Catholic Boy likely to try dirt in Remsen

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Catholic Boy, fourth in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf, will most likely make his dirt debut in the Grade 2, $250,000 Remsen Stakes on Dec. 2 at Aqueduct, trainer Jonathan Thomas said Monday.

Catholic Boy was shipped from Southern California to New York in the days after the Breeders’ Cup. Last Friday, Catholic Boy worked a half-mile in 49.66 seconds over the Belmont Park training track in company with the Todd Pletcher-trained debut winner Stratosphere.

Thomas said Catholic Boy will work again this Saturday at Belmont, and provided all goes well he will start in the Remsen, run at 1 1/8 miles over Aqueduct’s main track.

“I’d say right now we’re in play,” Thomas said from Florida, where he is based.

Catholic Boy, a son of More Than Ready, has gone 2 for 3, all on turf, including a victory in the Grade 3 With Anticipation Stakes at Saratoga in September. He was beaten only 1 1/2 lengths by Mendelssohn in the BC Juvenile Turf, which was run at a mile. Thomas believes Catholic Boy will relish the 1 1/8 miles of the Remsen.

“I was very happy with his performance in the Breeders’ Cup,” Thomas said. “The thing that impressed me most about him is where he was a sixteenth of a mile after the wire. He was five in front going into the turn. If he can transfer his numbers from the grass over to the dirt, then it does make him competitive.”