Iron Honor first over the wire in the Gotham, NYRA Photo
Maria Eddy
St. Elias Stable, William H. Lawrence and Glassman Racing’s post-time favorite Iron honor lived up to his odds of 4-5 and remained perfect through two starts for five-time Eclipse Award-winning trainer Chad Brown in Gotham’s Grade 3, $300,000 Saturday one-turn mile for sophomores at Aqueduct Racetrack.
The win secured the son of Nyquist the maximum allocation of the 50-25-15-10-5 Kentucky Derby qualifying points offered to the top five finishers. He came in after a standout debut sprinting six furlongs on December 13, which earned him a field-best 95 Beyer Speed Figure and made him the favorite in the field of eight stallions and geldings vying for their place on the Road to the Kentucky Derby.
Brown said Iron Honor, who has raced with blinkers in both of his starts, gave a helping hand when he won his debut at a distance that was less than optimal.
“He has a lot of endurance,” said Brown, who won this event in 2016 with Shagaf. “I was really surprised that he won the first time. I ran him to get a race against him, and I remember when I debuted him I wished the race was 6 1/2 or seven. [furlongs] to give him a little more chance of getting there. When he won, he really caught my attention because he did something he shouldn’t do: win at three-quarters. Only good horses do that. You saw him beat a stubborn enemy today and it seemed like he was interested in gaining more distance on the canter, so I like to see that.
The 74th running of the Gotham marked the final time the historic race was held at Aqueduct Racetrack before it moves to the new and redesigned Belmont Park next year. The Gotham has produced one winner of the 1973 Kentucky Derby – Hall of Famer and Triple Crown winner Secretariat.
Ridden to victory by Manny Franco, Iron Honor encountered enemies as he emerged from post 6 and was coaxed among the sharp-starting Dirty rich to its outside and Crown the Buckeye in, sticking his head out the chute and marking the first quarter mile in 23.09 seconds over the good and battered surface.
“My plan was to go,” said Franco, who was also on board for the first victory. “My horse also came out of a sprint and he showed speed, so I knew I could get close, very close, and that was the plan. I spoke to Chad, he told me the same thing. We did what we spoke. [about].”
Ricardo Santana, Jr. let Crown the Buckeye one step further down the inside as he took a small lead through the half mile in 46.30 with Dirty Rich and Exhibition only take a ride in the three- and four-path routes respectively. The top pair were still in control early in the turn before Franco shook the reins and Iron Honor asked for more through three quarters in 1:11.45.
Crown the Buckeye had a brief lead heading into the stretch when the lead duo left the field, forcing them to throw it in the lane. On a duel outside, Franco showed a left-handed crop and Iron Honor responded by getting past the eighth pole and willingly staying through the wire to score by one length in a final time of 1:37.94.
“He fought hard,” Franco said. “I have to give some credit to the other horse, but I knew my horse had enough to get it done.”
Santana, Jr. said the Mike Maker-trained Crown the Buckeye, an Ohio-bred double limited stakes, was admirable against a tough rival.
“Second best. He ran a good race,” Santana Jr. said. “The horse that beat me is a nice horse. He was just the second best. Like I said, the horse that beat us, you’ll see he’s a nice horse.”
Iron Honor’s final time was the fastest of three one-mile stakes on the 10-race card, with Paradise winning the Listed Busher [Race 2] in 1:38.53 and Komorebino Omoide win the Listed Stymie [Race 8] at 1:38.27. Multi-stakes 6-year-old New York-bred Donegal Surges posted the fastest mile when taking an optional claimer for older horses [Race 9] in a finishing time of 1:37.32.
Crown the buckeye in place with 6 1/2 lengths left Right to partywho showed strong foot movement to finish third after getting into the last of 8 early. Only exhibition and Balboa took the remaining Derby points in fourth and fifth place respectively with HammondDirty Rich and Fourth and one completing the order of finishing. Creole Chrome, who won Fair Grounds Race Course’s Louisiana Stallion of the Year Star Guitar today, was scratched.
Brown said he was happy to see Iron Honor making a determined effort.
“I think he’ll get a lot out of it,” Brown said. “He was in the middle of the horses all the way, which is always difficult for a horse to settle down. He was applying pressure inside and outside, so I thought he showed a lot of determination to shake off the horse on the outside and wear down the horse on the inside. I like that it was way back to third – those races usually come back quickly figure-wise. I think the horse that came second was a very stubborn enemy and kept getting better.”
Iron Honor trained at Payson Park in Florida to start the year, but spent much of his youth training in New York. Brown said he will keep the colt in the Empire State at Belmont Park in preparation for a stretch at the Big A in the nine-furlong Grade 2, $750,000 Wood Memorial presented by Resorts World Casino on April 4, a 100-50-25-15-10 Kentucky Derby qualifier.
“I don’t want to move the horse around too much,” Brown said. “I’ll cover that, as bad a winter as we had in New York, the law of averages will hopefully go in the right direction here. I’ll leave him at my base in New York where he’s done most of his training since coming into our system. He was there last summer at our Belmont stable training at that training track, so he’s very familiar with the surface. He’s 2-on-2 at the Aqueduct surface races, so if he comes out healthy, he’ll train in New York and walking in the Wood Memorial.”
Franco said Iron Honor felt like a horse that will enjoy two turns.
“I feel like the horse can go a mile and an eighth, but there is still room for improvement,” Franco said. “Race after race he is still learning. This was only his second start and I am happy to be with him.”
Bred in Kentucky by Mike Freeny and Pat Freeny, Iron Honor was a $475,000 purchase at the 2024 Keeneland September Yearling Sale and is out of the winning Blame mare Orencia, a half-sister to the stakes-placed My Savannah Belle. He earned $165,000 in wins while returning $3.88 on a $2 win ticket.
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