Spirit of St Louis returns on short rest to win Mohawk; Moonage Daydream rolls to third straight stakes victory in Ticonderoga

Spirit of St Louis continues to reinforce the mantra “all good things come to those who wait,” logging his ninth win in a career that didn’t begin until he was a 4-year-old in 2023.

The latest conquest for the gelding by Medaglia d’Oro out of the Lemon Drop Kid mare Khancord Kid came Sunday in the Mohawk Stakes on Empire Showcase Day at the Belmont at the Big A meeting. Ridden by Manny Franco, Spirit of St Louis waited until the far turn to make his move, unleashing a five-wide burst that carried him past City Man, the 2023 New York-bred champion turf male. Jerry the Nipper finished third.

The winning margin was 1 1/4 lengths for Spirit of St Louis, who won the Mohawk for the second straight year. The final time was 1:43.09 in a race that was run at a tepid pace – :25.42 for a quarter-mile and :50.31 for the half.

“He’s really a hard-hitting horse,” said Michael Dubb, who owns the gelding in partnership with Madaket Stables and Richard Schermerhorn. “Once in a while you get these, and you just cherish the time you have them because these are the ones you remember. He had it against him today – short rest, 126 pounds, dawdling pace, but his class got him there.”

Spirit of St Louis was coming off a fifth in the Grade 1 Coolmore Turf Mile Stakes October 5 at Keeneland Race Course, the only time he has finished off the board in 13 races.

Ruse set the pace Sunday, followed down the backstretch by City Man, with odds-on favorite Spirit of St Louis sitting fifth on the inside. Franco started to advance heading into the turn in what turned out to be an outside-inside-outside move.

“I just took my time,” he said. “I was confident that I was riding the best horse in the race. I knew the pace was slow, but at the same time I was right there with City Man, and I was confident with my target. When he moved, I moved with him. When my horse hit the clear, he kind of switched leads in the stretch and started running. I had no doubt that I had a lot of horse under me. He exploded with a nice turn of foot.”

Bred by Chester and the late Mary Broman, Spirit of St Louis is a full brother to New York-bred champion and Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint winner Bar of Gold and a half to stakes-placed state-breds Land Mine and Homeland. Khancord Kid, a Grade 3 winner, has produced five winners.

The Bromans bought Khancord Kid’s dam, Confidently, in 2000 for $1 million at the Keeneland January horses of all ages sale. Out of Grade 1 winner Key Phrase, Confidently is a full sister to multiple stakes winner Yankee Gentleman with her dam a half-sister to the dam of champion Shared Belief.

– Paul Halloran

• Chris Larsen’s homebred Moonage Daydream collected her third straight stakes victory Sunday in the $200,000 Ticonderoga Stakes at Aqueduct.

Going off as the 5-2 second choice in the 1 1/16-mile turf stakes, the 4-year-old Candy Ride filly was first out of the gate but quickly yielded to Silver Skillet and Collaboration. That pair was eager for the lead and Moonage Daydream settled on the rail, just over 2 lengths back as Silver Skillet set fractions of :23.60 and :48.36 ahead of Collaboration.

Moonage Daydream started getting serious at the top of the stretch and took aim at the lead. Pulled a few paths from the rail by jockey Flavien Prat, Moonage Daydream found a clear path and made her own bid for the lead.

Moonage Daydream reached the front entering the final sixteenth and built a half-length margin by the wire. She stopped the clock in 1:42.87 over the firm course. Collaboration finished second, a half-length ahead of Silver Skillet in third. Stonewall Star, 2-1 favorite Whatlovelookslike, Caldwell Luvs Gold, New Ginya and Masterof the Tunes.

“She broke well,” Prat said. “I thought I was in a good position. I was right behind the speed. As soon as I got a gap, she went through and after that she did the rest to get the job done.”

Now the winner of six of 12 starts, the Jorge Abreu-trained Moonage Daydream has won four stakes overall with her first coming in 2022. She’s also placed in seven of 12 races for $480,660 in earnings.

“All the New York-breds that have come to my barn seem to run well for me,” Abreu said. “It looks like I have a better program with the fillies, but I do get more fillies in the barn than colts. It’s a very good program for me.”

Foaled at Hidden Lake Farm in Stillwater for Larsen’s 3C Stable, Moonage Daydream is the third foal out of the winning Malibu Moon mare Elatha. She’s also the dam of two-time winning New York-bred Guardian Moon. Elatha is a granddaughter of the legendary broodmare Misty Dancer.

Misty Dancer is also the dam of stakes winner Quiet Dance, who produced Horse of the Year Saint Liam, Grade 1 winner Funtastic and the Grade 2-winning dam of Horse of the Year Gun Runner. Grade 1 winners Buster’s Ready and Rolling Fog are also under Misty Dancer’s name on the page.

Elatha has an unraced New York-bred American Pharoah 2-year-old filly named Whole Of The Moon, a yearling New York-bred Speightstown colt and a weanling Gun Runner colt born March 3. The mare was bred to Into Mischief in 2024.

– Melissa Bauer-Herzog

Source URL: https://www.nytbreeders.org/news/2024/10/27/spirit-of-st-louis-returns-on-short-rest-to-win-mohawk-moonage-daydream-rolls-to-third-straight-stakes-victory-in-ticonderoga/

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