Cairo Prince will face a large, competitive group of
two-year-olds when he makes his first start against winners in the Grade 2,
$250,000 Nashua on Sunday at Aqueduct.
The Nashua, one of two graded stakes on the card, will be
joined by the Grade 3, $250,000
Tempted for
two-year-old fillies. Both races will
be contested at one mile on the main track.
In his lone start, Cairo Prince raced just off the early
leader in second before claiming the lead approaching the quarter-pole and
driving clear to a 2 3/4-length victory in a six-furlong maiden special weight on
October 6 at Belmont Park.
“Nice horse,” said trainer Kiaran McLaughlin of Cairo
Prince, who is by first-crop sire Pioneerof the Nile. “This is a big step up from a
maiden win, but it seems like we do that all of the time with the young ones. He
should get the distance. He’s doing well and worked well (on Sunday when breezing
four furlongs over Belmont’s fast training track in :48 4/5).”
Cairo Prince, the 4-1 second choice on the morning-line,
will leave from the far outside in the field of 12 under Luis Saez.
Like Cairo Prince, Noble Moon will
stretch out in distance when he makes his second start in the Nashua. Placed on
the lead in a six-furlong maiden race on September 14 at Belmont, Noble Moon
dictated the pace and dug in to win by three-quarters of a length.
After looking at several options for Noble Moon, trainer
Leah Gyarmati opted to enter the Malibu Moon colt in the Nashua.
“The (Grade 1) Champagne (on October 5 at Belmont) was a little too
quick, so the timing wasn’t right,” Gyarmati explained. “We thought
about running in (a sprint) stakes, but we want to try him long and see how he
does. I think he’s bred to go long, and he has the mind to do it. He’s shown in
the morning he will run all day. Obviously, he needs to improve his numbers, but
we’re hopeful he will.”
Noble Moon, 12-1 on the morning line, will depart from post
6 with Alex Solis aboard.
Trainer Pletcher has entered a pair in both the Nashua and
the Tempted. In the Nashua, he will be represented by Intense Holiday and Master
Lightning.
Intense Holiday led at every call to break his maiden by 3
1/2 lengths in his second start, a one-mile race around two turns in August at
Monmouth Park. He enters the Nashua off a fifth, beaten 8 1/2 lengths by stablemate Havana, in the one-mile Champagne
going one turn at
Belmont.
“Intense Holiday just missed fourth in the Champagne, and
this will be a little class relief for him,” Pletcher noted.
Master Lightning, in
contrast, will be stepping up in class off a 1 3/4-length maiden win going 1 1/16
miles on October 5 at Belmont. He has made one other start, a runner-up finish
in September at Belmont.
Javier Castellano will ride Intense Holiday, 6-1, from post
2 while Hall of Famer John Velazquez has the call aboard Master
Lightning, who drew post 8 and was installed at 8-1 on the morning line.
The 7-2 morning line favorite for the Nashua is Manhattan
Johnnie, who posted a 5 1/2-length victory in his only start, a six-furlong maiden
special weight contested over the sloppy, sealed main track at Belmont on
September 21. Trained by
Eddie Kenneally, Manhattan Johnnie will leave from post 11 with Jose Lezcano at
the helm.
In the Tempted, Stonetastic will attempt to go one better
after just missing in second as the favorite in her graded debut, the Pocahontas, on September 7 at Churchill Downs.
The gray daughter of Mizzen Mast romped by 12 1/2
lengths in her first start, a 5 1/2-furlong maiden special weight at Monmouth Park
in August. Trying two turns when stretched out to 1 1/16 miles in the
Pocahontas, she stalked the pace before making a three-wide bid, led in midstretch and was tagged late by Untapable, who prevailed by a half-length.
Although Stonetastic will be competing in a one-turn race
in the Tempted, trainer Kelly Breen believes the filly’s destiny lies in
two-turn events.
“(The Pocahontas) was a good race to try her around two
turns, and she did everything but win and came up only a half-length short,”
he said. “We’re hoping to try
her around two turns again, and she has some grass in her pedigree, so we can
try that down the road.
“She posts fast times in her workouts but we’ve been
working on getting her to settle down and rate. We’re happy with the way she
rated last time, and we’re hoping she’ll rate again in (in the Tempted). With
the race being one turn, the first quarter-mile might be a little quicker, which
could help her rate.”
Stonetastic, installed as the 2-1 morning-line second
choice, will leave from post 2 with Joe Bravo in the irons.
Stopchargingmaria, one of two entrants for
Pletcher in the Tempted, also brings graded-placed form into the Tempted.
After debuting a 5 1/2-length winner at Saratoga in July, the Tale of the Cat
filly finished second by 5
3/4 lengths in the Spa’s Spinaway on September 1 and third
by four lengths in the Frizette on October 5 at Belmont.
Pletcher’s second entrant in the six-filly field, Potosi’s Silver, enters the
Tempted off a 6 1/4-length maiden win in a 5 1/2-furlong maiden race on September 22
at Belmont. The Badge of Silver lass was previously second to Gracer,
also entered in the Tempted, when traveling that same distance in her August 25
debut at Saratoga.
“Potosi’s Silver seemed to handle her last assignment well
so we’ll see how she handles the stretch out in distance,” Pletcher
remarked. “Stopchargingmaria
has run well every time, and this should suit her.”
Castellano has the assignment aboard Stopchargingmaria, 9-5, from post 5, while Velazquez will ride Potosi’s
Silver, 4-1, from the rail.
Completing the Tempted field are Gracer, third in the Matron; Divided Attention, fourth in the Frizette; and Derek’s Girl,
winner of a Del Mar maiden claimer.
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