Blue skies for Celtic Sky in Mohawk

ELMONT, N.Y. - The New York Showcase Fall Festival, a two-day event, gets under way Saturday at Belmont Park with three New York-bred stakes, including the $150,000 Mohawk Handicap for male grass horses.

The 1 1/8-mile Mohawk drew 13 runners, including Pure Harmony, who is the lone also-eligible.

Trainer Christophe Clement could have the horse to beat in the lightly raced Celtic Sky, a 3-year-old who gets in light with 112 pounds, seven less than the starting highweight, I'm All Yours.

With only six races under his belt, Celtic Sky is the least seasoned of the Mohawk starters. The Sky Classic colt has won three starts, including his last on Aug. 15 at Saratoga. Celtic Sky raced for the first time that afternoon with Lasix and won the second-level statebred race by 3 3/4 lengths.

Clement originally planned on running him in the Ashley T. Cole Handicap on Sept. 22, but the race came off the turf.

"This is an improving 3-year-old," Clement said. "I think he's a better horse on good or firmer than good ground."

With no rain in the forecast for the next few days, Celtic Sky should get the ground he prefers.

Jose Santos rides Celtic Sky, a closer, who drew post 4.

I'm All Yours came from the clouds to win the restricted West Point Handicap at Saratoga on Aug. 17 over a yielding course. A gelding who is trained by Todd Pletcher, I'm All Yours returned in an optional claimer at The Meadowlands on Oct. 2 and was sixth over a yielding course.

If I'm All Yours can repeat his West Point performance, when he beat several members of this field, he will be right in the mix.

Jerry Bailey, a winner of two runnings of the Mohawk, has the mount on I'm All Yours, who drew post 3.

Doctor Cat, who finished third in last year's Mohawk, has performed below par for much of this year. His connections are hoping he is ready to turn it around on Saturday.

"His ulcers have been aggravating him," said Doctor Cat's trainer, Richie DeStasio. "He's such a big horse, we needed to give him a larger dose of the Gastrogard (ulcer medication) than he had been getting and it seems to be working."

Vintage Class improved vastly when equipped with blinkers in his last start. The gelding won a second-level statebred allowance here on Oct. 3 by 2 1/2 lengths and earned a career-best Beyer Speed Figure of 90. The course was yielding that day, and figures to be firmer for the Mohawk.

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