Sandwiched between the first two legs of the Triple Crown, the Kentucky Derby (G1) and the Preakness Stakes (G1), the $200,000 Peter Pan Stakes (G3) can be overshadowed by those multi-million-dollar classics.
But it still can advance a starter or starters—and sometimes a winner—into the third and final leg of the Triple Crown, the $2 million Belmont Stakes (G1). Just last year, Arcangelo captured the Peter Pan and Belmont Stakes and added the Travers Stakes (G1) over the summer.
With the latter's achievements fresh in the memories of horsemen, eight 3-year-olds have been entered for the May 11 Peter Pan Stakes at Aqueduct Racetrack, among them Deterministic, winner of a maiden race last year at age 2 and the one-mile Gotham Stakes (G3) this year as a 3-year-old. Following those two one-turn races, he finished eighth in the Wood Memorial Stakes (G2) at Aqueduct, a loss that took him off the Kentucky Derby trail.
With a couple of withdrawals expected from the Peter Pan, Lexington Stakes (G3) runner-up The Wine Steward heads the opposition. According to a social media post from Daily Racing Form's David Grening, Peter Pan entrants Lonesome Boy and Tuscan Gold will scratch. The former is to run in the May 11 Long Branch Stakes at Monmouth Park and the latter in the May 18 Preakness Stakes at Pimlico Race Course, Grening reported.
Deterministic will need to improve upon his first two-turn race to prevail Saturday over the same 1 1/8-mile distance in which he faltered in the Wood. Eager early in the latter race, tugging at Joel Rosario when rated in fourth, he came up empty late and faded to finish 17 3/4 lengths behind victorious Resilience. Since that race, the son of Liam's Map has recorded three works, including a near-bullet half-mile May 4 over the Belmont Park training track in :47.10. He races for owners St. Elias Stable, Ken Langone, Steven Duncker, and Vicarage Stable.
Clement's Take
"He trains in New York and I think each work since the Wood Memorial has been a better work," trainer Christophe Clement said. "He's doing well. He's sound. He's looking great. The Peter Pan makes sense.
"If he's going to be a horse who wants to go longer, this will be a good prep for the next one."
"The next one," of course, is the Belmont Stakes, a race Clement won in 2014 with Tonalist , another horse who pulled off the Peter Pan-Belmont double.
Dating back to Counterpoint in 1951, seven others have won both races.
Typically, the Peter Pan provides a horse with the advantage of a recent start over the Belmont Stakes surface, but that is not the case this year. Due to ongoing construction at Belmont Park, racing is currently taking place at Aqueduct Racetrack before it shifts to Saratoga Race Course for Belmont Stakes week.
Due to Saratoga's different track configuration than Belmont Park, the distance of the Belmont Stakes at Saratoga is 1 1/4 miles, not the race's traditional 1 1/2 miles.
Belmont at the Big A, Saturday, May 11, 2024, Race 6Entries: Peter Pan S. (G3)
PP Horse Jockey Wgt Trainer M/L 1 1Protective (KY) Irad Ortiz, Jr. 118 Todd A. Pletcher 8/1 2 2Unique Insight (KY) Eric Cancel 118 Chad C. Brown 8/1 3 3The Wine Steward (NY) Luis Saez 120 Michael J. Maker 5/2 4 4Lonesome Boy (WA) Adam Bowman 120 Hugo O. Padilla 20/1 5 5Tuscan Gold (KY) Flavien Prat 118 Chad C. Brown 2/1 6 6Antiquarian (KY) John R. Velazquez 118 Todd A. Pletcher 6/1 7 7Deterministic (KY) Joel Rosario 123 Christophe Clement 5/1 8 8Native Land (KY) Junior Alvarado 118 Riley Mott 12/1
Graded Sprinters Compete in Runhappy
The Peter Pan is not the only graded dirt race Saturday at Aqueduct. The $175,000 Runhappy Stakes (G3) at six furlongs supports the four-stakes Saturday program, which also includes the Beaugay Stakes (G3T) and Man o' War Stakes (G2T) on turf.
Straight No Chaser makes his first start of 2024 in the Runhappy after being out of action for nearly a year due to injury. He faces five rivals led by Durante and Joey Freshwater.
-Bob Ehalt contributed to this story.
Belmont at the Big A, Saturday, May 11, 2024, Race 4Entries: Runhappy S. (G3)
PP Horse Jockey Wgt Trainer M/L 1 1Straight No Chaser (KY) John R. Velazquez 124 Juan Landeros 1/1 2 2Durante (KY) Manuel Franco 124 David Jacobson 5/1 3 3Stage Left (KY) Ramon A. Vazquez 118 David Jacobson 15/1 4 4Ninetyprcentmaddie (PA) Irad Ortiz, Jr. 118 Robert E. Reid, Jr. 8/1 5 5Twenty Four Mamba (KY) Dylan Davis 118 Charlton Baker 12/1 6 6Joey Freshwater (KY) Jose Lezcano 120 Linda Rice 9/5
