Allard deciding between Dave's Friend, Cigar Mile with Quint's Brew

Quint’s Brew has enjoyed the busiest season of his career as a 5-year-old, and trainer Ned Allard said his work is not yet done. The Maryland-bred is likely to run in the $100,000 Dave’s Friend at Laurel on Nov. 21, though Allard has not yet ruled out the Grade 2 Cigar Mile at Belmont on Dec. 5.

“We might end up using the Dave’s Friend in Maryland,” Allard said. “I’m going to nominate for the Cigar Mile, but I think there’s plenty of really good horses left in New York this year, with their purse structure. We’re going to play it out and see.”

In eight starts this year, all in stakes, Quint’s Brew has five victories and also notably finished second behind Book’em Danno in the $225,000 Mr. Prospector Stakes at Monmouth Park in July.

On Oct. 17, he stayed home at Delaware Park, where he won two stakes, and rallied from well back to win the $100,000 Wilmington in a three-horse photo finish. He got right back to training 10 days later, breezing through five furlongs in 1:02.

But for all of the 5-year-old’s success in 2026, his one finish out of the money came in New York, when he finished a distant fourth in the Grade 3 Westchester Stakes. He remains winless in three graded stakes attempts, but was second in the Westchester and Grade 2 Carter last year.

Allard said the gelding’s large ownership group could be tempted to take a chance in the Cigar Mile, which will be run at Belmont for the first time in its history. If he decides to stay closer to home, however, he will be a likely favorite in the Dave’s Friend at Laurel, where he won three listed stakes earlier this year.

While Allard considers a trip to New York for Quint’s Brew, the trainer said he has every intention of sending Alogon back to Belmont for the $175,000 Aqueduct Turf Sprint Championship on Nov. 27, a race he won in 2024. In the $175,000 Casa Creed at Belmont on Nov. 1, the gelding went off at 45-1 and faded to 11th.