In memory of D. Wayne Lukas

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Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas passed away Saturday at the age of 89, leaving a long and deep legacy on the global Thoroughbred industry. Coglianese Photo.

By Lynne Snierson/NYRA

The New York Racing Association, Inc. mourns the passing of legendary Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas at age 89, who passed away on Saturday evening after battling serious illness in recent weeks.

“D. Wayne Lukas’ vision and creativity transformed horse racing forever,” said David O’Rourke, NYRA president and chief executive officer. “He achieved success on a scale without precedent and developed a generation of trainers who continue to shape the future of the sport. New York’s racing community and fans will miss Wayne, and we look forward to celebrating his life and legacy this summer at Saratoga Race Course.”

New York is the biggest stage in the world and no one in the sport of thoroughbred racing has been a brighter star at Belmont Park and Saratoga Race Course than Lukas.

Though recognized for his custom-made Italian suits, aviator sunglasses and an abundance of charisma, he is renowned and revered as the most innovative, influential and prolific trainer in history. For six decades, Lukas has been the dominant force in this sport which he revolutionized.

Before announcing his retirement on June 22 two months before his 90th birthday, “Coach” won 4,953 races and earned purses of $300,548,290. His 15 Triple Crown race victories are second only to fellow Hall of Famer and close friend Bob Baffert, and he long held the record for most Breeders’ Cups wins with 20 until Aidan O’Brien tied him last November. The four-time Eclipse Award-winner and four-time Kentucky Derby-winner trained 26 horses who won divisional championships and three of his charges attained the honor of Horse of the Year.

As a mentor and coach, Lukas leaves behind a long list of proteges, including fellow Hall of Famer Todd Pletcher, Classic-winner Kiaran McLaughlin, as well as George Weaver, Mark Hennig, Ron Moquett, Mike Maker, Dallas Stewart and Randy Bradshaw.

Horses conditioned by the legendary Lukas won 222 Grade 1s, many of which were contested at NYRA tracks. He won outright or shared 16 leading trainer titles at Belmont and Saratoga in the 1980s and 1990s, and his trophy case holds the hardware from almost all the illustrious top-level races at Belmont and Saratoga. Even better, he took most of those Grade 1 events in New York more than once.

Count among his accomplishments four scores – and three straight – in the Grade 1 Belmont Stakes at 1 1/2-miles at Belmont Park with Tabasco Cat [1994], Thunder Gulch [1995], Editor’s Note [1996] and Commendable [2000], and consider his trio of wins in the Grade 1 Travers at Saratoga with Corporate Report [1991], Thunder Gulch [1995], and Will Take Charge [2013].

Lukas, who is credited with changing the business model of horse racing, experienced some of his greatest achievements with his Belmont Stakes horses.

After taking the 1994 edition with Preakness winner Tabasco Cat – the colt who had trampled and nearly killed his only child and top assistant Jeff Lukas – in 1995, he planned to run Thunder Gulch. But the Kentucky Derby winner wasn’t his marquee player. That distinction went to stablemate and reigning Preakness winner Timber Country, who was installed as the heavy morning-line favorite once the pair was entered. But then Timber Country spiked a fever and was scratched the day before the Belmont.

Thunder Gulch rose to the occasion and was a two-length winner, and the victory gave Lukas a record fifth straight win in a Triple Crown race [to be extended to six straight when he took the 1996 Kentucky Derby with Grindstone].

“When we got down to one horse today, we knew we had to have it all on this little horse’s shoulders,” Lukas told the Washington Post. “I’m a little bit overwhelmed.”

In 1999, Lukas was on a hot streak with Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner Charismatic, whom he had elevated from the claiming ranks earlier in the season. Dispatched as the 8-5 favorite in the field of 12, the colt was leading in the stretch, and it looked as though Lukas would be the first to train a Triple Crown winner since 1978. Shockingly, Charismatic suffered a fractured leg but he still finished third.

“He was a part of our career – a big part of it,” Lukas told Daily Racing Form when Charismatic died in 2017. “You don’t replace Derby winners very easy. I really loved that horse. I was very fond of him. He was a knockout looker. When you get one that’s such an overachiever – I really thought that he might end up in the claiming ranks his entire career and the next thing he’s going for the Triple Crown – it was just a joy to be around him.”

Lukas, who has a record of 26-4-1-1 in the Belmont, was back in 2000 with Commendable. His final Belmont win is arguably his best Triple Crown training job. Commendable not only had finished 17th in the Kentucky Derby, but he was also winless since his debut the previous August at Del Mar and in six successive starts had fared no better than fourth. Yet, in the “Test of the Champion” Lukas had him at his best, scoring the upset at 18-1.

“If any touch of greatness rubbed off on Commendable, it probably came through his trainer, D. Wayne Lukas,” Joe Durso wrote in the New York Times.

No praise was higher than that bestowed by Hall of Famer Bobby Frankel, who had sent out the runner-up and favored Aptitude. “Give Lukas credit. I don’t know how he did it,” Frankel said after the race.

Lukas defied the odds in the Travers as well. In 1991 Corporate Report had been unable to catch Strike the Gold in the Kentucky Derby or Hansel in the Preakness and Belmont Stakes, but he led all the way in the Mid-Summer Derby. After Thunder Gulch executed the Belmont-Travers double in 1995, it would be another 18 years before Lukas graced the Travers winner’s circle again. To get there, Coach called an audible for Will Take Charge, who had been beaten in all three 2013 Triple Crown races. He gave the mount to a young Luis Saez, and they pulled it off at 9-1.

“I changed up a few things. I took a chance on an up-and-coming young rider. You look terrible if it doesn’t work, but it’s sweet when it does,” Lukas, then 77, told Daily Racing Form’s Dave Grening. “It feels pretty good. It’s been a long time between drinks, but when they come like this they double.”

Lukas wouldn’t return to the Travers until 2018, when he saddled his final and 20th runner, Bravazo, to a third-place finish.

Another of Lukas’ Triple Crown competitors included New York-bred Grade 1 winner Victory Speech. A son of Deputy Minister out of the Alydar mare Ida’s Image, Victory Speech finished third in the Grade 3 Fountain of Youth Stakes at Gulfstream Park and third in the Grade 3 Jim Beam Stakes at Turfway Park before a 10th in the Kentucky Derby and fifth in the Preakness Stakes in 1996. He later won four stakes as a 3-year-old, including the Empire Classic Handicap at Aqueduct, and earned his Grade 1 victory in the 1997 Strub Stakes at Santa Anita Park. Victory Speech, who was bred by Robert Entenmann, earned New York-bred Horse of the Year and champion 3-year-old male honors in 1996. He won nine of 27 starts and earned $1,289,020.

The Coach is the consummate horseman who has been a mentor, motivator, teacher, guide, influencer, inspiration, and most important, a friend to so many. His presence will forever loom large.

Multiple Grade 1 winning trainer Cherie DeVaux, who has been assigned Lukas’ former barn at Saratoga, summed it up best in a recent social media post.

“As I walked the shedrow this morning, I kept thinking about the horses that stood in these very stalls- champions whose names helped shape the sport. And then I sat in the office he left behind, at his desk, and stared at the empty chair. I wondered what he thought about in those quiet early hours. How many dreams began right there with a legal pad and a coffee?,” DeVaux wrote. “Wayne didn’t just train horses. He set a standard. He built a legacy that inspired generations, myself included. And while the tack room may bear a new name this summer, his spirit lingers in every inch of this place. Honored doesn’t begin to cover it. Grateful. Humbled. Inspired. We’ll do our best to honor what he built here – one horse, one morning, one moment at a time.”

Lukas’ Spa ledger includes a record number of wins in the Hopeful [8], Adirondack [7], Schuylerville [6], Spinaway [6, tied with Todd Pletcher], and H. Allen Jerkens Memorial, formerly the King’s Bishop [5]. However, when asked by NYRA’s press office in July 2024 to try and pick out a favorite Saratoga memory, he landed on the first-out maiden score by eventual Hall of Famer Winning Colors in August 1987.

“Any time you win one of these big stakes it’s a good memory. I think maybe it was Winning Colors breaking her maiden up here and going on to win the Kentucky Derby,” Lukas said. “I also remember one year up here I flew up and my son was running the barn and we had 13 individual Grade 1-winners in the barn. That was special.”

Lukas’s presence will be dearly missed by the sport, but his legacy will certainly live on.

Source URL: https://www.nytbreeders.org/news/2025/06/30/in-memory-of-d-wayne-lukas/

Sunday Girl rolls in John Hettinger Stakes

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Sunday Girl soars in turf debut, winning Sunday’s John Hettinger Stakes at Aqueduct. Coglianese Photo.

Sunday Girl made a winning return in her first start since March and a successful turf debut in Sunday’s $125,000 John Hettinger Stakes for fillies and mares at Aqueduct.

Katie Davis guided the 4-year-old daughter of Central Banker to the front just after the break and they stayed there throughout the 6-furlong stakes. Sunday Girl, off since winning the Correction Stakes against open company March 2 at Aqueduct, won by 2 1/4 lengths over Silver Skillet for her fourth straight victory. Loon Cry, the even-money favorite in the field of seven, finished third. Sunday Girl won in 1:07.76 over the firm turf.

“That was a whole lot of fun,” said David Duggan, who trains the filly for owners Mitre Box Stable, Clear Stars Stable and Eight Note Stable. “I was concerned [about the turf debut]. We had breezed her on it at Saratoga and she got over it fine, but when you get into a competitive level like this, it’s a concern without having tried it.

“I knew we were going to be close to the pace but being given an easy lead like that, I didn’t think that was going to happen. It was fantastic.”

Sent off as the 5-2 third choice, Sunday Girl led Cara’s Time up the backstretch to the opening quarter-mile in :23.04 with Silver Skillet and Sinead tracking in third and fourth.

Cara’s Time got within a half-length entering the far turn as Silver Skilled angled to the outside to make a run. Sunday Girl responded to the immediate challenges, edging clear by 1 1/2 lengths after a half in :45.34. Sunday Girl spurted clear in the stretch and opened up 4 lengths in midstretch, past 5 furlongs in :56.21.

Davis stayed busy on Sunday Girl in the lane and she finished well clear of the runner-up and 5-2 second choice. Silver Skillet edged Loon Cry by 1 1/2 lengths for the place spot with Cara’s Time fourth. Soloshot, Sugar Bee and Sinead completed the field.

“I know the filly very well. They’ve done a wonderful job with her,” Davis said. “The question was, will she like the grass? They breezed her over it once, and said she did not look horrible, but she was green. Today, she came out of the gate and went nicely on the lead, down the backside, I knew I had it. She just floated over the turf. I’m happy she liked the turf because now we have more places to go.”

Sunday Girl commanded the top price for a New York-bred in the open portion of the 2022 OBS October yearling sale on a bid of $43,000 from Kathryn Martin. Mitre Box Stables purchased her for $100,000 about seven months later at the 2023 Fasig-Tipton Midlantic May sale, out of the de Meric Sales consignment.

Bred by McMahon of Saratoga Thoroughbreds LLC and Spruce Lane Farm and foaled at McMahon of Saratoga in Saratoga Springs, Sunday Girl is out of the winning Harlan’s Holiday mare Lady Daphne.

Sunday Girl is a half-sister to Lady Jasmine, a New York-bred daughter of Cairo Prince also bred by McMahon and Spruce Lane who won her debut in 2022 at Saratoga Race Course. She’s won two of 19 starts with two other placings and earned $103,146. Lady Daphne is also the dam of the winning New York-bred Laoban mare Proper Grammar.

Lady Daphne was purchased by McMahon of Saratoga for $17,000 at the 2016 Keeneland November breeding stock sale. She’s also the dam of the 3-year-old Solomini colt Brimsley and a 2-year-old New York-bred full sibling to Sunday Girl named Sunday Boy, who sold for $65,000 at the OBS March sale of 2-year-olds in training. Sunday Boy breezed a half-mile in :49.50 Saturday on the Belmont Park training track, his third official workout since the OBS sale. McMahon and Spruce Lane also bred a yearling full brother to Sunday Girl, foaled May 4, 2024.

Central Banker, a 15-year-old son of Speightstown, stands for $7,500 at McMahon of Saratoga Thoroughbreds in Saratoga Springs. He’s topped the New York general sire list the last four seasons, including in 2024 with progeny earnings of $5,436,573.

Sunday Girl, winner of the Park Avenue division of the New York Stallion Series Stakes as a 3-year-old, improved to 7-for-9 and boosted her bankroll to $463,738.

“It’s huge,” Duggan said of the importance of having a filly like Sunday Girl in the barn. “How hard are these to find? For us, it’s extra special to have one like this. She’s a lot of fun.”

Source URL: https://www.nytbreeders.org/news/2025/06/29/sunday-girl-rolls-in-john-hettinger-stakes/

Mo Plex handles trip, and trip, in Ohio Derby win

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Mo Plex storms to victory in the Ohio Derby at Thistledown. JJ Zamaiko Photography

By Alec DiConza

Trainer Jeremiah Englehart will fondly remember the seven-hour road trip he took from Saratoga Springs, N.Y., to Thistledown Race Track in North Randall, Ohio this weekend. He spent time with his family and members of his team while improving his record at Thistledown to 1-for-1 when 3-year-old colt Mo Plex won the Grade 3 $500,000 Ohio Derby Saturday.

“I brought my son Eli,” Englehart said Saturday evening. “He didn’t have any baseball or lacrosse this weekend, so we started the drive yesterday, stayed at my parents’ house in Finger Lakes and then finished the drive this morning. Now, we’re headed back to my parents’ house tonight.”

When Mo Plex broke far behind the field in the Ohio Derby, Englehart felt like his race was already finished. The son of Complexity had primarily run on or near the lead in his seven prior starts, and the slow beginning meant Mo Plex would have to make up ground in a race where he already faced the task of running around two turns for the first time. However, none of these challenges stopped Mo Plex and jockey Joe Ramos from coming home a 2-length winner in the 9-furlong contest for 3-year-olds.

“I was definitely thinking that his race might have been lost right there,” Englehart said about the break. “I thought in the Champagne, we kind of rated him a little bit more than I would’ve wanted and it was more so just tactics than anything. I kind of learned from that race. I’d rather just see him take a nice long hold and let him do his thing, and that’s what Joe did today. It worked out well, but it definitely was not a good start and I was thinking ‘Well, this is going to blow up in my face now,’ because if he can’t handle the distance, he’s really going to get short because he just had to make up 5 or 6 lengths from the start to the first turn.”

Mo Plex quickly passed horses to race second heading into the first turn and sat just outside stakes winner Clever Again through fractions of :23.42 and :47.75. Ramos started asking Mo Plex for a kick rounding the far turn, and the colt responded by taking the lead entering the stretch. Kentucky Derby runner Chunk Of Gold tried to rally, but Mo Plex had too much left. He finished 2 lengths ahead of Chunk Of Gold in 1:50.72 for owner R and H Stable, run by Rick Higgins and Howard Read. The victory marked the fourth stakes win and the second graded stakes win in Mo Plex’s career.

Englehart planned to run Mo Plex in the Mike Lee at Saratoga Race Course June 4, but was forced to scratch when a case of strangles, a contagious respiratory infection, broke out in Englehart’s barn just before the Belmont Stakes Racing Festival and forced a 14-day quarantine. That challenged Englehart to look for a different race, and he thought outside the box. He shipped Mo Plex to Thistledown Thursday, trained him Friday and then sent him out to a victory Saturday.

“From a timing standpoint, it (the Ohio Derby) was probably my best dated race where if he didn’t handle the distance, I could do some other things. If he did handle the distance and ran well, we could do other things in his next start. It worked out really well,” Englehart said. “Joe gave him a phenomenal ride. He shipped great. Bill Mott won the race last year (with Batten Down) and I was asking him up in Saratoga how he shipped his horse out and what he did. I did the exact same thing. When he speaks, you listen. So, we did the exact same thing that he did and it worked out great.”

The jump to 9 furlongs going two turns presented a concern for Englehart, but he felt confident that Mo Plex would run his race. Before Saturday, the longest race Mo Plex had competed in was a one-turn mile.

“We always thought he could do the distance, but you never know until you try,” Englehart said. “He ran like I thought he could at the distance and I’m just glad that it worked out the way it did.”

After the change of plans, the longer distance and the poor start, Mo Plex delivered a performance to be proud of. 

“I’ve been proud of this horse since day one,” Englehart said. “He’s a pleasure to be around. Rick and Howard, they’re amazing people that have given me the opportunity to train for them. We’ve actually made a pretty good team, Howard, Rick and myself in mapping these races out. This was the one monkey wrench that was kind of thrown into it. They had the confidence to believe in me that this might be the right spot, and I’m glad they did. Mo made us all look good, really.”

While Englehart started driving home quickly after the Ohio Derby, he said he got the opportunity to hug Mo Plex’s groom as well as his exercise rider, who made the trip to Thistledown. He also said he’d be making many calls to family and his assistant when he got back to his parents’ house.

“We’re going to watch the race over and over again,” he laughed.

Mo Plex won his first three starts as a 2-year-old – a New York-bred maiden at Aqueduct in June, the Grade 2 Sanford Stakes at Saratoga in July and the Funny Cide Stakes for New York-breds) at Saratoga in August – before a third in the Grade 1 Champagne and a second in the state-bred Sleepy Hollow. The bay colt opened 2025 with a third in the Gander in March before winning the Bay Shore in April and the Ohio Derby. He has won five of eight lifetime starts with a bankroll of $745,000, second to Grade 1 winner Ria Antonia on Englehart’s list of earners.

Bred by Everything’s Cricket Racing, Mo Plex did not meet his reserve at Fasig-Tipton’s New York-bred yearling sale in 2023, but joined R and H on a $45,000 bid by Legion Bloodstock for Englehart’s JCE Racing at the OBS April sale as a 2-year-old. His dam, the unraced New York-bred Mo Joy produced a Maximus Mischief colt in 2023 and an Independence Hall colt this year. 

NOTES: New York-breds Mi Bago and Out On Bail might finally get a chance to compete in Friday’s Grade 3 Penn Mile Stakes at Penn National Race Course. The $400,000 stakes originally scheduled for May 30 wound up rescheduled until June 20 because of wet weather then rescheduled again because of more forecasted rainfall. The Penn Mile goes as the sixth race Friday with post time set for 7:45 p.m. ET.  . . . Another New York-bred competing out of state, Tonka Warrior, also saw a potential stakes start shifted because of weather after Canterbury Park scrapped its Saturday card due to high temperatures. Tonka Warrior takes on five opponents in the $50,000 Brooks Fields Mile, the fourth race on the Canterbury Derby Day card at 7:40 p.m. ET. . . Lone Star Park hosts its Summer Turf Festival Saturday and a pair of New York-breds are entered – Banterra, a 5-year-old son of Practical Joke bred by Rhapsody Farm who runs in the $125,000 Chicken Fried Stakes at Lone Star Park, and Eye Witness, a 5-year-old son of City of Light bred by Anlyn Farms who runs in the $125,000 Grand Prairie Turf Sprint.

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Team Mo Plex celebrates in the winner’s circle. JJ Zamaiko Photography

Source URL: https://www.nytbreeders.org/news/2025/06/23/mo-plex-handles-trip-and-trip-in-ohio-derby-win/

Friend Ofthe Devil speeds to first stakes win in NYSS turf sprint

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Friend Ofthe Devil heads to victory in Saturday’s Spectacular Bid division of the New York Stallion Stakes Series. Susie Raisher/NYRA photo

By Alec DiConza

It’s safe to say that the beginning of Friend Ofthe Devil’s career did not go as planned. The son of Honest Mischief finished eighth and ninth in his first two starts, on the dirt at Saratoga Race Course last summer.

Trainer Carlos Martin then made a switch to grass for Friend Ofthe Devil’s next race and was rewarded when the colt owned by Marc Holliday’s Blue Devil Racing Stable and Jerold Zaro won for fun by 6 1/4 lengths.

In the eight months since that maiden score, Friend Ofthe Devil has risen to the top of the New York-bred 3-year-old turf sprint division. He won his first stakes when dominating Saturday’s $145,500 Spectacular Bid division of the New York Stallion Stakes Series, a 6-furlong sprint for 3-year-old New York-breds on the outer turf at Aqueduct.

“He’s just a horse that always showed a lot of ability,” Martin said. “We were very disappointed in his first two races and things didn’t go right. It’s funny, Irad Ortiz said ‘Maybe he’ll be a turf horse,’ because he was disappointed after he rode him the second time. I talked to Marc (Holliday) after the race and said, ‘Irad said we have a turf horse here.’ I’m glad we got him on the turf.”

Friend Ofthe Devil contested the Spectacular Bid as the 1-5 favorite off a 6-furlong allowance win in April. Stablemate Dancing Bear broke quicker out of the gate, but that didn’t matter when Friend Ofthe Devil coasted to the lead on the inside and sprinted through a quarter-mile in :21.98 with a 1 1/2-length lead. The colt maintained that margin through the turn, and after a half-mile in :43.92 he spurted to an even bigger lead under Christopher Elliott and crossed the wire 4 lengths in front of runner-up River Of Time. I’m Due finished third, followed by Dancing Bear. Friend Ofthe Devil finished in 1:07.41, less than a second off the track record.

“Leaving there, he did hit the gate. He broke out a little bit, but after that he relaxed nice and was doing it easy,” Elliott said. “He’s a very classy horse. He’s a horse you can’t really take too much of a hold of because he’ll lug out. You have to let him do his thing, but he’s a talented young horse and I’m excited that I had the opportunity to ride him.”

Holliday said he was “thrilled” with his colt’s performance and praised the New York Racing Association for its New York-bred stakes program.

“NYRA has spent so much time and effort to support this program,” he said. “We want to have the best races, and we also want to have our New York-bred and New York-sired horses well represented. Honest Mischief has been a really honest sire, and he has some very nice horses out there. Friend Ofthe Devil is one of them. It’s a little extra satisfaction when you get into the winner’s circle with a horse like that.”

After three 6-furlong victories, Friend Ofthe Devil stretch to a mile for the Cab Calloway division of the New York Stallion Series in his next start.

“He looked great and I’m excited about maybe giving him an opportunity with a little more distance staying in the Stallion Series in the Cab Calloway – he was an old family friend, Cab Calloway,” Martin said of the legendary singer, band leader and racing fan. “Hopefully, if we can get him to cooperate and relax a little, a mile might be within his scope.”

Friend Ofthe Devil was bred by Laurel Least, Farview Farm and Robert Tugel. He sold for $37,000 as a weanling at the Fasig-Tipon fall mixed sale at Saratoga in 2022, and brought $145,000 as a yearling the following August at Saratoga. He is the third foal out of the unraced Bodemeister mare Fabuleux. The other foal to race is two-time winner Janssen, a son of Accelerate and an earner of $94,887.

Source URL: https://www.nytbreeders.org/news/2025/06/21/friend-ofthe-devil-speeds-to-first-stakes-win-in-nyss-turf-sprint/

Honest Mischief filly Mischief Lady scores in NYSS Cupecoy’s Joy

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Mischief Lady skips over the slop to win Saturday’s NYSS Cupecoy’s Joy. Coglianese Photo.

Paddock Proud LLC’s Mischief Lady returned from almost five months away and collected her first stakes victory with a front-end score in Saturday’s $145,000 Cupecoy’s Joy division of the New York Stallion Series Stakes at Aqueduct.

Bet down to 7-5 in the off-the-turf restricted stakes, Mischief Lady took the lead early under Ricardo Santana Jr. and stayed there throughout to win by 2 1/2 lengths over Boston’s Phinest. Trained by Eddie Barker, Mischief Lady won in 1:09.65 over the sloppy and sealed main track. Storm Changer finished third, with Disco Star and Royal Event completing the field.

Barker liked his filly’s chances based on her recent training and when the race came off the grass.

“Mark Casse’s horse (Disco Star) was probably the most talented on grass, but I think if it was on dirt, or slop, it would even up,” he said. “This filly has been training awesome. We gave her the time, and she grew like a monster. I’m glad she came back the way she did.”

Santana, who rode Mischief Lady for the first time, agreed.

“I made the move on the turn for home, I asked, and she gave me a second kick,” Santana said. “She was much the best today. … I watched her replays, and she was really quick. I think the track today was going to help her more. Even coming from a layoff, she broke really sharp, and she was really comfortable on the lead. I was really happy with her.”

The Cupecoy’s Joy marked the third stakes appearance for Mischief Lady, a $57,000 purchase out of last year’s OBS March sale. Both of those starts came as a 2-year-old – a second as a maiden in the Lady Finger Stakes in September at Finger Lakes and a sixth in the Fifth Avenue division of the NYSS in December at Aqueduct. Mischief Lady came into Saturday’s effort off a front-running win in a 6 ½-furlong allowance-optional in mid-January at Aqueduct.

Mischief Lady improved to 3-for-6 in the Cupecoy’s Joy and boosted her bankroll to $188,372.

Bred by Chester and Mary Broman, Mischief Lady is the first foal out of the unraced Friend Or Foe mare Miss Buff. She’s a full sister to New York-bred champion, 17-time winner and $1,403,536-earner Mr. Buff. Named New York-bred champion older dirt male in 2019 and 2020, Mr. Buff won 11 stakes including back-to-back editions of the Empire Classic Handicap on Empire Showcase Day in 2019 and 2020.

Miss Buff is also the dam of the 2-year-old New York-bred Unified filly named R U Bluffing and bred by the Bromans and a New York-bred colt by Vekoma born April 6 and bred by Cheryl Prudhomme and Dr. Michael Gallivan. Miss Buff sold for $21,000 to Sebastian Bernard at the 2023 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga fall mixed sale.

Mischief Lady also became the third stakes winner for Honest Mischief, New York’s leading freshman sire in 2024 who stands for $7,500 at Sequel Stallions New York in Hudson. A 9-year-old son of Into Mischief out of the Grade 1-winning Seattle Slew mare Honest Lady, Honest Mischief also sired 2024 New York-bred champion Sacrosanct and stakes winner Stone Smuggler.

Honest Mischief topped last year’s New York freshman sire list with more than $1.6 million in progeny earnings and came into Saturday ranked sixth on the Empire State’s general sire list with progeny earnings of more than $633,000.

Source URL: https://www.nytbreeders.org/news/2025/06/14/honest-mischief-filly-mischief-lady-scores-in-nyss-cupecoys-joy/

Spinning Colors improves Spa record in Mount Vernon; Clear Conscience wins tight photo in Kingston

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Spinning Colors and John Velazquez cruise to the finish of Wednesday’s Mount Vernon at Saratoga. Coglianese Photo/Susie Raisher.

Spinning Colors may not like doing what she’s told, but when she’s tasked with running on the turf at Saratoga Race Course, she typically delivers.

Wednesday, Spinning Colors improved her record over the Saratoga turf courses to 3-for-4 when she won the $200,000 Mount Vernon Stakes at 1 1/16 miles over the inner course. The 5-year-old mare entered the Mount Vernon off a seventh in the Sand Springs against open company at Gulfstream Park, a race in which she led the field through testing fractions that included a half-mile in :45.26. In the Mount Vernon, Spinning Colors led the field through a dawdling half in :50.33. Trainer Mark Hennig said that made a big difference.

“The pace helped her save a lot of that energy,” he said. “She tried hard last time in open company at Gulfstream. In spite of that pace, she still fought on. She gets a little bit of a break running against New York-breds and then, obviously, she loves Saratoga. This was her third win here.”

Spinning Colors took the field of 10 older fillies and mares gate to wire in the Mount Vernon under John Velazquez, setting a slow pace early and kicking on late to fend off the stretch runs by Silver Skillet and Awesome Czech, who finished second and third, respectively. Spinning Colors won the Mount Vernon by 2 1/2 lengths in 1:43.27.

“I nursed her along the best I could without taking too much hold of her,” Velazquez said. “After putting my hands down at the three-eighths pole, she was full of run. I hadn’t asked her to do anything, and she was very comfortable. After moving my hands a little bit, it was an instant response. Very nice.”

Hennig, who also co-owns the daughter of Hard Spun with Bourbon Lane Stable and HGS Thoroughbreds, remarked on what a difficult mare she can sometimes be to train.

“She’s not easy to do anything with, honestly,” Hennig said. “She’s a difficult filly, but she keeps herself fit because she’s athletic. Those kind are always easier. She dictates what we’re doing daily, basically. There are days we go out with the intent to gallop and she doesn’t gallop. Before she won the race at Gulfstream in February, the day she was going to work she got loose and went around the track twice. We didn’t end up getting to work her, but she worked herself that day.”

Despite the antics, Spinning Colors has won five of 14 starts and earned $362,210. Hennig said he’d likely bring Spinning Colors back to Saratoga at some point this summer.

“They’ve got another race here during the meet, but we’ll see,” he said. “They’ve got a decent program for the New York-bred fillies as the year goes on the turf, so we could keep her with her own kind, but I wouldn’t be opposed to trying her in open company in the right spot.”

Spinning Colors was bred by William Parsons Jr. and David Howe. She is out of the winning Elusive Quality mare Kaleidoscope, who has also produced multiple time winners Bartleby and Cartwheel. – Alec DiConza

[2]

Clear Conscience holds off Hush of a Storm in Wednesday’s Kingston Stakes at Saratoga. Coglianese Photo/Chelsea Durand.

• In the span of four weeks, owner Wachtel Stable’s Adam Wachtel experienced both ends of a tight photo with the same horse. On May 11, Clear Conscience lost an allowance-optional at Aqueduct by a nose after holding the lead mid-stretch. In Wednesday’s $200,000 Kingston Stakes, the 5-year-old gelding got involved in another nose finish, but this time, the son of Blame crossed the wire first.

“We did have a tough beat just the other day,” Wachtel said in the winner’s circle. “Better to win this one than that one, right?”

Wachtel privately purchased Clear Conscience during last year’s summer meet at Saratoga because he saw some potential in his past performances. He wasted no time, transferring the gelding to Mark Casse and winning an allowance race on Travers Day just weeks after the purchase. The Kingston victory is the second by Clear Conscience since the change in connections.

“I’m a Ragozin sheets person, and he had a great looking sheet,” Wachtel said about the decision to buy Clear Conscience. “He was very fast, and I thought he was maybe better than his results were. So, we’re very pleased and Mark has done a great job with him.”

In the Kingston, a 1 1/16-mile turf event for older New York-breds, Clear Conscience sat a stalking trip on the inside behind pacesetters Union Trail and Itsallcomintogetha. He switched outside turning for home under Jose Ortiz and mowed these leaders down before facing a menacing bid from favorite Hush of a Storm. Clear Conscience just held on to get the bob and win by a nose in 1:41.30.

“He’s a very good gate horse and we love that about him. He broke good and put me into a great position,” Ortiz said. “I was following the one horse, who was of course very live.”

The effort from Clear Conscience impressed Casse, who felt fortunate that the photo went his way this time.

“He showed some grit, because the other horse went by him and he battled back,” he said. “Jose said he thought he was beat. We did get lucky on the bob, but many times I don’t get lucky on the bob, so I’ll take it when I can get it.”

Wachtel, who co-owns Clear Conscience with Gary Barber and Pantofel Stable, said there’s a good chance his gelding will return to Saratoga for another stakes race this summer.

“As long as he’s healthy, he’ll definitely run back here,” he said. “There’s a New York-bred stakes in the middle of August. I’m sure we’ll point to that. He’s just a nice horse. We’ve got a lot of options with him.”

Clear Conscience was bred by Alan Quartucci and Sebastian Varney. He is the second foal out of the Gio Ponti mare Blank Slate, who has also produced the four-time winner Topic Changer and the recent maiden winner Cognoscenti. Clear Conscience is now a winner of three out of 15 starts with earnings of $294,988. – Alec DiConza

Source URL: https://www.nytbreeders.org/news/2025/06/04/spinning-colors-improves-spa-record-in-mount-vernon-clear-conscience-wins-tight-photo-in-kingston/

Bank Frenzy bounces back in Commentator; Bernietakescharge does family proud in Critical Eye

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Manny Franco celebrates Commentator victory aboard Bank Frenzy Wednesday at Saratoga Race Course. Coglianese Photo/Chelsea Durand.

Rudy Rodriguez gave Manny Franco a leg up on Bank Frenzy before Wednesday’s $200,000 Commentator Stakes and offered one final bit of instruction before the field of eight left the Saratoga Race Course paddock for the second stakes on the New York Showcase Day card.

“Don’t let him steal the race, put some pressure on him,” Rodriguez said, encouraging Bank Frenzy’s regular partner to stay close to last year’s Empire Classic winner and expected frontrunner Mama’s Gold in the 9-furlong stakes for older New York-breds.

Franco followed suit, never letting the Central Banker gelding lost contact with Mama’s Gold before pouncing on the leader approaching the top of the stretch en route to a 1 1/4-length victory. Owned by Randy Sarf’s LSU Stables and the 7-5 favorite in the field of eight, Bank Frenzy improved to 9-for-18 with his latest stakes victory. He’s won his last three New York-bred stakes appearances, along with the Stymie against open company in March, after finishing 4 1/4 lengths behind Mama’s Gold in the Empire Classic Handicap last fall.

“Manny won that race,” Sarf said as he hugged Rodriguez walking out of the winner’s circle. “He put Romero (Maragh, aboard Mama’s Gold) to sleep. He put him to sleep.”

Sarf purchased Bank Frenzy privately from Phil’s Racing Stable last spring after a 5 1/4-length victory in a 1-mile state-bred allowance-optional at Aqueduct. He won the Evan Shipman in mid-August at Saratoga in his first start for LSU and Rodriguez, before back-to-back seconds that led to a four-race win streak.

Bank Frenzy came into Showcase Day off a fourth in the Grade 3 Westchester on a muddy track May 4 at Aqueduct. He rebounded in a big way in the Commentator, defeating not only Mama’s Gold but last year’s winner Drake’s Passage (third), Locke And Key (fourth) and General Banker (sixth).

“I knew he was going to be good,” Sarf said of the private purchase. “Once you see a horse win by that distance, if they stay sound, they can win these state-bred stakes. We love the state-bred game. We tried to see how good he was (in graded company last time), but state-breds hang out with state-breds. I guess that’s why you breed in New York, to hang out in New York.”

The Commentator didn’t go completely smooth for Bank Frenzy.

Typically outfitted with extension blinkers for his morning training, Bank Frenzy made the walk from the holding barn to the paddock without blinkers.

“He’s a little quirky but he does his job,” Rodriguez said. “He’s a little difficult in the morning so we put the extension blinkers on. Today he didn’t have them and was kicking all over the place. He’s more happy when we put the blinkers on and that’s all we can do.”

Bank Frenzy raced with his usual blinkers and Franco set up shop in second around the clubhouse turn behind Mama’s Gold through the opening splits of :23.79 and :47.84.

Mama’s Gold continued to lead past 6 furlongs in 1:11.53, with Bank Frenzy just a half-length back while in the three path on the bend. Bank Frenzy took over outside the quarter pole and eventually shrugged off a stubborn Mama’s Gold in the lane to win in 1:50 over the fast track. Mama’s Gold held second, 3 1/2 lengths clear of 2-1 second choice Drake’s Passage.

“My horse broke so sharp and Rudy told me he was going to break like that because he broke sharp in the mornings,” Franco said. “I just took advantage of my break and just put him right behind (Mama’s Gold). That was the horse that I thought I had to beat. My horse made the front a little earlier than I wanted, but he was running so nice and he kind of got lost a little on the front end, that’s why (Mama’s Gold) came back. I had a lot of horse under me. I was comfortable all the way around.”

Bred by Chester and the late Mary Broman and foaled at their Chestertown Farm in Chestertown, Bank Frenzy is out of the Tiznow mare Storm Now. He originally sold for $110,000 at the 2022 OBS April sale of 2-year-olds in training. Bank Frenzy picked up $110,000 for the Commentator victory and boosted his bankroll to $695,920. – Tom Law

[2]

Bernietakescharge (inside) holds off Sterling Silver to win Wednesday’s Critical Eye at Saratoga. Coglianese Photo/Chelsea Durand.

• Two races after her half-sister Bernieandtherose finished third in the Bouwerie Stakes, Bernietakescharge made the family even more proud by winning the $200,000 Critical Eye Stakes in front-running fashion.

Breaking from the outside post in the field of seven, Bernietakescharge took the lead going into the clubhouse turn and set moderate splits of :24.01 for the quarter-mile and :47.86 for the half. The filly owned and bred by Robert Rosenthal and Bradford Bernstein faced a major challenge from millionaire Sterling Silver nearing the quarter pole, but after a long duel with that foe through the stretch, Bernietakescharge prevailed to win by a neck for trainer Dominick Schettino and jockey Romero Maragh. The daughter of Take Charge Indy completed the 9-furlongs in 1:50.26.

“We had a very nice trip,” Maragh said. “I know she likes to be on the front. She gets very game when she’s on the front. So, that was the whole game plan to be on the lead and be pretty aggressive with her, and get her into her rhythm. That was the game plan. Everything honestly worked out super perfect, super great.”

Millionaire, multiple stakes winner and 3-10 favorite Sterling Silver made a run alongside Bernietakescharge and Schettino felt that maybe a runner-up finish was in the cards for his 4-year-old filly.

“When they got to the quarter pole and I saw her (Sterling Silver) coming, I said, ‘Well, second ain’t bad,’ ” he said. “Then I saw her in the stretch fighting again and I said, ‘Wow, she’s got a shot here.’ We wound up better today than her.”

Schettino wasn’t surprised by the grit Bernietakescharge showed Wednesday.

“That filly, when she gets to the quarter pole and the stretch, if she is in front, a lot of times, she will continue to grind it out,” he said. “That’s what she does. When that filly got to her, I figured ‘well, that filly is a graded winner.’ Like I said, if she finished second she ran a bang-up race. She was training forwardly and she ran to it today.”

Bernietakescharge is the second foal out of the stakes winning mare Berning Rose, who Schettino trained in 2017 to win the Maid of the Mist Stakes at Belmont Park. Berning Rose, a daughter of Freud, has also produced multiple stakes winner Bernieandtherose, winning mare Berning Honor and an unraced 2-year-old named Roseberns Dream. Bernietakescharge is now a winner of six of 17 starts and has earned $469,580. – Alec DiConza

Source URL: https://www.nytbreeders.org/news/2025/06/04/bank-frenzy-bounces-back-in-commentator-bernietakescharge-does-family-proud-in-critical-eye/

Train the Trainer dominates Mike Lee; Kay Cup improves to 2-for-3 in Bouwerie

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Train the Trainer rolls to victory in Wednesday’s Mike Lee to kick off the New York Showcase Day portion of the card at Saratoga. Coglianese Photo.

Rob Atras picked up the phone to call fellow trainer Mark Glatt shortly after the 3-year-old gelding Train the Trainer showed up at his Belmont Park barn from California this spring with a short assessment.

“Geez, look at this horse. I love this horse,” Atras said, immediately impressed with the New York-bred son of Dialed In. “He was big, strong, (had) good bone on him. Big, tall and the way he carries himself. He has a lot of presence.”

Atras loved Train the Trainer a bit more when he romped to a 5-length victory in his first start in the Empire State and even more after a 2 3/4-length tally to open the New York Showcase Day portion of the card Wednesday at Saratoga Race Course.

Jon Taisey of Hibiscus Stable isn’t surprised by the love. He liked the then colt plenty when he and the Hibiscus team sent him down to Lexington for the 2023 Fasig-Tipton Kentucky October yearling sale. Hip 590, the ninth foal out of the Forestry mare Heavenly View, attracted plenty of attention on the sales grounds but not a ton of action in the ring.

“I loved him ever since he was a baby,” Taisey said. “I never thought that he was a horse we could really afford to bring back and syndicate, so we brought him to the sale there and honestly was super disappointed when we only got $52,000 for him.”

Glatt purchased the colt, on behalf of Alipony Racing and Saints or Sinners. He eventually went to California, where he didn’t race at 2 before surfacing in a 6-furlong maiden race April 6 at Santa Anita Park. He finished second that day, splitting a pair of Bob Baffert-trained first-time starters Goal Oriented and Sierra Silver.

“He put in a heck of a race and I knew at that point he was the real deal,” Taisey said. “I called the owners and tried to get them to at least send him back or sell him to clients of mine. Well, they decided to send him but not sell him. Mark handed over the reins to Rob and obviously Rob has done a great job with the horse to this point.”

The job now includes back-to-back victories, the latter in 1:23.92 for the 7 furlongs over the fast track in the opening flat stakes of the Belmont Stakes Racing Festival at Saratoga. Under Irad Ortiz Jr., Train the Trainer went to post as the 9-5 second choice behind Prince Valiant and five others in the Mike Lee.

Train The Trainer went to the lead from the start and clicked off an opening quarter-mile in :23.09 ahead of Prince Valiant, First Pitch and Soontobeking. He maintained that margin around the far turn and to the half in :46.30.

Ortiz stayed busy on Train the Trainer approaching the stretch and they widened from there, opening up a 2-length lead in midstretch on the way to victory. Soontobeking, second behind Prince Valiant last time out in the Times Square division of the New York Stallion Series Stakes April 13 at Aqueduct, finished a head in front of that same rival for the place spot with Calling Card, First Pitch and Smilensaycheese completing the field. Train The Trainer picked up $110,000 for the win, boosting his bankroll to $167,000.

“Everything you see now started out in California,” Atras said. “They started with him and did all the base work. He had the one race then when we had him we just led him over, stayed out of his way and let him progress. There’s nothing we really did any differently, just let him grow up and get bigger and stronger.”

Foaled at Waldorf Farm in North Chatham, Train the Trainer is a half-brother to six winners out of Heavenly Vision. She’s a half-sister to multiple graded stakes winner and sire Cairo Prince and the Grade 1-placed Empire Maker mare Nonna Mia, the dam of Grade 1 winner Outwork. – Tom Law

[2]

Kay Cup holds off her challengers in Wednesday’s Bouwerie Stakes at Saratoga. Coglianese Photo/Chelsea Durand.

• Dan Zanatta walked off the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga sales grounds after a long few days of inspections of the New York-bred yearlings in the 2023 catalog. He put a filly from the first crop of Instagrand on the short list of potential purchases for NY Final Furlong Racing Stable, just not quite into the top five prospects.

NY Final Furlong, a partnership operation headed up by Zanatta and Vince Roth perhaps best known for campaigning New York-bred champion Venti Valentine and multiple stakes winner Espresso Shot, exclusively buys fillies to syndicate. Zanatta and Roth, along with members of the Rice family that helps with inspections, liked the filly out of the Lemon Drop Kid mare Gypso Go.

“She was probably a top six filly on our list and honestly, probably at the bottom of the list going into the final day of the selection process,” Zanatta said. “Then the last day she just kept showing better and showing better. She was a filly that every time we looked at her we upgraded her. We ended up upgrading her to the top of the list.”

Bidding through Ricehorse, NY Final Furlong landed the filly for $100,000. Now almost two years later and with Electric City Racing and Sportsmen Stable on board as partners, the filly named Kay Cup continued her ascent up the New York-bred 3-year-old filly ranks thanks to a victory in the $200,000 Bouwerie Stakes on New York Showcase Day.

Kay Cup improved to 2-for-3 with her 3-length win over Charlotte’s Heart in the Bouwerie. Irad Ortiz Jr., who rode two winners on the Showcase Day card, guided Kay Cup to victory for trainer Jorge Abreu in 1:23.79 for the 7 furlongs on the fast main track.

Abreu trained Venti Valentine, recently named 2024 New York-bred champion older dirt female after winning the 2-year-old filly title in 2021, and didn’t hesitate to compare the two after Wednesday’s Bouwerie.

“Since Day 1 we have liked the filly,” Abreu said. “Her presentation in the morning and the way she trains, she’s very professional. Everything about her. She’s never had a bad day and that’s important for fillies. They can go the wrong or right way and she’s always been the right way. She could be the next Venti Valentine.”

Zanatta and Roth actually hoped Kay Cup could follow in the early hoofprints of Venti Valentine and Espresso Shot.

“When we first bought her and after her first race, in my mind this was our Busher horse,” Roth said of the open-company 3-year-old filly stakes typically run in early March at Aqueduct. “We won the Busher with Espresso Shot, we won the Busher with Venti Valentine. She had a slight setback and needed some time off, so we couldn’t get her ready for that race. We brought he back and she won at Aqueduct (in an April 27 maiden) and now we have a new plan in mind.

“I don’t know if Jorge is going to like this but I told him there’s a couple pretty big races in August at Saratoga that I’d like to see her in.”

Bred by Caperlane Farm and sold at the 2023 Saratoga New York-bred sale by Hunter Valley Farm, agent, Kay Cup is the second foal out of the winning Gypsy Jo.

Kay Cup is also part-owned by ESPN Radio personality Anita Marks through America’s Best Racing’s “A Stake in Stardom” program made popular this spring thanks to social media influencer Griffin Johnson’s part ownership of Grade 1 winner and classics competitor Sandman. Kay Cup picked up $110,000 for the Bouwerie victory to boost her bankroll to $161,500. – Tom Law

Source URL: https://www.nytbreeders.org/news/2025/06/04/train-the-trainer-dominates-mike-lee-kay-cup-improves-to-2-for-3-in-bouwerie/

New York Showcase Special

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Sterling Silver, dominating winner of last year’s Johnstone Mile Handicap at Saratoga Race Course, headlines star-studded group of New York-breds running Wednesday on New York Showcase Day. Coglianese Photo.

The 2025 Belmont Stakes Racing Festival kicks off in style Wednesday at Saratoga Race Course with New York-breds in the spotlight. New York Showcase Day leads off the five-day stand at the Spa, along with the Grade 1 Beverly Steinman Handicap over jumps.

The Showcase Day portion of the card features nine races for New York-breds, including six stakes worth $200,000 apiece.

In partnership with New York Thoroughbred Breeders, Inc., Opening Day of the Belmont Festival will tip off with an I Love NY-Breds baseball cap giveaway. The first 10,000 fans to enter with paid admission will receive a free, white baseball cap featuring the NYTB and 2025 Belmont Stakes logos in tribute to the New York-bred industry.

Admission gates open at 11 a.m. with first post scheduled for 12:40 p.m.

The Saratoga Special, set for its 25th season this summer, will be on the scene to capture all the action and present a new Showcase Special for the first of two signature days for New York-breds this year at the Spa. Enjoy.

Worth Repeating
“It’s a tremendous opportunity to kick off this year’s Belmont Stakes Racing Festival with a New York Showcase Day card to highlight the quality of competitive racehorses produced in the Empire State when the racing world and media will be focused on Saratoga. New York-breds compete and win at every level around the world. Featuring a card with six state-bred stakes races and lucrative purses at a historic venue such as Saratoga Race Course shows why it pays to breed and race in New York.”
New York Thoroughbred Breeders Executive Director Najja Thompson.

By the Numbers
1: New York-bred champion from the 2024 season entered on Showcase Day – Bank Frenzy, who runs in the $200,000 Commentator Stakes.

5: Entries for trainer Jimmy Ferraro on Showcase Day, the most for any conditioner. Ferraro’s runners include Mama’s Gold in the $200,000 Commentator and Howling Wind in the $200,000 Bouwerie.

5: Entries apiece for McMahon of Saratoga Thoroughbreds’ resident stallions Central Banker and Solomini

6: Number of runners out of Freud mares entered Wednesday.

6: Stakes on Wednesday’s Showcase Day card.

8: Finalists for New York-bred championship honors in 2024 entered on Wednesday’s card – Accelerating, Antonio of Venice, Bank Frenzy, Landed, Mama’s Gold, Silver Skillet and Sterling Silver.

27: Total stakes run during the Belmont Stakes Racing Festival.

62: Trainers with runners entered on Showcase Day.

100: Entries on Wednesday’s card, including the seven in the Grade 1 Beverly Steinman.

$784,428: Earnings for Commentator entrant General Banker, the most of any New York-bred male on the card.

$1,046,051: Earnings for Critical Eye entrant Sterling Silver, the most of any New York-bred on the card.

$1,200,000: Purses for the six stakes.

$11,275,000: Purses for the 27 stakes at the Festival.

As for the races …
Race 1. Beverly R. Steinman Hudle Handicap (G1). $150,000, 4-year-olds and up, 2 3/8 miles over national fences. Post time 12:40 p.m. No New York-breds in the field but a competitive field of seven to kick off the day.

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Mo Plex, winner of the Grade 3 Sanford last summer at Saratoga, runs in Wednesday’s Mike Lee Stakes. Coglianese Photo.

Race 2. Mike Lee Stakes. $200,000, 3-year-olds, 7 furlongs. Post time 1:13. Seven line up for the first stakes of the Showcase Day portion of the card, including graded stakes winner Mo Plex, stakes winners Soontobeking and Prince Valiant and one-time classics hopeful Calling Card.

Race 3. Maiden special weight. $90,000, 3-year-olds and up, fillies and mares, 5 1/2 furlongs, turf. Post time 1:46. Miss Im Pulsive moves to the grass after solid debut sprinting on the dirt last time out for Amelia Green. Willful Mama, a daughter of War of Will out of 2024 New York Broodmare of the Year In Spite of Mama, shortens up in her fourth start on the grass for owner-breeder Buck Butler and trainer Mike Maker.

Race 4. Commentator Stakes. $200,000, 3-year-olds and up, 1 1/8 miles. Post time 2:19. Drake’s Passage won last year’s renewal for the late Christophe Clement and will become Miguel Clement’s first New York starter in this year’s renewal. He prepped for this with a fifth in a 1-mile open optional-claimer last month at Aqueduct. Bank Frenzy looms large from the outside. Last year’s champion older dirt male looks to bounce back from fourth in Grade 3 Westchester and rattling off four straight wins in late 2024 and early 2025.

Race 5. Allowance. $95,000, 3-year-olds and up, 1 1/16 miles, turf. Post time 2:51. Sounds Like a Plan didn’t miss by much last time against open company in the Woodhaven Stakes. Son of Twirling Candy drops back to allowance ranks for Horacio De Paz and meets the likes of Pay the Juice, Leon Blue, The Paddock Pastor and Courtly Banker.

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Bernieandtherose looks to extend win streak to five in Wednesday’s Bouwerie Stakes. Coglianese Photo.

Race 6. Bouwerie Stakes. $200,000, 3-year-olds, fillies, 7 furlongs. Post time 3:26. Bernieandtherose looks to keep win streak intact for owners and breeders Robert Rosenthal and Brad Bernstein and trainer Dominick Schettino. She’s won four straight, including back-to-back stakes. Accelerating, winner of last year’s Seeking the Ante and disappointing in her two tires this spring at Oaklawn, returns to the Empire State and looms a threat while Charlotte’s Heart switches to the main track for the first time.

Race 7. Kingston Stakes. $200,000, 4-year-olds and up, 1 1/16 miles, turf. Post time 4:02. The Freud gelding Schlomo makes his stakes debut off back-to-back wins for trainer Bill Mott and takes on field of experienced runners led by Hush of a Storm, Born Dancer, Clear Conscience, Be of Courage and Itsallcomintogetha.

Race 8. Critical Eye Stakes. $200,000, 3-year-olds and up, fillies and mares, 1 1/8 miles. Post time 4:37. Back to the main track for next-to-last stakes on the card. Landed, who figured to be favored, will come out of the race according to published reports and that leaves field of eight if they all go. Sterling Silver, who packs a strong resume and big bankroll; and Bernietakescharge, who scored a blowout win two starts back before fading in the mud last time, look toughest of that group.

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Silver Skillet, a multiple New York-bred champion nominee in 2024, bids for third win in four starts at Saratoga in the Mount Vernon Stakes. Coglianese Photo/Susie Raisher.

Race 9. Mount Vernon Stakes. $200,000, 4-year-olds and up, fillies and mares, 1 1/16 miles. Post time 5:12. Silver Skillet returns to defend her title, albeit last year’s event was run on the main track after rains washed away the Showcase Day grass races. Daughter of Liam’s Map is equally good on grass, with three wins and two seconds in 11 tries. Reunites with Joel Rosario and potentially caps a big emotional day for the Clement family. Won’t be easy with the likes of Whatlovelookslike, Awesome Czech, Can’t Fool Me and Spinning Colors also in the field.

Race 10. Maiden special weight. $90,000, 3-year-olds and up, 1 1/16 miles, turf. Post time 5:47. Coach Case, a son of Slumber, makes second start after good try in debut on the grass for the late Christophe Clement. Plenty of players in the field with Sir Oscar, English Castle, Spirit of the Law, Hello Newman, Moe Eighty Eight, Mission Hill and Sir Lawrence all looking like threats.

Source URL: https://www.nytbreeders.org/news/2025/06/03/new-york-showcase-special-3/