Masmak set for stakes debut in Listed $150K Excelsior

FMQ Stables’ Masmak will make his stakes debut in Saturday’s Listed $150,000 Excelsior for older horses, at Aqueduct Racetrack.

The Excelsior, which has seen its distance increased by one furlong this year to 1 1/4-miles, is slated as Race 11 on Saturday’s stacked 13-race program headlined by the Grade 2, $750,000 Wood Memorial presented by Resorts World Casino in Race 12. The 100th running of the Wood Memorial offers 100-50-25-15-10 Kentucky Derby qualifying points to the top-five finishers. 

Wood Memorial Day will also feature the Grade 2, $300,000 Carter presented by NYRA Bets [Race 10] at seven furlongs for older horses; the Grade 3, $200,000 Gazelle [Race 9] at nine furlongs for sophomore fillies offering 100-50-25-15-10 Kentucky Oaks qualifying points to the top-five finishers; and the Grade 3, $175,000 Distaff [Race 7], a seven-furlong contest for older fillies and mares. First post is 12:10 p.m. Eastern.

Masmak [post 8, Manny Franco, 120 pounds] has made a steady progression since joining the Rick Dutrow, Jr. barn last fall, posting a record of 6-4-2-0 with all four wins coming at the Big A.

However, Dutrow, Jr., who will also send out a leading Wood Memorial contender in Captain Cook, said he may scratch Masmak should forecasted wet weather next weekend create a sloppy track. Dutrow, Jr. previously scratched Masmak from the Listed Queens County which returning rival Phileas Fogg won over a sloppy and sealed track on December 29 here.

“He has went through the steps. He is just a nice horse,” Dutrow, Jr. said. “I’m praying for rain for Captain Cook, but I will scratch Masmak if it comes up off, and I don’t know why, it is just a feeling that I don’t want to run him on an off track, yet, until we have to.”

The 4-year-old Vino Rosso chestnut, a $475,000 purchase at the 2023 OBS Spring Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training, launched his career with a trio of off-the-board efforts for dual Eclipse Award-winner Brad Cox. Since moving to New York, Masmak has transformed into a competitive colt in the older division, showing promise here with back-to-back wins traveling a one-turn mile when graduating in October before besting a 10-horse strong allowance field in November.

Masmak stretched out to nine furlongs in optional-claiming company for his most recent two outings, pouncing to a 2 3/4-length victory with Jose Gomez up in February ahead of a three-length score over returning rival Mama’s Gold on March 7 with Aqueduct winter meet-leading rider Manny Franco at the helm. The latter effort registered a career-best 95 Beyer Speed Figure.

Dutrow, Jr. said Masmak should relish the added distance.

“I love it for him. I kind of love it,” Dutrow, Jr. said. “I’ve been seeing it since he’s been going a mile. We were thinking, ‘Man, we have got to send you two turns.’ And when we did, it seems like he’s grinding, grinding and grinding, and the two jockeys have said to send him longer, so we are trying. We have a nice spot picked out. Hopefully, it is a fast track, and we can watch him run over it. I’d love to run him here next time.”

Dutrow, Jr. said he expects another strong effort from the tactical colt, who finished top-two in each of his six outings for the veteran conditioner, beginning with a rallying second in September at Saratoga Race Course.

“He’s got natural speed to him. Going two turns, he’s not far off the pace,” Dutrow, Jr. said. “The first time I ever ran him was at Saratoga, and man we loved him and watching him run that day. He came running going seven furlongs with Joel Rosario, and we saw that day that we had a racehorse. He’s been following it up the right way.”

Masmak, out of the graded stakes-placed Harlan’s Holiday mare Nite in Rome, is a half-brother to dual graded stakes-winning millionaire Three Technique and multiple graded stakes-placed Stan the Man.

Juddmonte’s Kentucky homebred Batten Down [post 3, Joel Rosario, 118 pounds] will make the second start of his 4-year-old campaign for Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott.

The regally-bred Tapit colt, out of the multiple Grade 1-winner and 2014 Champion Older Mare Close Hatches, is a full-brother to the Mott-trained multiple graded stakes-winner Tacitus. He is also a full-brother to dual graded stakes-winner Scylla, who is still in training for Mott.

Batten Down graduated in impressive fashion last April at Churchill Downs traveling 10 furlongs ahead of a win in the nine-furlong Grade 3 Ohio Derby in June at Thistledown. He followed with a pair of starts at Saratoga, landing third in the nine-furlong Grade 2 Jim Dandy presented by Mohegan Sun before setting the pace en route to a fifth-place finish in the 10-furlong Grade 1 DraftKings Travers.

The talented colt returned to winning form in the 1 3/16-mile Bourbon Flight in September at Churchill and closed out his sophomore season in November with a pacesetting fourth as the mutuel favorite in the local nine-furlong Discovery.

Batten Down was an even fourth in the 1 1/16-mile Grade 3 Mineshaft on February 15 at Fair Grounds and has since posted a trio of works at Payson Park in Florida, including a bullet half-mile Friday in 48.40 seconds.

Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher will send out a strong pair in graded stakes-winner Crupi [post 4, Dylan Davis, 124 pounds] and stakes-placed Classic Catch [post 2, Javier Castellano, 118 pounds, blinkers ON].

Repole Stable and St. Elias Stables’ Crupi made the grade traveling the Excelsior distance in June at Saratoga when he closed to a half-length victory over Bendoog in the Grade 2 Suburban.

The 5-year-old Curlin horse boasts a perfect in-the-money record of 8-2-3-2 at the Big A that includes a pair of nine-furlong Listed scores in 2023 in the Discovery and Queens County.

"The fact that he really likes Aqueduct and the race now being a mile and a quarter suits him very well,” Pletcher said.

Crupi is twice Grade 1-placed with a third-place finish in the 2024 Pegasus World Cup Invitational at Gulfstream Park to go along with a runner-up effort in the Spa’s Whitney in August. He will look to return to winning form following a pair of distant off-the board efforts in the Grade 1 Pegasus World Cup Invitational in January and the Grade 3 Razorback Handicap last out on February 23 at Oaklawn Park.

"It was a speed-favoring racetrack that day at Oaklawn and probably a little too short for him,” Pletcher said. “It was the wrong set up for him that day, but hopefully getting him back to Aqueduct and getting back out to a mile and a quarter will get him back on his 'A' game."

Pletcher noted a clean start would benefit Crupi, whose past performance lines denote a number of trouble lines.

"He's a horse that even going back to his 2-year-old days was always finding himself struggling to get away from the gate and put himself in the correct position,” Pletcher said. “He's improved in that area over time, but he can still get in a tangle if he's not careful."

Crupi is out of the winning Malibu Moon mare Don’tforgetaboutme – a half-sister to graded stakes winners Red Ruby and Mo Tom as well as dual Grade 1-placed Beautician.

Whisper Hill Farm’s Classic Catch has made two previous starts at 10 furlongs with both coming in off-the-turf events in 2023 when taking an optional-claiming route at Saratoga ahead of a runner-up effort in the Listed Jockey Club Derby Invitational.

Pletcher was particularly impressed by the Spa effort that earned Classic Catch a career-best 100 Beyer.

"I think you could argue that win at Saratoga was perhaps his best race. If he can reproduce that, it puts him in with a chance in here,” Pletcher said.

The 5-year-old Classic Empire horse, out of the graded stakes-winning Malibu Moon mare Moon Catcher, has made his last seven starts in optional-claiming company, including a pair of on-the-board efforts this year here. He landed third last out in the March 7 optional-claimer won by Masmak.

"I think the mile and a quarter suits him. His last race was maybe better than it looks on paper,” Pletcher said. “It was kind of a paceless race that he was always playing catch-up in. Hopefully, that race and a couple breezes since moves him forward again."

Patricia Moseley’s Kentucky homebred Curbstone [post 5, Maddy Olver, 118 pounds], a last-out fourth in the one-mile Listed Stymie here on March 1, will stretch out in distance for trainer Tom Morley.

The 6-year-old Street Sense gelding was off-the-board in last year’s Excelsior at nine furlongs, but Morley believes that the addition of another eighth of a mile will benefit his charge as he exits post 5 in rein to regular pilot Maddy Olver.

"He's doing great, and he worked super the other day,” Morley said of a half-mile breeze Friday in 48.22 seconds over the Belmont dirt training track. “I think the 10 furlongs should really suit him.

“He loves this place,” added Morley, regarding the gelding that has won five times over the Big A main track. “They're coming to his backyard and over his distance - no doubt, he'll be a longshot again, but Curbstone, Maddy and I don't look at the board when they go out there."

Curbstone made a pair of nine-furlong starts here ahead of the Stymie, finishing second in the Listed Queens County in December ahead of a rallying neck allowance win in January to bring an end to Phileas Fogg’s win streak. Both those efforts earned 88 Beyers.

Morley said Curbstone has improved steadily since joining his barn late in 2022.

"We've learned more about him. He's a horse you can't interfere with in a race,” Morley said. “You have to let him do what he wants and if he wants to be in front, you let him. If he's coming from off the pace, you mustn't ride the other horses. If he's rolling, you go with him...and Maddy does that beautifully on him. He's not a horse that wants to be told what to do because he could go around here twice, to be honest. When he's ready to go, you go."

Curbstone, a half-brother to multiple graded stakes-winner Proctor’s Ledge, has banked $436,670 through a 27-6-6-0 record with five of those wins coming at the Big A.

Jonathan Hardoon’s stakes-winning New York-bred Mama’s Gold [post 7, Romero Maragh, 118 pounds] will test his mettle in open company for trainer James Ferraro.

The 5-year-old Bolt d’Oro bay posted back-to-back triple-digit Beyer Speed Figures in nine-furlong routes here when an emphatic frontrunning winner of both the Empire Classic [103] against fellow state-breds on October 27 and an open optional-claiming score [102] on December 12.

Mama’s Gold shortened up to seven-furlongs when a pacesetting fifth in the state-bred Say Florida Sandy in February and enters from a pacesetting second to Masmak in the aforementioned optional-claimer on March 7 where he hopped in the air inside 40 yards to the finish – marking the second time he has hopped late in the lane, including in the December optional-claimer.

In attempting to alleviate that issue, Ferraro worked Mama’s Gold with a shadow roll on Saturday as the talented bay covered a half-mile in 49.28 over the Belmont dirt training track in company with stakes-placed Willintoriskitall [49.34].

"He worked good. The track was in real good shape,” Ferraro said. “We put a shadow roll on him. Hopefully, it will do the trick. I guess he's been looking around at everything. I might have to tell the rider to keep the horse's mind on his business.”

Ferraro said Mama’s Gold should appreciate the stretch out in distance.

"He should handle it OK. He seems to get an easier lead going long when he gets to relax on the lead,” Ferraro said.

Mama’s Gold, claimed for $25,000 from a third-out maiden-breaking romp in January 2023, is out of the winning Speightstown mare In Spite of Mama, whose progeny include dual graded stakes-winning millionaire My Mane Squeeze and graded stakes-placed Rotknee.

Rounding out a competitive field are graded stakes-placed Film Star [post 1, Jose Lezcano, 122 pounds] for Aqueduct winter meet-leading trainer Linda Rice; and stakes-winner Phileas Fogg [post 6, Kendrick Carmouche, 122 pounds] for trainer Gustavo Rodriguez. 

America’s Day at the Races will present live coverage and analysis of the Aqueduct Racetrack spring meet on the networks of FOX Sports. For the broadcast schedule and channel finder, visit https://www.nyra.com/aqueduct/racing/tv-schedule/.

NYRA Bets is the official wagering platform of Aqueduct Racetrack, and the best way to bet every race of the spring meet. Available to horse players nationwide, the NYRA Bets app is available for download today on iOS and Android at www.NYRABets.com.