With the Triple Crown races now in the rearview mirror, and Haskell Prep Day a rousing success on June 15, producing the largest single-day handle for a non-Haskell Day or Breeders' Cup card, it's time to sharpen the focus on who could run in the $1 million NYRA Bets Haskell Stakes at Monmouth Park on July 20.
While it's uncertain how many contenders will ultimately get loaded into the starting gate shortly after they play Bruce Springsteen's Born To Run, what's clear is that there's a strong contingent of contenders lining up to potentially run in the Grade 1 Jersey Shore fixture, after Geaux Rocket Ride won it a year ago.
With a week to go before the big race, the Belmont Stakes winner is set to run, but trainer D. Wayne Lukas said Friday that Preakness winner Seize The Grey would be pointed toward the Jim Dandy at Saratoga instead. Still, there could be three Grade 1 winners battling in this year's race.
It will be the 57th running of the 1 1/8-mile test for 3-year-olds. Here's a look at some of the contenders for the 2024 Haskell Stakes:
Jun 8, 2024; Saratoga Springs, NY, USA; Dornoch with Luis Saez up (6) wins the Belmont Stakes at Saratoga Race Course. Mandatory Credit: Gregory Fisher-USA TODAY Sports
DORNOCH
Trainer: Danny Gargan
Jockey: Luis Saez
Owners: West Paces Racing LLC & others.
The Belmont Stakes winner is being pointed to either the Haskell or Grade 2 Jim Dandy at Saratoga on July 27, as a likely stepping-stone to the Travers stakes at Saratoga on Aug. 24. Sitting just off Preakness winner Seize The Grey’s pace in the Belmont, Dornoch rallied for a half-length win at 1 ¼-miles at Saratoga, after finishing 10th in the Kentucky Derby. The colt is by Good Magic, the 2018 Haskell winner, out of a mare by Big Brown, the 2008 champ.
FIERCENESS
Trainer: Todd Pletcher
Jockey: John Velazquez
Owner: Repole Stable
Has not run since finishing 15th in the Kentucky Derby as the favorite, with McPeek opting to bypass the final two legs of the Triple Crown with an eye on the Haskell. Two starts back the homebred colt rolled to a 13 ½ length victory in the Florida Derby, getting a 110 Beyer Speed Figure that’s best among 3-year-olds this year, and won the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile by 6 ¼ lengths.
Timberlake
Trainer: Brad Cox
Jockey: Flavien Pratt
Owner: Siena Farm and WinStar Farm.
Winner of the Grade 1 Champagne Stakes last October, the Into Mischief colt won the Grade 2 Rebel Stakes at Oaklawn in February, before finishing fourth as the favorite in the Grade 1 Arkansas Derby last time out. Worked five furlongs at Churchill Downs in 1:01.00 Saturday in what will be the final workout, with Cox having entered the colt in the Haskell.
MINDFRAME
Trainer: Todd Pletcher
Jockey: Irad Ortiz Jr.
Owners: Repole Stable & St. Elias Stables
Has two wins in three career starts, but showed class in finishing second in the Belmont Stakes behind Dornoch after stalking the leaders throughout. The Constitution colt, a $600,000 purchase as a yearling, picked up a 103 Beyer Speed Figure at Gulfstream the first time he hit the track in March, and got a 101 Beyer in the Belmont.
Tuscan Sky (1), with Javier Castellano riding, won the $150,000 NYRA Best Pegasus Stakes at Monmouth Park Racetrack in Oceanport, NJ on June 15, 2024. Photo By Melissa Torres/EQUI-PHOTO
TUSCAN SKY
Trainer: Todd Pletcher
Jockey: Javier Castellano
Owner: Spendthrift Farm
Earned a spot in the starting gate with a dominating effort in the $150,000 NYRA Bets Pegasus Stakes at Monmouth Park on June 15, drawing off to a 6 ¾ length victory, credited with a career-best 99 Beyer Speed Figure. It was a front-running bounce-back performance for the Vino Rosso colt after a disappointing seventh-place finish in the Grade 2 Wood Memorial on March 8. The last Pegasus winner to come back and take the Haskell was Mandaloun in 2021.
SEA STREAK
Trainer: Eddie Owens
Jockey: Jairo Rendon
Owner: Holly Crest Farms
Looms as the local favorite in a talented field, looking to become the first Jersey-bred to win the Haskell since Thanks To Tony became the only state-bred to find the winner's circle in 1980. The gelding won the $100,000 Long Branch Stakes easily on opening day with a career-best 91 Beyer Speed Figure, but was unable to overcome a slow start in the $150,000 NYRA Bets Pegasus Stakes, finishing a well-beaten fifth.
This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Haskell Stakes 2024: Who could run in $1 million Monmouth Park race?
