The Armed Forces, a stakes for 2-year-olds originally scheduled to be run at a mile on turf, co-headlined Saturday's 12-race program with the $75,000 Our Dear Peggy, a one-mile turf stakes for 2-year-old fillies that was also run at seven furlongs on turf.

Eldon's Prince, a long-striding son of Cairo Prince who was sent to post as the 7-5 favorite in a field reduced by scratches to eight starters, got away seventh and made steady progress along the backstretch as Golden Juan and Night Jumper vied for the lead while setting fractions of :22.55 and :45.48 for the first half-mile. Eldon's Prince, who launched a three-wide drive leaving the backstretch under Edgard Zayas, built up momentum on the far turn to enter contention while going for wide on the turn into the homestretch. No Nay Franklin who stalked the early pacesetters, got the jump on the favorite to take the lead in the stretch, where he put up a good fight but was unable to hold off the winner.

“We didn't want to change surfaces so quick. We always wanted to try him on dirt later down the lane at a longer distance. We talked it over with A.P. Gentry, the owner of Gentry Farm, and he said, 'Roll the dice and see what happens,'” trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. said. “He always trained well on dirt. He's going to want to run longer, a mile, a mile-and-an-eighth, the longer the better. He just has the ability to overcome something that is not his niche.”

Eldon's Prince, who ran seven furlongs in 1:25.02, debuted on turf and finished a late-running second in a 5-furlong dash Aug. 1. Three weeks later, the Ontario-bred colt romped to a six-length victory in the Proud Man.

Patrick Biancone-trained No Nay Franklin, who was making only his second start after losing by a rapidly diminishing neck in a third-place finish at five-furlongs on turf, was six lengths clear of a tiring Golden Juan.

Eldon's Prince was Zayas' only mount on the day after the Spring/Summer Meet's leading rider was unseated from his mount and fell hard to the track.

“Edgard gave him a great ride. He fell heavily [Friday],” Joseph said. “He showed guts to ride this horse today. It shows how tough these jockeys are.”

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The Saffie Joseph Jr.-trained son of Cairo Prince, the 2-1 second choice ridden by leading jockey Edgard Zayas, kicked in through the stretch to register a six-length victory over 6-5 favorite Winging It in the mile turf stakes for 2-year-olds.

Eldon's Prince, a $280,000 purchase at the OBS April sale for 2-year-olds in training, scored his maiden victory in the Proud Man while making a huge step forward from a second-place finish in his Aug. 1 debut.

“I know he was a maiden, but the race looked wide open. Most of them were maidens, and the ones who won weren't all that impressive,” Zayas said. “I had a lot of hope for this horse first time out and I think he ran a huge race. He was a little green. I thought he would be a little sharper today. I've had really high hopes for him from the beginning.”

Eldon's Prince settled in fourth entering the backstretch as Winging It, an unlucky second in his impressive June 23 debut, set a sensible pace. The Jenna Antonucci-trained favorite set fractions of :24.50 and :48.56 for the first half mile, stalked closely by Up Her Sleeve on the outside and Fulton Street along the rail. Zayas asked Eldon's Prince for some run entering the far turn, and the Ontario-bred colt responded with a three-wide sweep into contention. Winging It, who was making his turf debut following his sharp main-track debut, took a narrow lead into the stretch but was no match for Eldon's Prince.

Eldon's Prince ran the mile over a firm turf in 1:36.79. Winging It, ridden by Samy Camacho, held on to finish second, three-quarters of a length ahead of Fulton Street and jockey Jesus Rios.

Eldon's Prince finished 5 ½ lengths behind Mark Casse-trained On Thin Ice after a stretch rally to finish second in his 7 ½-furlong debut on turf.

“The last race I was expecting a really big race from him. On the turn, he wasn't figuring out what he needed to do, and then, in the stretch, he figured it out,” Zayas said. “He was really running at the end, and the horse that beat him is a nice horse.”

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