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Trainer Ray Handal reported that all was well with Celtic Striker the morning after a 19 3/4-length romp in Thursday's Easy Goer, which scratched down to a field of two at Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y.

The newly minted stakes victor earned an 80 Beyer Speed Figure for the triumph and Handal said Celtic Striker's next start could take place in the Grade 3, $100,000 Peter Pan on July 16 at Saratoga Race Course.

“He's looking really good. Came back like it was just a walk in a park,” Handal said. “He ran though. It wasn't like he went around there and galloped. He didn't just canter around there. He performed. He ran hard.”

Normally contested at Belmont Park, the Peter Pan, a 1 1/8-mile event for 3-year-olds, found a home at The Spa for this year's summer meet following a readjustment to the stakes schedule due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, it offers the Top 4 finishers 50-20-10-5 qualifying points towards the Grade 1, $3 million Kentucky Derby on Sept 5 at Churchill Downs.

“It's a little sooner than I want to but the way he came out of it that's the short term goal,” said Handel who also offered the Grade 2, $150,000 Jim Dandy on September 5 at Saratoga as another possibility.

Celtic Striker, bred in Kentucky by Stoneview Farm and Craig D. Upham, scored a third lifetime victory in seven starts in the Easy Goer. Two starts after a second-out graduation at Monmouth Park in October, he defeated winners at Parx Racing. He was purchased for $100,000 from the 2018 Keeneland September Yearling Sale.

Celtic Striker's win in the Easy Goer marked the first match race on the NYRA circuit since Painted Poney topped Epiphany in a claiming sprint on January 29, 2015 at Aqueduct Racetrack.

Handal also said stakes-placed Kansas Kis, second to Water White in the March 7 Busher Invitational at Aqueduct, will receive a freshening in preparation for a campaign during the second half of the year.

“She's been running hard. She just needed some time off, so we gave her 60 days and we'll look for a big second half of the year with her,” Handal said.

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Imperial Racing's Celtic Striker bested Courtlandt Farm's Sonneman by 19 3/4-lengths in Thursday's $80,000 Easy Goer, a 1 1/16-miles test for sophomores reduced to just two contenders after scratches at Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y.

The Easy Goer marked the first match race on the NYRA circuit since Painted Poney topped Epiphany in a claiming sprint on January 29, 2015 at Aqueduct Racetrack.

Trained by Ray Handal and piloted by Saturday's Grade 1 Belmont Stakes-winning rider Manny Franco, Celtic Striker took command out of the gate and never looked back.

A second-out maiden winner at Monmouth Park in October, Celtic Striker rattled off splits of 23.55 and 46.55 second on the fast main track with Sonneman, piloted by Jose Ortiz, tracking outside.

Sonneman attempted an inside move approaching the turn, but Celtic Striker continued to improve his advantage through three-quarters in 1:10.50. Celtic Striker angled wide into the lane and galloped clear down the center of the Belmont stretch run for the open lengths score in a final time of 1:42.37. Informative, Casino Grande and Prodigious Bay were early scratches from the Easy Goer, with Toy scratched at the gate.

Handal said he felt confident throughout the unique event.

“I felt good early on. I could tell he was really travelling well,” said Handal. “Jose [Ortiz, aboard Sonneman] tried to angle him in early on the backside and make a little bit of a middle move, but when Celtic Striker kicked away from him and then came back over in front of him, I felt pretty good. I knew there was a lot of running to do. But I knew he was going to be tough the way he was travelling out there.”

A $100,000 Keeneland September Yearling Sale purchase, Celtic Striker – by Congrats – captured an optional-claiming mile in February at Parx, but was off-the-board in three previous stakes attempts when fourth in the Jerome in January at the Big A; 11th in the Grade 3 Gotham in March at Aqueduct; and sixth last out in the Grade 3 Matt Winn on May 23 at Churchill Downs.

Franco said he wanted to utilize Celtic Striker's gate speed to his advantage.

“I knew that my horse was a lot faster than the other one, so I took advantage,” said Franco. “I just wanted to keep him on the inside to see what kind of move he made, and I made my move first. In a two-horse race, I didn't want to move too soon if I didn't have to, but I wanted to make it difficult for the other horse, too.”

Sonneman, who was making his first start for Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen in the Easy Goer, was a winner at third asking in October at Belmont Park in a one-turn mile on Big Sandy for his former conditioner Mark Hennig. He made his sophomore debut a winning one last out when rallying from last-of-eight to capture an optional-claiming sprint at Gulfstream Park.

Ortiz said he knew his colt would be at a disadvantage in the scratch-reduced field.

“My horse comes from off the pace. Clearly, it would have benefited me with a bigger field,” said Ortiz. ” I broke OK. I tried to push Manny a little bit to ensure an honest pace. My plan was to be up as close as I could and try to wear him out late, but when Manny asked his horse, he just drew away from me.”

Bred in Kentucky by Stoneview Farm Inc. and Craig D. Upham, Celtic Striker banked $44,000 in victory while improving his record to 6-3-1-0. He paid $5.50 as the 8-5 second choice in wagering.

Live racing resumes Friday with a nine-race card headlined by the $75,000 Hessonite for older filly and mare turf sprinters in Race 8 at 5:04 p.m. Eastern. First post is 1:15 p.m.

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