Not yet. Small, agonizingly flexible words, in the context of a suffocatingly impatient marketplace. By any rational measure, it should still feel like early days in Honor Code's stud career. After all, his forte was always going to be two-turn horses that progress with maturity. And it was only this time last year that one such, Honor A.P., was basking in a decisive defeat of Authentic (Into Mischief) in the GI Santa Anita Derby. Luck would subsequently turn against this vital flagship, thereafter confined to two starts that did inadequate justice to his ability before being forced into retirement–and, indeed, into competition with his sire at Lane's End. But let's not forget that Honor A.P. was the only colt ever to beat the eventual Horse of the Year and, moreover, appeared to do so entirely on merit.

Even so, with only his second crop of sophomores barely halfway through their campaign, Honor Code somehow finds himself at something of a crossroads. For the success of Max Player in the GII Suburban S. last Saturday shone a fairly unsparing light on the fact that for now he remains Honor Code's only other graded stakes winner, besides Honor A.P., with just two other black-type scorers to back them up.

As another graduate of his first crop, of course, the fresh impetus of Max Player may yet be emulated by others responsible for this fitful record to date, which has seen Honor Code's fee halved to $20,000 from an opening $40,000. (A pretty standard slide, of course, as the freshman luster fades.) True, we all need to see Max Player do it again: the track was sloppy, and the runner-up perhaps a little rusty. But he certainly looked like a horse who, having meanwhile joined one of the powerful barns in the land, is belatedly renewing the promise of his GIII Withers S. emergence last year.

Regardless, long experience permits the people behind Honor Code to place in heartening context the teething problems of so many sires who then regrouped to become important contributors to the breed.

“You know, people rush to judgement so early,” says Bill Farish of Lane's End. “And we've seen it over and over again with our stallions: sometimes they just take a little while to get going. Kingmambo's first 2-year-olds just didn't light it up for people, and then he came on like crazy. We had quite a lot of interest in him [at that time] from abroad, but luckily Dad was pretty firm in his belief. And thank goodness. I remember breeding to him I think at $18,000, after he had started at $45,000. And there was a shareholder market significantly below that. What an opportunity that was!”

Before long, in fact, Kingmambo was standing at $300,000.

“We went through a similar experience with Smart Strike,” Farish continues. “And Curlin was another, just the same. It's amazing how everyone forgets now that Curlin went through a tough stretch before he came flying out. In the meantime, unfortunately, he had found a new home. But yes, he went through that same kind of patch. So we're still very optimistic that Honor Code can still go on the same kind of course.”

Having launched a series of new stallions over recent seasons, the farm routinely faces challenging decisions on the distribution of support among the broodmare band. But knowing that Honor Code was hardly likely to produce a bunch of Keeneland sprint maiden winners, he was maintained at full subscription (at least by the wisely temperate standards of this farm) through his first four years at stud. This third group of juveniles, then, represents a book of 154. And, in scanning the horizon for reinforcements, the Lane's End team can already make out the silhouettes of the cavalry.

The retention of several Honor Code yearlings for their racing division reflected a concern that they might be undervalued in a market so shaken by the pandemic. And Shug McGaughey, whose Hall of Fame career includes supervision of Honor Code's own track career, has encouraged them that this strategy will pay off.

“We've got an exciting group of 2-year-olds,” Farish says with enthusiasm. “There's a colt named Informal who's out of the Epsom Oaks winner Casual Look (Red Ransom). He should run in the first grass race up at Saratoga: obviously that makes sense with that female family. Another one who's quite close is Irish Sea, who's out of [multiple graded stakes winner] Irish Jasper (First Defence). I only mention those because they're just a couple of weeks off running, but we have three others that we're very high on. So we'll see.”

Farish acknowledges that some stallions won't make the grade even when, by all the consensus that governs breeding selection, it seems like they just can't miss. But the immediate advent of Honor A.P. really did appear to corroborate the sense of destiny vested in Honor Code, one of 36 named foals in the final crop of A.P. Indy–the breed-shaping farm icon, who finally passed on last year at the venerable age of 31.

Honor Code's maternal family, moreover, complements the aristocratic genes of A.P. Indy: his dam Serena's Cat (Storm Cat) made $1.4 million as a weanling grand-daughter of elite runner and producer Serena's Song (Rahy). And besides extending the Bold Ruler sire-line, Honor Code combines two mares that helped to make Bold Ruler's greatest son Secretariat such an important broodmare sire: A.P. Indy's dam Weekend Surprise, and damsire Storm Cat's mother Terlingua.

A Saratoga debut winner who missed a Grade I by a neck on his second juvenile start, Honor Code was sidelined from the Triple Crown trail by injury but matured into a tremendously charismatic dasher, pouncing from way off the pace in races like the GI Met Mile and, most memorably, the GI Whitney S.

That epic race, where Honor Code nailed Liam's Map on the line, had an intriguing sequel when the first three (Tonalist having also finished well for third) all ended up at Lane's End. And, since renewing their rivalry, they have been somewhat reprising their Whitney performances.

Liam's Map made a similarly explosive start to his stud career, with two Grade I winners among his opening salvo of juveniles immediately elevating his fee from $20,000 to $35,000. Tonalist, in contrast, was away relatively slowly and duly absorbed a series of fee cuts, standing this year at just $12,500. But he has been quietly working his way forwards through this competitive intake (headed by American Pharoah and Constitution): his black-type winners and performers now tally seven and 17, against nine and 16 for Liam's Map, and he recently registered a breakout Grade I success through Country Grammer. Indeed, Tonalist's diligent progress (currently fifth in the third-crop table) makes him look exceptional value–and he could yet become another slow-burning success along the lines of those cited by Farish.

That must also be the hope for Honor Code. This is a notoriously ruthless business and every farm, at some point, must decide when to yield to the prejudices even of a market as foolishly capricious as this one. But Farish is keeping the faith, albeit he acknowledges both that Honor Code needs to retrieve commercial attention and also that he faces an additional challenge in the rivalry of his own son Honor A.P.–introduced as a freshman this spring at a bargain $15,000.

It's a situation that presents difficulties to father and son alike, but they also share a glossy physical allure, showcased in their racing days by the earnest head carriage and raking stride trademarked by A.P. Indy himself.

“People are always a little hesitant to breed to a stallion whose own sire is still young, and hasn't proven himself as a sire of sires,” Farish accepts. “But people that come out and look at them generally end up breeding to them, because they're both very flashy, eye-catching types.”

So while Honor Code's book this time round was evidently down somewhat, from 138 mares in his fourth book and 85 mares in his fifth, he remains absolutely entitled to consideration–not least, in view of that seamless pedigree, by breeders disposed to retain a filly. Perhaps there isn't sufficient commercial oxygen in the modern market for all three of those Whitney protagonists to find a sustainable niche in the Bluegrass. But it's far from clear that the current balance of power, between them, will prove a lasting one. Remember that even their oldest stock has not yet arrived at the point in their careers that they themselves reached that day.

“Tonalist had a decent sort of book this year,” Farish reflects. “I think he's really in the fight, too, along with Honor Code. His race record was phenomenal. People forget that he won the [GIII] Westchester and the [GI] Cigar, and was really a good miler as much as anything. They're not all going to make the grade but they each have the chance to ride it out and come out the other side.

“But yes, while things like Max Player's win are great, you need more than that; you've got to have some new horses, some 2-year-olds coming along. And we're more than hopeful that we do. Sometimes you just need quite a bit of patience. It's interesting how we seem to have more stallions that need a bit of time, where other farms tend to have a bunch of hot 2-year-olds and then it all goes quiet. Ours seem to go a different route. But so long as they show up at some point, I guess it doesn't matter. And there are so many things to like about Honor Code that it's hard to imagine he's not going to come on through.”

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The son of Ghostzapper, out of multiple Grade 1-winning A.P. Indy mare Music Note, arrived at the classic-distance engagement off a 3 ¾-length victory in the $12 million Group 1 Dubai World Cup on March 27 at Meydan Racecourse in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

Although he came up a neck shy of victory in the Suburban, Mystic Guide fought gamely under jockey Luis Saez to the inside of Max Player over the sloppy and sealed racetrack.

Never off the board in nine lifetime starts, Mystic Guide boasts a record of 4-3-2 with previous stakes victories taking place in the Grade 2 Jim Dandy on September 5 at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. and his seasonal commencement in the Grade 3 Razorback on February 27 at Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs, Ark. He brags lifetime earnings in excess of $7.5 million.

Trainer Michael Stidham identified several elements that went against Mystic Guide on Saturday, but said he was happy to see a good performance from his star pupil.

“He looks great. He came out of the race in good shape,” Stidham said. “There were lots of factors involved. He was coming off three months and obviously it was a demanding racetrack he ran on. Saez was forced to go up the rail, which was not the better part of the track. He fought back gamely and valiantly under some unfavorable circumstances.”

While the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Classic remains the ultimate goal, the next step Mystic Guide will take to get there is unknown.

“Nothing about what happened Saturday changed our plans of getting to the Breeders' Cup,” Stidham said. “We'll get him back to training and that will give us some time to compute it all. There are plenty of options.”

Stidham confirmed that Mystic Guide's consistent half-brother and stablemate Gershwin will seek a second consecutive graded stakes triumph in Monday's $250,000 Grade 3 Dwyer Stakes going a one-turn mile over the Belmont main track.

The son of Distorted Humor was a last-out winner of an off-the-turf edition of the Grade 3 Penn Mile on May 28 at Penn National Race Course in Grantville, Pa.

Stidham scratched Gershwin from Saturday's Grade 3 Kent at Delaware Park in favor of the Dwyer. Like Mystic Guide, Gershwin also has never finished off the board, bragging a record of 5-2-1-2.

Stidham also confirmed M and M Stable's graded stakes-winner Princess Grace, who was scratched from Saturday's off-the-turf $100,000 Perfect Sting at Belmont, will race in the $200,000 Grade 3 Dr. James Penny Memorial on July 6 at Parx Racing. The 4-year-old daughter of Karakontie last raced when capturing the Grade 2 Mrs. Revere in November at Churchill Downs.

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The 4-year-old son of third-crop sire Honor Code tracked Moretti's moderate pace and remained in the clear as Mystic Guide made an inside rally around the far turn. Despite Mystic Guide's persistence, Max Player came out on top, besting the odds-on favorite by a neck under jockey Ricardo Santana, Jr.

In capturing the ten-furlong “Win And You're In” qualifier, Max Player earned an automatic entry into the $6 million Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Classic on November 6 at Del Mar in Del Mar, Calif.

Trained by Hall of Famer Steve Asmussen, Max Player was winless in his prior half-dozen starts heading into the Suburban with his previous victory taking place in the Grade 3 Withers last February at Aqueduct. He was subsequently third in last year's Grade 1 Belmont Stakes and Grade 1 Runhappy Travers, both of which were won by Tiz the Law.

“He came out of it in good shape, ate up, got a nice little roll in the grass. He's very happy,” said Asmussen's Belmont-based assistant Toby Sheets.

Max Player arrived at the Suburban off a distant sixth in the Grade 3 Pimlico Special on May 14, and shipped straight to Belmont Park, recording five breezes over the training track.

“He gradually improved; he loves it here,” Sheets said. “He got to do some things that helped him. I'm very happy with him. The way he ran shows how he improved.”

The triumph gave Asmussen a second victory in the Suburban after sending out New York-bred Haynesfield to victory in the 2010 edition.

Bred in Kentucky by K & G Stables, Max Player is out of the stakes-winning Not For Love mare Fools in Love, who also produced Seahenge, a Group 2 winner in England.

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Sloppy after a deluge earlier in the day, the Belmont surface had been kinder to horses running away from the rail, which is where jockey Ricard Santana, Jr. placed Max Player early in the ten-furlong Suburban, just off of leader Moretti. From the break, Moretti held a length advantage over Max Player on his outside and Mystic Guide on his inside, Happy Saver just behind them. In a race that had been billed as another battle between Happy Saver and Mystic Guide, it was Moretti that did all of the early running, with the rest of the field content to wait for the right moment to make their move.

As the field came out of that sweeping final turn, Mystic Guide made his run for the lead on the rail, moving toward the center of the track once he was clear of Moretti. On the outside, Max Player and Santana moved as well, meeting Mystic Guide halfway down the stretch. The two dueled for the race's last furlong with Max Player digging in to win the Suburban by a neck. Mystic Guide, making his first start since winning the Dubai World Cup on March 27, finished 2 1/2 lengths in front of Happy Saver in third. The final time for the mile and a quarter was 2:01.95.

Moretti, Informative, and Prioritize rounded out the field. Find the race's chart here.

The G2 Suburban Stakes is a Win and You're In race for the 2021 Breeders' Cup World Championships at Del Mar in Del Mar, Calif. Winners receive a free and guaranteed spot in the starting gate for the corresponding Breeders' Cup race.

Ricardo Santana, Jr. credited Max Player for his fighting spirit in that stretch duel. “He was training really well,” Santana, Jr. said. “If you saw him in the paddock, he was looking unbelievable. He always runs well on this track. He always tries hard. Today, he broke well and put me right there. I took the spot and no one wanted to go. As soon as he felt him inside, he kept on fighting until the end.”

Trainer Steve Asmussen knew that the clear trip would give his colt confidence to finish the way he did. “He's been here since Pimlico and he had been doing really well,” said Asmussen assistant Toby Sheets. “He's kind of a funny horse. He always has more, but sometimes he doesn't give it. He had a clear trip today and that helped so much. He finished well. He needed a little confidence builder and he got one today. He ran a nice race.”

Bred in Kentucky by K & G Stables, Max Player is a 4-year-old colt by Honor Code out of the Not For Love mare Fools In Love. Consigned by Lane's End, he was a $150,000 RNA at the 2018 Keeneland September Yearling Sale. He is owned by George E. Hall and SportBLX Thoroughbreds and trained by Steve Asmussen. The G2 Suburban is Max Player's third career win in ten starts for earnings of $717,500.

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In addition to his runner-up effort in the Gold Cup last October, Mystic Guide's 3-year-old campaign also included a win in the GII Jim Dandy S. He prepped for his trip to Dubai with a six-length romp over a sloppy track in the Feb. 27 GIII Razorback H., for which he earned a 108 Beyer Speed Figure.

“Obviously, we don't really know how much the sloppy track played into that number,” said trainer Mike Stidham. “He came back in the Dubai World Cup and made the number look like it was real, which was good. We've given him plenty of time and he's had three months since that race to bounce back. Looking at him train and his weight and his coat, he's an absolute picture right now.”

Wertheimer and Frere's Happy Saver is now unbeaten in five career starts after returning from his Gold Cup win last fall with a one-mile allowance tally at Belmont May 28. The 4-year-old debuted a winner last June at Belmont and added a Saratoga allowance victory July 26 before winning the Sept. 7 Federico Tesio S.

“I think as an older horse he's a little more laid back in some of his works,” trainer Todd Pletcher said of Happy Saver. “He always performs well and he's really filled out and matured. For the way he ran in the Jockey Club Gold Cup last year, he's proven he likes that distance and that race looks even stronger now with what Mystic Guide has done.”

Of Mystic Guide's rematch with Happy Saver, Stidham said, “The bottom line is that they're both very good horses. I'm not taking anything for granted. I know Happy Saver has never been beaten and it won't be an easy race for us. I just hope we have the best horse.”

Pletcher also saddles Repole Stable and Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners' Moretti (Medaglia d'Oro), who was second behind Tacitus (Tapit) in last year's Suburban. The 5-year-old was a front-running victor of the 1 3/4-mile Birdstone S. last August in his final 2020 outing. He resurfaced with a third-place effort in the 1 1/2-mile GII Brooklyn S. at Belmont June 5.

“The farther the better for him,” said Pletcher. “He ran OK in here last year and this would be a nice bridge to the Birdstone to try and defend his title there.”

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The contention does not end there, with Informative entering the race off a 79 to 1 upset in the Grade 3 Salvator Mile Stakes last month. Moretti finished third in the Grade 2 Brooklyn Stakes last month following 10 months away from the races and finished second in last year's Suburban so appears to fit here. Max Player and Prioritize round out the field and appear off form, with Max Player coming into the race off a poor sixth place effort in the Grade 3 Pimlico Special and with Prioritize having finished fifth in the same race.

Assuming Mystic Guide is ready to run following a bit over three months off, I think he is more probable to win than Happy Saver based on his win in the Dubai World Cup near the end of March. Now with a record of 4-2-2 in eight career starts, Mystic Guide won the Jim Dandy Stakes last summer as a 3-year-old in only the fifth start of his career, before stretching out to 10 furlongs in the Jockey Club Gold Cup at Belmont last October. In that race, Mystic Guide rallied to make the lead by a head with an eight of a mile to go over Happy Saver but was beaten three-quarters of a length at the end, earning a then career-best 104 Equibase® Speed Figure in the process.

Taking four and one-half months off to mature, Mystic Guide made short work of six other horses in the Razorback Stakes in his 2021 debut in February with a 108 figure, before easily defeating 11 other horses in the Dubai World Cup at the distance of the Suburban. The World Cup effort earned a 115 figure, and considering the Suburban will be his third start of the year we can expect even better. Having put in a nice series of workouts since returning to North America, including a best of 33 drill one week ago at the distance of a half-mile, Mystic Guide gets a slight edge over a very worthy opponent in Happy Saver.

Happy Saver actually earned the best figure of his career in his second career start, last July at Saratoga at nine furlongs. The 116 figure was tremendous being as he had only run once before, winning his debut by five lengths in June at the distance of seven furlongs. Easily winning the Federico Tesio Stakes in September, Happy Saver set his sights on the Jockey Club Gold Cup at this 10 furlong trip and put away Mystic Guide in the final yards to earn a 109 figure. Rested nearly eight months, Happy Saver returned to beat a non-descript field of allowance foes as expected at the end of May with a 99 figure. Considering how well he ran in his second career start last July, we can expect Happy Saver to improve markedly off his 2021 debut and that is why the second match between him and Mystic Guide can be expected to be one to behold.

Informative was disregarded at 30 to 1 two races back when finishing second in an allowance race and earning a career-best 103 figure, then one month later ran even better. In the Salvator Mile Stakes at Monmouth on June 12, Informative rallied from last of 10 to win by a length when completely dismissed by bettors at 79 to 1 odds. The 110 figure appears legitimate and as it is as good as the 108 figure Mystic Guide earned winning the Razorback Stakes and the 109 figure Happy Saver earned winning the Jockey Club Gold Cup, and considering it could be improved upon as Informative is a 4-year-old like the other two contenders, this upstart can't be dismissed as a contender in this race.

The rest of the field, with their best Equibase Speed Figures, is Max Player (99), Moretti (106) and Prioritize (107).

Win Contenders:
Mystic Guide
Happy Saver
Informative

Suburban Stakes – Grade 2
Race 10 at Belmont Park
Saturday, July 3 – Post Time 5:44 PM E.T.
One Mile and One Quarter
Four Year Olds and Upward
Purse: $400,000

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Belmont's Independence Day weekend slate runs July 3 through Monday, July 5, offering six stakes races including a pair of Breeders' Cup Win and You're In qualifiers led by the Grade 2 Suburban [Classic] and the $250,000 Grade 2 John A. Nerud [Sprint], which will see 4-year-olds and up contest at seven furlongs on July 4.

The holiday weekend kicks off July 3 with the $100,000 Perfect Sting Stakes and continues on July 4 with the $100,000 Manila Stakes, while the $250,000 Grade 3 Dwyer Stakes anchors a Monday, July 5 card that also offers the $150,000 Grand Couturier Stakes.

Wertheimer and Frere's Happy Saver, a 4-year-old Super Saver chestnut, completed his sophomore season by making the grade in the 10-furlong Grade 1 Jockey Club Gold Cup with a three-quarter length win over Suburban-rival Mystic Guide in October at Belmont Park.

Happy Saver made his seasonal debut a winning one last out with a one-length score in an optional-claiming mile on May 28 on Big Sandy. At 7:45 a.m. Sunday, a rail-riding Happy Saver worked a half-mile in company with fellow Suburban contender Country Grammer in :49.26 on the Belmont dirt training track.

“I thought it was a good work from both. Happy Saver was just a little bit better at the end of the gallop out, but they both worked well,” said Pletcher. “We'll see how they bounce out of it. I'll talk to Elliott [Walden] at WinStar and talk about the Suburban potentially for Country Grammer. We'll firm that up tomorrow.”

Pletcher said Happy Saver's previous work – five-eighths in :59.40 on the dirt training track in company with Repole Stable and Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners' Moretti – was also impressive.

“We gave him a really solid five-eighths work last week with a big gallop out; that was the one we were looking for,” said Pletcher. “He is coming off just the one start and we're stretching him out to a mile and a quarter, so we wanted to get a good one into him last week.”

Moretti, who is also targeting the Suburban, worked a half-mile in 48.75 Saturday on the Belmont dirt training track.

“We breezed Moretti yesterday, and I think we're on target with him, so we could have as many as three in there,” said Pletcher.

A 5-year-old son of Medaglia d'Oro, out of the Grade 1-winning Concerto mare Rigoletta, Moretti is a half-brother to 2017 Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile-winner Battle of Midway.

Last week, WinStar Farm's Country Grammer worked a half-mile in :49.05 on June 21 in company with Mahaamel on the Belmont training track.

Country Grammer, a 4-year-old Tonalist bay, captured the Grade 1 Gold Cup last out on May 31 at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, Calif. for Hall of Famer Bob Baffert. He was recently transferred to Pletcher.

Pletcher said the change of work partners for Country Grammer was a matter of timing.

“I didn't want to work him too quickly after arriving and I wanted to space him out to get there, so that's just the way it worked out from the time he arrived,” said Pletcher.

In trying to separate a number of his top sophomores, Pletcher said Shadwell Stable's Mahaamel, an Into Mischief colt bred in Kentucky by Clarkland Farm, will target next Monday's one-turn mile G3 Dwyer, while Spendthrift Farm's Following Sea, a Runhappy colt, is pointed to the nine-furlong $1 million Grade 1 Haskell Invitational on July 17 at Monmouth Park in Oceanport, N.J.

“I think we'll go in the Dwyer with Mahaamel. He's going to breeze tomorrow and assuming we're happy with that, we'll go to the Dwyer with him,” said Pletcher. “I spoke to Ned Toffey at Spendthrift and we've decided we'll go to the Haskell with Following Sea.”

A $700,000 purchase at the Keeneland September Yearling Sale, Mahaamel earned a 99 Beyer with the addition of blinkers in his second-out graduation in a seven-furlong maiden special weight on June 4 at Belmont.

Following Sea earned a career-best 100 Beyer winning a 6 ½-furlong allowance sprint against older horses by 6 1/2-lengths on June 3 on Big Sandy.

Red Oak Stable and Madaket Stables' multiple Grade 1-winning 5-year-old Mind Control, recently transferred to Pletcher, worked a half-mile in :48.06 Sunday on the Belmont dirt training track in preparation for the John A. Nerud Stakes.

“He's been a terrific work horse since he came in,” said Pletcher. “We've been targeting this race for a while and he looks good. He's proven he's a really nice horse and he's trained the way you'd expect for a horse with his credentials. He seems like he's doing really well.”

Mind Control, a five-time graded-stakes winner for his former trainer Gregg Sacco, posted both of his Grade 1 wins at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, Ny., capturing the 2018 Hopeful Stakes as a juvenile and added the H. Allen Jerkens Stakes to conclude his sophomore season.

Pletcher said a good result in the Nerud could propel Mind Control to another Grade 1 engagement at Saratoga, with the $600,000 Forego Stakes, a seven-furlong test for older horses on August 28, a possibility.

“We'll see how he does in here, but something like the Forego could be on the radar,” said Pletcher.

Pletcher said Donegal Racing's Shamrocket, a 4-year-old Tonalist colt, could return in the $150,000 Grand Couturier Stakes, a 12-furlong Widener turf test for older horses on July 5 at Belmont. Also under consideration is the 11-furlong Grade 1 United Nations on July 17 at Monmouth Park.

“The Grand Couturier is a possibility,” said Pletcher. “He'll work tomorrow. We've kicked around the United Nations a little bit or even an allowance race at Saratoga.”

Two starts back, Shamrocket closed to finish fourth in the Grade 1 Man o' War Stakes on May 8 at Belmont Park and returned last out to win a 10-furlong turf allowance by a neck on June 11 on the same course.

Repole Stable, Phipps Stable, and St. Elias Stable's Dynamic One breezed five-eighths in 1:01.90 Friday on the Belmont dirt training track.

The Union Rags chestnut, who finished second in the Grade 2 Wood Memorial presented by Resorts World Casino on April 3 at Aqueduct Racetrack in New York, Ny., finished 18th last out in the Grade 1 Kentucky Derby on May 1 at Churchill Downs.

Pletcher said Dynamic One could point to the $120,000 Curlin Stakes, a nine-furlong test for sophomores on July 30 at Saratoga.

“He'll either go to an allowance race or the Curlin,” said Pletcher. “We gave him a little bit of time after the Derby and he's done really well physically and put on some weight. We've freshened him up with a couple of races at Saratoga in mind.”

St. Elias Stable's graded stakes winner Dr Post added blinkers for a half-mile breeze Friday in :49.42 on the Belmont dirt training track.

The Quality Road colt captured the Grade 3 Westchester in his seasonal debut on May 1 at Belmont and finished fifth last out in the Grade 1 Hill 'N' Dale Metropolitan Handicap on June 5.

“We put blinkers on him and I liked the response we got. I'm not sure where his next start will be, but it will be with the addition of blinkers,” said Pletcher.

Dr Post tracked a moderate pace from fifth in the Met Mile but wasn't able to make up ground in the stretch run as a more prominent Silver State pounced to a one-length score.

“He got too far back, and, for a race on paper that you thought would have a lot of pace, it never really developed,” said Pletcher. “He was starting to close into a pace-less race, but it just didn't work out.

“I've had blinkers in mind for a little while,” added Pletcher. “But when he won the Westchester off the layoff, I didn't want to make an equipment change. Now we can make that move.”

Pletcher saddled a pair of contenders in Con Lima and Jouster in the nine-furlong Grade 3 Wonder Again Stakes for sophomore fillies on June 3 on the Belmont turf, a key prep for the 10-furlong  $700,000 Grade 1 Belmont Oaks, the first leg of the Turf Triple series for sophomore fillies on July 10.

Although sent to post as the longer price at 8-1, Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners, Joseph Graffeo, Del Toro, Eric Nikolaus, and Troy Johnson's Con Lima prevailed by a half-length, while the pacesetting Jouster settled for fourth for owners Starlight Racing and Glen Hill Farm.

Pletcher said the experienced Con Lima, who boasts a record of 11-6-4-0 with purse earnings of $379,865, showed more than enough to start the first leg of the Turf Triple.

“She's ultra-consistent. She shows up and runs hard every time,” said Pletcher. “I thought she handled the mile and an eighth really well and it gives us optimism that she'll handle the mile and a quarter.”

Pletcher said Jouster, who captured the one-mile Grade 2 Appalachian Stakes on April 3 at Keeneland, will point to the one-mile $150,000 Grade 3 Lake George Stakes on July 23 at Saratoga.

“She'll go the Lake George. She didn't quite see out the mile and an eighth, so we'll focus on shorter races,” said Pletcher. “That's why we wanted to go in the Wonder Again, to see if maybe we could stretch her out for these lucrative races at longer distances, but I think she's best at a mile.”

Lawana and Robert Low's Sweet Melania, a 4-year-old American Pharoah chestnut, breezed a half-mile in :50.97 on the Oklahoma training turf at Saratoga on Friday.

The multiple graded stakes winner captured last year's Grade 3 Wonder Again but has not raced since finishing last-of-9 in the License Fee Stakes on April 30 at Belmont.

Pletcher said Sweet Melania is under consideration for Saturday's $100,000 Perfect Sting Stakes, a one-mile Widener turf test for older fillies and mares.

“I've not firmly decided yet. I'm looking to see what options I have at Saratoga with her,” said Pletcher.

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Since finishing 11th in the Grade 1 Kentucky Derby earlier this month, Pletcher breezed the Mshawish colt twice on grass. His anticipated turf debut will come in his next start however, as Sainthood is targeting the Grade 1, $1 million Belmont Derby Invitational on July 10, first leg of the Turf Triple series.

Owned by WinStar Farm and CHC, Sainthood broke his maiden over the main track at Fair Grounds Race Course en route to a runner-up finish in the Grade 3 Jeff Ruby Steaks on March 20 over the all-weather surface at Turfway Park.

“I talked to [WinStar Farm CEO and racing manager] Elliot Walden after the race and felt like the Belmont Derby is probably the logical place to point,” Pletcher said Sunday morning. “He still has to prove himself on turf but judging by the way he ran on synthetic and the way he breezes on the turf, he should take to it. It's a big race and we have the option of going back to the dirt down the road, but we'll focus on the turf for now.”

Pletcher said Wertheimer et Frere's Happy Saver will return to graded stakes action in the Grade 2, $400,000 Suburban on July 3, a Breeders' Cup “Win And You're In” event for the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Classic.

The son of 2010 Kentucky Derby winner Super Saver, also trained by Pletcher, made his 4-year-old debut a winning one on Friday against salty allowance company going a one-turn mile at Belmont Park. The conquest, which garnered a 96 Beyer, kept his undefeated record intact with his previous effort taking place in the Grade 1 Jockey Club Gold Cup in October.

A start in the historic 10-furlong test could result in a rematch with Group 1 Dubai World Cup winner Mystic Guide, who previously finished second to Happy Saver in the Jockey Club Gold Cup and also is targeting the Suburban.

“He came out of it in good order, I thought he ran well off the bench,” Pletcher said. “We didn't have him fully cranked up, so being able to come back and win off the layoff off sort of a moderate work tab was good. Hopefully, he'll move forward off that, the Suburban is on the radar. Timing wise, it's good, he's bred to go a mile and a quarter and obviously has already won at that distance. That's the most likely target.”

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Mott sent out Frank's Rockette and now three-time graded stakes winning multimillionaire Tacitus to respective victories in the Grade 3 Victory Ride and Grade 2 Suburban. He reported that both of his graded stakes heroes exited their triumphs in good order.

“They both ran really well and really hard, but the good thing is they look great this morning,” Mott said.

Owned by Juddmonte Farms, Tacitus registered a 100 Beyer Speed Figure for the 8 3/4-length victory under Hall of Fame rider John Velazquez, which ended a seven-race slump for the 4-year-old Tapit gray. During his sophomore campaign last year, Tacitus won the Grade 2 Tampa Bay Derby at Tampa Bay Downs and Grade 2 Wood Memorial at Aqueduct en route to placings in the Grade 1 Kentucky Derby and Grade 1 Belmont Stakes.

Mott made an equipment change with Tacitus for the Suburban, adding blinkers.

“It seemed to help quite a bit. The maturity and the blinkers all kind of seemed to come together,” Mott said.

Mott said Tacitus would target “one or the other” between the Grade 1, $750,000 Whitney at nine furlongs on August 1 or the Grade 1, $500,000 Woodward at ten furlongs at Saratoga on Sept. 5.

Named after an ancient Roman senator, the Kentucky homebred Tacitus is out of 2014 Champion Older Filly Close Hatches and is a direct descendant of 1982 Broodmare of the Year Best In Show.

Mott reported that the Grade 1, $300,000 Longines Test on August 8 at Saratoga is an option for Frank's Rockette.

“We had talked about that as a plan, it will be based on how she comes out of this. It will take two or three days,” said owner Frank Fletcher. “She had been training really well and was at the top of her game and that's always the Test. She'll face some of these same horses again and more.”

Fletcher knew that Saturday's race would be no easy task for his Into Mischief filly.

“I have a lot of respect for the other horses in the race. I knew it was going to be tough, but she had to fight,” Fletcher said. “She came out of the gate a little slow for her, and she was not on the lead, had to fight to get her head in front and it appeared to be that she was in constant pressure the whole way. That's what I was scared of and worried about. There was never a chance for her or the other horses to catch a breath. She was running her heart out from the time she stepped out of the gate.”

Fletcher watched the Victory Ride from his home in Little Rock, Ark., alongside his family as well as his 5-year-old longhaired German Shepherd Rocket, who is the namesake behind all of Fletcher's horses.

“He was in there with us when we were watching. He goes crazy when we all go crazy. He was barking a lot,” Fletcher said. “We were like 5-year-old children running around hugging each other. We had a steak dinner to celebrate. We wish we could have been there.”

Frank's Rockette, a Kentucky homebred, is out of the graded stakes winning Indian Charlie broodmare Rocket Twentyone, who won the Grade 3 Arlington-Washington Lassie in 2011.

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The 1 1/4-mile event rounded out an action-packed program of five graded stakes on Runhappy Met Mile Day at beautiful Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y., which was spearheaded by a wire-to-wire triumph from Vekoma in the Grade 1 Runhappy Met Mile.

Tacitus, a gray or roan son of multiple champion-producing stallion Tapit, arrived at the Suburban off a fourth-place finish in the Grade 2 Oaklawn Handicap on May 2, where he chased a leisurely pace over a speed-favoring track and made a four-wide move at the top of the stretch, closing enough ground to get fourth. Guided by Hall of Fame jockey John Velazquez, who piloted E Dubai to a 2002 Suburban score, Tacitus broke sharply from his inside post and took back off a tepid pace set by 57-1 longshot Parsimony, who produced an opening quarter-mile in 24.68 seconds with eight-time stakes winner Mr. Buff just to his outside in second over the fast main track.

Parsimony and Mr. Buff raced alongside one another and extended their advantage to two lengths through a half-mile in 48.36 seconds with Tacitus in fourth just to the inside of Moretti. Around the far turn, Tacitus began making up ground under no urging from Velazquez and made a three-wide move through three-quarters in 1:10.82.

At the quarter-pole, Mr. Buff gave way while Parsimony was under an all-out drive by jockey Kendrick Carmouche. Velazquez remained cool, calm and collected aboard Tacitus who effortlessly went by the pacesetter around the three-sixteenths pole and glided home to a 8 ¾-length score in a final time of 1:59.51. Moretti closed to get second, a neck to the better of Parsimony in third.

Just Whistle, Mr. Buff and 2019 Belmont Stakes winner Sir Winston completed the order of finish. Forewarned was a late scratch in the post parade.

“He was going comfortable the whole way,” said Velazquez, who notched a fifth stakes victory this meet aboard Tacitus. “We had a little pressure in the first part of the race and little by little we kept reaching back and reaching back. I just wanted to be a little further back. Once we passed the five-eighths pole, I put my hands down and he got into a great rhythm. From there on, I knew he was comfortable, and in a position to win.”

The Suburban was a first trip to the winner's circle for Tacitus since taking the Grade 2 Wood Memorial in April 2019 at Aqueduct. He followed that victory with five straight placings against graded stakes company, including a third in the Grade 1 Kentucky Derby and runner-up finishes in the Grade 1 Belmont Stakes, Grade 2 Jim Dandy and Grade 1 Runhappy Travers. Tacitus also owns a graded stakes triumph in the Grade 2 Tampa Bay Derby last March at Tampa Bay Downs.

In his 4-year-old debut, Tacitus ran fifth in the inaugural edition of the Group 1 Saudi Cup on February 29 at King Abdulaziz Racecourse.

“We've put a lot into this horse,” said Mott, who previously won the Suburban with Wekiva Springs (1996) and Flat Out (2013). “We took him to some big races, and he's run some good races. We took him halfway around the world earlier this year looking for something like that [winning effort] in Saudi and in Dubai before they canceled the race [Dubai World Cup].”

Perhaps it was a change of equipment that made a difference for Tacitus, who raced with blinkers on for Saturday's race.

“It seems to make him level off a little more and stay in the bridle a little more,” Mott said.

The win marked a second stakes triumph on Runhappy Met Mile Day for Mott and Velazquez, who teamed up earlier on the card with Frank's Rockette to a victory in the Grade 3 Victory Ride.

Hall of Fame jockey Javier Castellano had no complaints regarding his trip aboard runner-up Moretti.

“Beautiful trip. That's just where we wanted to be; behind the two speeds. The race set up beautifully. We were just second-best today. Tacitus is a great horse,” Castellano said.

Returning $4.20 for a $2 win bet, Tacitus banked $110,000 in victory while enhancing his lifetime earnings to $2,817,500.

Named after an ancient Roman senator, the Kentucky homebred Tacitus is out of 2014 Champion Older Filly Close Hatches and is a direct descendant of 1982 Broodmare of the Year Best In Show.

Live racing returns on Sunday afternoon with a 10-race card. First post is 1:15 p.m. Eastern.

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