about the son of Good Magic who was a March 9 maiden winner at the Big A. “I’m blessed and lucky the owners let me run in the Wood and now it looks like he’ll be in the Derby.”

Gargan was confident enough to run Society Man as a maiden in the Feb. 3 Withers Stakes then regrouped and collected that maiden win following an eighth-place finish in the mile-and-an-eighth graded stakes at the Big A.

Gargan is very likely to have another, much more highly regarded Kentucky Derby contender in Dornoch, the Good Magic colt who is a full-brother to 2023 Kentucky Derby winner Mage who was fourth in Saturday’s Toyota Blue Grass Stakes.

“We’ll have two in the Derby and both are by Good Magic,” Gargan said. “What a stallion he is.”

Repole Stable’s Protective, a maiden, picked up 25 points for his third but is unlikely to crack the top 20 for the Kentucky Derby.

Christophe Clement (Eclipse Sportswire)

Lonesome Boy netted his first batch of points (15) for finishing fourth and Uncle Heavy, who broke from post 12, pocketed 10 for fifth and has 30 points, which puts him outside the bubble for the American classic.

As for Deterministic, Clement said he would vigorously check the beaten favorite before discussing any future plans. The son of Liam’s Map came into Saturday 13th on the Kentucky Derby leaderboard.

“I am very disappointed. He will be scoped, checked,” Clement said. “I thought the horse was running great then at the five-eighths he was beaten. Obviously, something is going on but I don’t know what it is and we will work on it.”

There were mishaps before and during the race as El Grande O, who was 19th on the Derby leaderboard before the race, was a gate scratch. Trainer Linda Rice said the 3-year-old warmed up well but jockey Dylan Davis said he was lame in his right front foot while approaching the gate.

Deposition, a 157-1 shot, fell during the stretch run but neither the horse nor jockey Dexter Haddock is believed to have suffered a serious injury.