Antiquarian levitating over the Saratoga track. (Adam Coglianese/NYRA)
Christian Abdo
Centennial Farms’ Antiquarian returns to the course and distance of his Grade 1 score for Saturday’s Grade 2, $500,000 Suburban presented by Subourbon Life, a 10-furlong route for 4-year-olds and upward, at Saratoga Race Course.
Trained by Hall of Famer Todd Pletcher, Antiquarian captured the 10-furlong Grade 1 Jockey Club Gold Cup by 1 1/2 lengths in August here, where returning rival Phileas Fogg broke inward causing Mindframe to unseat jockey Irad Ortiz, Jr. and Sierra Leone to alter course.
Before his win in the Jockey Club Gold Cup, the now 5-year-old son of Preservationist was beaten a head by Phileas Fogg in last year’s Suburban. The defeat earned a 104 Beyer Speed Figure, which Antiquarian improved to a career and field-best 108 Beyer in the Jockey Club Gold Cup.
In addition to Antiquarian, Centennial Farms has achieved top-level breakthroughs with other older horses, including Preservationist capturing the 2019 Woodward at age 6, as well as Corinthian capturing the 2007 Metropolitan Handicap at age 4.
“We aren’t emphasizing a 2-year-old Champion when we buy them,” said Donald Little, Jr., president of Centennial Farms. “You look at the stallions we’ve placed over the years, their major highlights have been at four and five years old. For this horse, that’s worked out. We haven’t had to change much. Having Todd, we’ve been fortunate to have a great team of horse people behind everything we do.”
The chestnut exited the Gold Cup to finish off-the-board in the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Classic in November at Del Mar, returning in May to win the one-turn mile Grade 3 Westchester by 5 3/4 lengths over Bishops Bay at Belmont at the Big A. Most recently, Antiquarian was fourth, behind Nysos, Knightsbridge and Journalism, in the one-mile Grade 1 Hill ‘n’ Dale Metropolitan Handicap on June 6 Belmont Stakes Day here.
“Stretching him back out was Todd’s plan since then,” Little, Jr. said. “The Met Mile was a tough race – Nysos, Journalism, Knightsbridge – and we are not a flat miler or anything like that, but we tried with the history of the Met Mile, many of the winners were Classic horses.”
Antiquarian [post 7, John Velazquez] has worked back twice since the Met Mile, including a bullet half-mile in 48 seconds flat on Saturday over Saratoga’s Oklahoma dirt training track.
“That was a really nice breeze. He worked solo,” said Little, Jr. “As of right now, all systems are go… this year will be a great [Breeders’ Cup] Classic that everyone’s going to be working towards. It’ll be interesting.”
The $250,000 Keeneland September Yearling Sale purchase, bred in Kentucky by Brereton C. Jones, is out of the winning Istan mare Lifetime Memory, who is a half-sister to graded stakes-winner Speaktomeofsummer and stakes-winner Proud Reunion.
Pletcher also sends out St. Elias Stable’s stakes-placed Kentucky homebred Classicist [post 1, Javier Castellano] as he seeks a record-equaling fifth Suburban score following Keen Ice [2017], as well as Dynamic One, Charge It and Crupi [2022-24].
The 4-year-old Curlin chestnut has never missed the board among a 7-3-1-3 record and is set for his graded debut off a third in the 10-furlong Listed Excelsior to returning foe Yo Daddy in April and a last-out optional claiming score on May 23 at Aqueduct Racetrack.
Jupiter Stable’s Phileas Fogg [post 6, Kendrick Carmouche] was supplemented to the Suburban by trainer Gustavo Rodriguez and the 6-year-old son of Astern will be attempting a title defense after his narrow score over Antiquarian last year.
Phileas Fogg was declared unplaced by the stewards after breaking inwardly at the start of the Jockey Club Gold Cup under returning rider Kendrick Carmouche, and next finished second to Locked in the three-horse Grade 2 Woodward in September at Belmont at the Big A. After a fourth and third, respectively, in the Grade 2 Cigar Mile Handicap and one-mile Listed Stymie at Aqueduct, Phileas Fogg successfully dropped in class when wiring a nine-furlong optional claimer by 5 3/4 lengths on May 1 there.
“I was very happy with the way he won,” Rodriguez said. “He likes the distance. When he runs one mile and he can’t handle the pressure, he quits. He won this race last year.”
Phileas Fogg worked back five times over the Belmont Park dirt training track, including a five-furlong move in one minute flat on Friday.
“He’s been training really good,” said Rodriguez. “Every time he goes and he works, he works very nicely. We’re coming into the race beautifully.”
Phileas Fogg, claimed for $62,500 in July 2024 at the Spa, has banked nearly $900,000 via a 23-10-5-1 record. Bred in Kentucky by Godolphin, Phileas Fogg is out of the unraced More Than Ready mare Merino, a half-sister to Grade 1-winner Capezzano. His third dam is 1995 Canadian Champion 2-Year-Old Filly Silken Cat, who produced Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Sprint winner and influential stallion Speightstown and multiple graded stakes-winner Irap.
Wathnan Racing’s Hit Show [post 8, Manny Franco] boasts a field high $9.4 million in earnings and looks to add to that total for dual Eclipse Award-winning trainer Brad Cox. The 6-year-old Candy Ride horse banked over $7.5 million just last year via an 8-4-1-1 campaign, highlighted by an upset score over Mixto and Forever Young in the Group 1 Dubai World Cup at Meydan Racecourse.
Hit Show made five subsequent starts last year, including wins in the Grade 3 Fayette at Keeneland and the Listed West Virginia Governor’s at Mountaineer. After a close second in the Grade 2 Clark to recent Grade 1 Stephen Foster-victor Magnitude in November at Churchill Downs, Hit Show returned with a victorious seasonal debut in the Grade 3 Mineshaft at Fair Grounds Race Course.
He then tried a title defense in the Group 1 Dubai World Cup when fifth to Magnitude and enters from a third to returning rival Original Sin in the Grade 3 Blame on May 30 at Churchill Downs.
C2 Racing Stable and Mathis Stables’ Forged Steel [post 2, Flavien Prat] was scratched from Saturday’s Grade 1 Stephen Foster at Churchill Downs and rerouted to this race by trainer Saffie Joseph, Jr.
The 4-year-old Vekoma gray is three for his last four, crushing the 1 1/4-mile Grade 2 Hollywood Gold Cup by 9 1/2 lengths last out on May 25 at Santa Anita Park just over three weeks after a one-mile optional claiming win on May 2 at Oaklawn Park. A versatile sort, Forged Steel’s prior start was a third to returning foe Parchment Party in the 1 1/2-mile Listed Temperence Hill in March at Oaklawn, and he is also dual stakes-placed on turf.
Hall of Fame-trainer Bill Mott sends out Pin Oak Stud’s Parchment Party [post 4, Jose Lezcano] and Frassetto Stables’ Stars and Stripes [post 9, Junior Alvarado].
Parchment Party is 2-for-2 this year, exiting his aforementioned Temperence Hill win to capture the 1 1/2-mile Listed Isaac Murphy Marathon last out on April 29 at Churchill Downs. Last summer, the 5-year-old Constitution bay found his footing as a dirt marathoner, winning the off-the-turf Grade 3 Belmont Gold Cup and Listed Birdstone at Saratoga – both 1 3/4 miles. The former earned a “Golden Ticket” into the Group 1 Lexus Melbourne Cup, the world-renowned two-mile turf test in November at Flemington Racecourse in Australia, where Parchment Party landed 20th.
Stars and Stripes captured the 1 3/16-mile Grade 3 Ben Ali when making his graded debut last out on April 18 at Keeneland. The 4-year-old Not This Time bay previously captured a nine-furlong optional claimer on March 8 at Oaklawn Park after a second in his seasonal debut in January at Gulfstream Park. Last year, in Stars and Stripes’ first season of racing, the colt made four outings including open-lengths romps in a second-out maiden at Aqueduct and then an allowance at the Spa.
Calumet Farm’s Kentucky homebred Original Sin [post 10, Tyler Gaffalione] enters from a prominent half-length score over Who Dey and Hit Show in the nine-furlong Grade 3 Blame on May 30 at Churchill Downs. Trained by Brendan Walsh, the 4-year-old Curlin gray was making his stakes debut following an optional claiming score going the same distance in April at Keeneland that earned a career-best 97 Beyer.
Original Sin is 3-for-4 this year, also winning his 1 1/16-mile seasonal debut in January at Fair Grounds ahead of a sixth over that same course in February, both in allowance-level tilts.
“He’s just turned into a racehorse the last six months,” said Walsh. “He had every reason to be beaten in the last eighth of the Blame, and he didn’t let any of them get by him. He’s done nothing wrong. I ran him back too quickly at Fair Grounds the one time he ran a little below par. I think if he gets spacing between races, and the further he goes, the better he’ll get. This horse, who knows what he could turn into as he goes a little longer.”
Winning Move multiple graded stakes-placed Stable’s Yo Daddy [post 3, Ricardo Santana, Jr.] captured the 10-furlong Listed Excelsior in April at Aqueduct Racetrack with a 100 Beyer. Trained by Linda Rice, the 5-year-old Yoshida bay exited to finish off-the-board last out in the Grade 3 Pimlico Special on May 15 at Laurel Park, as he sought his first graded stakes score.
Rounding out the field are Grade 2-winner Tiztastic [post 5, Jose Ortiz] for Hall of Famer Steve Asmussen and Uruguayan Group 1-placed Brazilian-bred Obstacle [post 11, Joel Rosario] for conditioner Paulo Lobo.
The Suburban is slated as Race 8 on Saturday’s 11-race card, which features the Grade 1 Belmont Derby [Race 9], the Grade 1 Belmont Oaks [Race 7] and the Grade 3 Sanford [Race 5]. First post is 12:35 p.m. Eastern.
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