Flood Zone wins the 2025 Gotham Stakes, Credit Janet Napolitano
Maria Eddy
Grade 2 posted Balboa has finished second and third in his two previous local starts, and will look to take another step forward for Saturday’s Grade 3 top prize, $300,000 Gotham at Aqueduct Racetrack. The one-turn mile for sophomores awards the top five finishers with 50-25-15-10-5 Kentucky Derby qualifying points.
The Gotham closes out the 10-race card, which also features the Grade 3, $175,000 Tom Fool in Race 4, the Listed $200,000 Busher – a 50-25-15-10-5 Kentucky Oaks qualifier – in Race 2 and the Listed $150,000 Stymie in Race 8. The first post is 12:40 Eastern.
The Brittany Russell-trained Balboa looks set to take a prominent second place by two lengths to My World in the Jerome on January 3, in terms of course and distance. There he followed close to the early foot of Freedom’s Echo and was woken up in the bend by Manny Franco. Balboa responded to take a one-and-a-half length lead at the stretch call, but was collared near the sixteenth marker. The effort was awarded a career-best 81 Beyer Speed Figure. My World exited that race to finish 11th in the Group 3 Saudi Derby on February 14.
The bay son of Not This Time entered Jerome from a 3 1/2-length third in the nine-furlong Remsen on Dec. 6, where winner Paladin headed off to win the Grade 2 Risen Star at Fair Grounds Race Course and runner-up Renegade followed with a victory in Tampa Bay Downs’ Listed Sam F. Davis. The Remsen was Balboa’s first attempt around two corners since a distant fifth-place finish in the Grade 1 American Pharoah in October at Santa Anita Park.
Russell said she is pleased with the way Balboa has developed during his two races at the Big A, bringing his total Kentucky Derby points to nine.
“No matter how disappointed you are to lose, you still have to appreciate the effort,” Russell said of the Jerome. “I thought the race before was a good effort too, and he was beaten by good horses that day, so he’s keeping good company and hopefully he continues to progress.
“He’s a big, handsome and stylish man,” Russell continued. “He’s a big horse, but at this stage I’d say he’s matured a bit. He’s a cool horse mentally, so that gives you confidence in these better races. You want a horse that does things well and has class; they just absorb things and that’s him.”
Balboa has made three starts for Russell – including a 5 1/4 length of the six-furlong James F. Lewis III in November in his barn debut – after making his first four appearances for Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert in California. Each of these three starts since shipping east is about four weeks apart, but Balboa enters the Gotham on about eight weeks rest.
Russell said she is hopeful the extra time will help Balboa on Saturday.
“We did the right thing by him and he trained well and didn’t miss a beat,” Russell said. “He’s a nice horse and I definitely think he deserves another chance there. Yes, he got hit last time, but hopefully we can do better this time.”
Balboa was entered in the Miracle Wood at Laurel Park on Saturday, but scrambled in favor of the Gotham to try his luck again on the Derby course. Russell rode the colt five-eighths in 1:01.80 at her Laurel Park base on Thursday.
“Everything went well, I wanted to give him a steady five-eighths with a nice canter, and he did exactly what we were looking for,” said Russell.
Balboa was run by SF Racing, Starlight Racing, Madaket Stables, Bashor Racing, Certain Stables, Golconda Stable, Waves Edge Capital and Catherine Donovan and was an $875,000 purchase at the 2024 Keeneland September Yearling Sale. He was bred in Kentucky by Albaugh Family Stables and is out of the winning War Front mare Tap of War, a full sister to Saratoga Race winner Halladay Course’s Grade 1 Fourstardave Handicap on grass in 2020.
Sheldon Russell, Brittany’s husband with more than 1,800 victories in the saddle, was aboard the Lewis and returns to the irons from post 1.
New to the division are St. Elias Stable, William Lawrence and Cathi Glassman’s Iron honor [post 6, Manny Franco]who brings a field-best 95 that Beyer earned for an impressive debut Dec. 13 here for five-time Eclipse Award-winning trainer Chad Brown.
The Nyquist Bay, wearing blinkers under returning rider Manny Franco, trailed 2 1/2 lengths off the early pace in the six-furlong sprint, coming into contention entering the turn after the first quarter-mile had passed in 22.79 seconds over the fast foot.
Iron Honor improved its position on the outside of the favored Crossingthechannel and was on its flank through the half mile in 46.50 to set up a duel through the track. Iron Honor put its head in front near the sixteenth marker and extended the margin, scoring by 1 1/2 lengths in a final time of 1:11.23. The runner-up, Crossingthechannel, left that event to graduate locally and earn an 85 Beyer.
Brown said the blinders helped Iron Honor show professionalism in its debut.
“I rarely do that [debut with blinkers]But he had been training inconsistently, but the times he had worked well were really good,” Brown explained. “When he wouldn’t work well, that confused me a little bit, so we gave him a little flash, and he put it all together and he debuted well.”
Since his victory, Iron Honor has put together five works at the Payson Park Training Center in Florida, including a breeze of a half-mile in 49.20 seconds on Saturday in the company of senior winner Playing Tricks.
“It was a really good job; he trains here at Payson regularly,” Brown said. “I’m excited to get this horse stretched out. He is bred to run longer. His debut track was one of the fastest in the country for two-year-old colts. I think it will be beneficial for him to get the horse over that fast track in one go and come together for this. He is a good horse. I would expect him to make progress here.”
Iron Honor, a $475,000 purchase at the 2024 Keeneland September Yearling Sale, was bred in Kentucky by Mike Freeny and Pat Freeny and is out of the winning Blame mare Orencia, a half-sister to the stakes-placed My Savannah Belle.
C2 Racing Stable, JRM Stables, Mathis Stables and Ken Reimer’s Hammond [post 2, Jaime Rodriguez] stretches for the furthest test of his career for trainer Saffie Joseph Jr.
The Charlatan chestnut gets an extra furlong of a final third to stablemate Solitude Dude in the seven-furlong Listed Swale on January 31 at Gulfstream Park. He finished sixth early under Edgard Zayas and steadily improved his position as he raced five wide into the stretch, but could not catch the runaway winner and finished 5 1/2 lengths back in third. The effort was rewarded with a lifetime-best 84 Beyer, a marked improvement over his previous best 71 for a victory in the 6 1/2 furlong Juvenile Sprint there in November.
“I thought he ran well last time against some good horses. He didn’t break the best, so he was always in a compromised position,” said Joseph Jr. “He made a run and then fell flat, but he did make a really good jump in the numbers. He seems to have done better since that race, we’ll give him a try in the Gotham.”
“This is a distance he would like to have,” Joseph Jr. added. “He’s got tactical speed. Hopefully he breaks well and puts himself in a good spot, and everything goes in the right direction from there.”
Solitude Dude, who is undefeated in three starts, is one of Joseph Jr.’s three trainees. who competed in the Grade 2 Fountain of Youth at Gulfstream on Saturday.
Joseph Jr. said Hammond delivered a promising effort against a tough stablemate like Solitude Dude and the Hall of Famer, Todd Pletcher-trained runner-up Class President.
“Solitude Dude has been a very good one-turn horse so far, and so has Todd’s horse running second. I thought that third-place finish was a very credible performance – and the numbers said so,” Joseph Jr. said. “That gave us the confidence to try the Gotham.”
Hammond, who has made each of his four starts at Gulfstream, graduated second in September by sprinting 6 1/2 furlongs around a muddy and closed oval after running a flat fifth in his debut over a sloppy and closed surface. He has shown versatility in these two victories, finishing fourth and storming to victory at graduation, before making a more prominent effort in the Juvenile Sprint.
Bred in Kentucky by Aaron and Marie Jones, Hammond was purchased for $170,000 at the 2024 Keeneland September Yearling Sale and is out of the stakes-placed Carpe Diem mare Sweet Kisses, who also produced the stakes winner Donut God.
Three diamond farms Creole Chrome [post 8, Jaime Torres] steps out of limited company for the first time, coming in from Fair Grounds Race Course, where he has made each of his three starts at six furlongs for trainer Joe Sharp.
Creole Chrome was last seen heading to Tiz Mary’s Comet to earn an allowance score against colleagues from Louisiana on January 18. There he saved ground in fourth place and jumped up to keep pace with his rival at the quarter pole, with the pair dueling through the closing stages before Creole Chrome took his head to the wire first in a final time of 1:10.74. The effort was awarded a career-best 87 Beyer.
The chestnut son of Volatile was a 4 3/4 length winner on debut, prior to a close third at the Louisiana Champions Day Juvenile in December, when he was a length behind Our Romantic Honeymoon in his only stakes attempt.
Creole Chrome was bred by Gulf Haven Farms and is out of the 2009 Grade 1 Coaching Club American Oaks winner Funny Moon. He was purchased for $55,000 at the 2024 Texas Thoroughbred Association Yearling Sale.
Creole Chrome is entered Saturday in the Louisiana Stallion of the Year Star Guitar at Fair Grounds, but Sharp said he expects to ship to New York instead.
“We weren’t sure if we should stay in Louisiana and he ended up there, but after talking to Kirk it looks like he [Wycoff, owner]“We’re going to go ahead and sail over there and arrive Thursday morning,” Sharp said. “He’s a cool horse and I think the extra distance will help him.”
Michael McMillan’s Dirty rich [post 9, Ramon Vazquez] will span three consecutive sprint efforts for trainer Peter Miller, including a victory in the 5 1/2 furlong Advent in December at Oaklawn Park.
Dirty Rich was last seen finishing a distant third to Obliteration in the six-furlong Renaissance at the Hot Springs oval on January 3, where he was pushed into the lead early before being passed by Obliteration on the turn and holding on for the minor prizes in the track. He entered that race off the back of his wire-to-wire victory in Advent, which earned a lifetime-best 89 Beyer.
The field is completed by the New York-bred double stakes Fourth and one [post 4, Jose Lezcano] for trainer Jeremiah Englehart, a two-time Ohio-bred stakes winner Crown the Buckeye [post 3, Ricardo Santana, Jr.] for conditioner Mike Maker and first time winners Exhibition only [post 7, Ruben Silvera] for trainer Rudy Rodriguez and Right to party [post 5, Christopher Elliott] for trainer Ken McPeek.
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