Kimura and Trendsetter after the Lexington Stakes, Jenny Doyle/Past The Wire Photo
Keith McCalmont
Midway Racing’s graded stakes-winner Trendsetter brings improving form into Saturday’s Grade 3, $200,000 Peter Pan, a nine-furlong route for sophomores, at Belmont at the Big A.
The Peter Pan is the traditional New York prep for the 10-furlong Grade 1, $2 million Belmont Stakes presented by NYRA Bets slated for Saturday, June 6 at Saratoga Race Course. The New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) will waive entry and starting fees to the Belmont Stakes for the first three finishers of the Peter Pan.
Trained by Ben Colebrook, Trendsetter [post 1, Kazushi Kimura] arrives from a 2 1/4-length score in the 1 1/16-mile Grade 3 Lexington on April 11 at Keeneland.
“It was his first time on the dirt going two turns. I think that’s what he’s wanted to do all along,” Colebrook said.
The Modernist gelding ended a five-race losing streak in the Lexington, making the grade at odds of 32-1 with a stalking score under returning rider Kazushi Kimura. Trendsetter saved ground in fourth position as Corona de Oro showed the way through three-quarters in 1:12.12 before Kimura angled Trendsetter out for the stretch run and powered to the lead to score at the first wire finish line under a drive and ridden out to the second wire. Trendsetter stopped the clock in 1:44.51 and registered a career-best 85 Beyer Speed Figure.
“With the short wire, we wanted to be real aggressive and have a position. It worked out great. I think the wider turns at Aqueduct will help him and he can get rolling,” Colebrook said.
Kimura was later suspended for a ride two races earlier on the Keeneland card when he rose up in the irons at the first finish line of a seven-furlong maiden tilt that was to end at the second finish line with his mount finishing second by a head.
Colebrook indicated he reminded Kazushi of the first wire finish in the Lexington and wasn’t concerned about the extra piece of work after the line.
“I liked the gallop out,” said Colebrook, with a laugh. “I told him it was first wire and to be rolling and he kept going down to the second. I think that was probably good for the horse, honestly.”
Trendsetter launched his career with a pair of restricted wins sprinting 5 1/2-furlongs at Colonial Downs, graduating in July ahead of a three-quarter length score in the Hickory Tree in August. He completed his juvenile campaign with two off-the-board starts in turf sprint stakes in Kentucky.
Trendsetter added blinkers for his final 2-year-old start when fifth in the Listed Indian Summer at Keeneland and has sported them in each of his four starts this year.
“At the time, he was a bit lazy, and you had to make him do everything. You still do,” Colebrook said of the decision to add blinkers. “He’s a horse that needs an aggressive rider and Kimura really fits him well.”
Trendsetter launched his sophomore season in January off a three-month layoff with a closing 1 1/4-length second in the 6 1/2-furlong Turfway Prevue and followed with a two-length fourth in the seven-furlong Spectacular Bid, which was rescheduled to February 4 at Laurel Park.
“We took him up to Laurel and ran him seven furlongs on the dirt, but I think he wanted to stretch out and he didn’t really love that race track,” Colebrook said.
He landed a grinding third in his two-turn debut in the 1 1/16-mile Rushaway won by returning rival Bull by the Horns in March at Turfway Park ahead of his Lexington coup over dirt.
Trendsetter exited the Lexington to breeze a sharp half-mile in 47.80 seconds on May 1 at Keeneland, the third-fastest of 100 works at the distance on the day.
“It seems like he’s really an improving horse. He’s never been much of a work horse but his last work after the race was really good,” Colebrook said. “Hopefully, he’s an improving type and we can have some fun with him this summer.
“The work before the Lexington he touted himself a little bit – he had a big gallop out,” Colebrook added. “But he worked really well the other day.”
Colebrook trusts Kimura to keep Trendsetter to task when making his Big A debut.
“He’s a grinder,” Colebrook said. “He keeps coming with his run, but you have to make sure he doesn’t leave you too much to do because he’s not a real aggressive horse. You have to force the issue a bit.”
Colebrook said a win in the Peter Pan could see the connections ante up the required $50,000 to become Triple Crown eligible for the Belmont Stakes.
“We’d have to think about it, for sure,” Colebrook said.
Trendsetter initially sold for $22,000 at the 2024 Keeneland January Horses of All Ages Sale and subsequently brought $25,000 at the 2024 Fasig-Tipton Midlantic Eastern Fall Yearling Sale. He caught the eye of Midway Racing proprietor Davant Latham at last year’s OBS Spring Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training, working in 10 seconds flat before being hammered down for $130,000.
Trendsetter is out of the Astrology mare Suyapa, a half-sister to Grade 3-placed Above Fashion. His second dam is multiple stakes-winning sprinter Holy Fashion.
Peachtree Stable and Mark Corrado’s Triple Crown-nominated Bull by the Horns [post 4, Micah Husbands] enters from the aforementioned score in the Rushaway for trainer Saffie Joseph, Jr.
There, the Essential Quality grey rallied from last-of-7 and 9 3/4-lengths off the pace under Hall of Famer John Velazquez, but lugged in through the final turn and brushed with Steel Imperium. The two foes battled side-by-side the rest of the way with Bull by the Horns notching a half-length score over Steel Imperium with Trendsetter another 3 1/4-lengths back in third. A claim of foul against the winner by Steel Imperium jockey Vincent Cheminaud was disallowed by the stewards.
Joseph, Jr. said the strong effort made up for a distant seventh in the Grade 2 Fountain of Youth on February 28 at Gulfstream Park.
“He’s a horse that we thought would get better,” Joseph, Jr. said. “He ran disappointing in the Fountain of Youth. We brought him back quickly in the Rushaway and he won well from a spot far back.”
Joseph, Jr. said he believes Bull by the Horns can show the same turn-of-foot on dirt as he did on synthetic.
“I think he gets over the dirt fine, but that performance his most visually impressive to date,” Joseph, Jr. said. “He was so far back in the race that after the first quarter you would think he had no shot. Johnny let him settle and make one run and he said to me after, ‘maybe that’s the way you have to ride him.’
“I know the synthetic might have helped him that day, but I think he can be a dirt horse,” Joesph, Jr. added. “He’s won on the dirt and the only bad race on his record was the Fountain of Youth.”
Joseph, Jr. said he wasn’t concerned about the bumping in the stretch run of the Rushaway.
“I think he was just mentally waiting on the other horse once he got to the front. Seeing the horse that ran third come back and win the Lexington boosted his form,” Joseph, Jr. said.
Bull by the Horns, a $75,000 Keeneland September Yearling Sale purchase, graduated at second asking in November traveling one-mile over the Gulfstream main track. He was third in his seasonal debut in January at Tampa Bay Downs ahead of the Fountain of Youth.
Bull by the Horns is out of the dual stakes-placed Blame mare No Sweat – a half-sister to 2013 Grade 3 Iowa Derby-winner Looking Cool. His second dam is multiple graded stakes-placed Coolwind.
SBS Global’s well-related maiden winner Azam [post 2, Jose Lezcano] enters his two-turn debut from a prominent third-out graduation on April 18 at Gulfstream Park. There, the Jose D’Angelo trainee stretched out to one-mile for the first time and posted a two-length score at odds of 12-1, while covering the distance in 1:37.37. The win returned a 76 Beyer that saw a game Azam battle outside a pair of rivals for the early lead before establishing command through the turn and galloping out well after the wire.
Azam, purchased for $165,000 at the Keeneland September Yearling Sale, won by a nose in his June debut at Gulfstream but was disqualified and placed second for crowding runner-up Khon Han in deep stretch. He returned to action on March 29 when third in a six-furlong maiden just three weeks ahead of his maiden coup.
“We always thought he was a good horse,” D’Angelo said. “He came from the layoff and the first race was a little short for him. Last time, he proved he can handle running longer. We’re looking forward to running him two turns over there.”
The McKinzie colt, out of the Bernardini mare Rockadelic, is a half-brother to recent Group 1 Dubai World Cup-winner Magnitude [13-7-2-1, $8,544,365], who also notched wins last year in the Grade 2 Clark and Grade 2 Risen Star along with a score in this year’s Grade 3 Razorback.
“He’s very balanced and a beautiful horse,” D’Angelo said. “We picked him out at Keeneland before anyone knew about Magnitude. He was always training good and gave us a lot of confidence.”
Azam has breezed back twice over dirt at Palm Meadows Training Center, including a half-mile in 51.35 seconds Saturday.
“He’s very sharp and always improving every single week,” D’Angelo said. “After the first time out when he won and got DQ’d, we had to give time to him. Now, he’s ready again.”
D’Angelo believes the added distance and two turns will benefit Azam.
“I think he can handle that very well. The two turns will help him a lot,” D’Angelo said.
Five-time Eclipse Award-winning trainer Chad Brown will send out Klaravich Stables’ maiden winner Growth Equity [post 3, Flavien Prat].
The Nyquist colt enters from a prominent 4 1/4-length third-out graduation in a one-turn mile maiden on March 20 at the Big A. There, the bay colt exited the inside post and was maneuvered into an outside stalking position by Manny Franco as Swiss Army Knife led the four-horse field through a half-mile in 46.49 seconds. Growth Equity responded when asked and surged to the lead midway through turn, drawing away from his rivals while kept to task to stop the clock in 1:36.71. The winning effort for the Triple Crown-nominated bay earned a career-best 89 Beyer.
The $425,000 Keeneland September Yearling Sale purchase, who landed a one-length second in each of his first two outings, is out of the Grade 3-placed Wildcat Heir mare My Dear Venezuela – a half-sister to Grade 2-placed multiple stakes-winner Selva.
New York-bred Talk to Me Jimmy [post 5, Manny Franco] will look to return to winning form following a 4 1/2-length eighth last out in the Grade 2 Wood Memorial presented by Resorts World Casino on April 4 at the Big A. There, the Modernist bay pressed the pace of Grade 1-winner Napoleon Solo from second position and battled on gamely to the top of the lane before tiring inside the final furlong.
Trained and co-owned by Rudy Rodriguez with SEI Thoroughbreds and Michael Imperio, Talk to Me Jimmy, who is Triple Crown-nominated, entered the Wood Memorial from a pair of eye-catching pacesetting local scores.
He graduated at third asking by 5 1/2-lengths in a one-mile state-bred maiden event in November ahead of a sparkling stakes debut on February 6 that saw the talented bay romp the nine-furlong Listed Withers by 11 lengths over the maiden Grittiness, who exited that event to finish second in the Virginia Derby. The Withers effort garnered Talk to Me Jimmy an 82 Beyer.
Bred in the Empire State by Majestic View Farms, Intl., Talk to Me Jimmy, out of the 10-time winning Trippi mare Prairie Trip, has banked $178,600 via a 4-2-0-1 ledger.
Gulfy [post 6, Kendrick Carmouche] is the most experienced horse in the field with a 2-1-0 record from seven starts. Trained by Gustavo Rodriguez for owner Tommy Torres, the Constitution colt was initially purchased for $500,000 at the Keeneland September Yearling Sale.
He was claimed two starts back for $50,000 from a sixth-out graduation traveling a one-turn mile over muddy and sealed footing here on February 26. There, Gulfy made every pole a winning one to score by 5 1/2-lengths over First Blessing, who exited that event to capture a local $75,000 maiden optional-claimer.
Gulfy, with Kendrick Carmouche up, won at first asking for new connections on March 27 here in a one-mile starter event with a prominent head score over Bold Love that registered a 79 Beyer – four points better than his previous best from his maiden score.
Rodriguez said the veteran rider was suitably impressed with Gulfy.
“Kendrick told me when you send this horse a mile and an eighth, I think he’s going to be even better. I agree with him, but we will find out,” Rodriguez said.
Rodriguez is cautiously optimistic he has another solid claim on his hands with Gulfy needing to take a big step forward to match stablemate Phileas Fogg, who was haltered by the veteran conditioner for $62,500 and since won six starts led by last year’s Grade 2 Suburban presented by Subourbon.
“He’s a very nice looking horse,” Rodriguez said of Gulfy. “Right now, he’s training good, so we just have to hope for the best. Let’s hope he can keep improving because this race is going to be tough.”
Gulfy, out of the stakes-winning Union Rags mare Gulf Coast, is a full brother to stakes-winner Admiral Dennis, who ran fourth in last year’s Grade 1 Blue Grass at Keeneland.
The Peter Pan is slated as Race 9 on Saturday’s 11-race card which also features the Grade 3, $175,000 John A. Nerud in Race 6, the Grade 2, $200,000 Ruffian in Race 7, and the $150,000 Take the A Train in Race 8. First post is 1:10 p.m. Eastern.
America’s Day at the Races will present live coverage and analysis of the Belmont at the Big A spring/summer meet on the networks of FOX Sports. For the broadcast schedule and channel finder, visit https://www.nyra.com/aqueduct/racing/tv-schedule/.
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