Catholic Boy will use Knickerbocker as Breeders' Cup prep

ELMONT, N.Y. – Catholic Boy was supplemented to Monday’s Grade 2, $200,000 Knickerbocker Stakes – a 1 1/8-mile turf race – at Belmont Park, a race his connections hope to use as a springboard to a Breeders’ Cup race in three weeks.

Catholic Boy, a Grade 1 winner on both turf and dirt, has made only two starts this year and has not run since finishing second to Preservationist in the Grade 2 Suburban Stakes at Belmont on July 6. Since then, he’s dealt with a few minor issues, one that kept him out of the Kelso Stakes here on Sept. 21. His two most recent workouts have come on the turf and trainer Jonathan Thomas feels Catholic Boy can get more out of a race than if he simply attempts to train him up to the Breeders’ Cup on Nov. 2.

“His last two works we were happy with, his body language is good, a mile and an eighth is really a good neutral distance to take us to the Breeders’ Cup,” Thomas said.

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Thomas said that by running him 1 1/8 miles on Monday, it opens up the possibility of running Catholic Boy in the $6 million Breeders’ Cup Classic at 1 1/4 miles. The other options for Catholic Boy are the $1 million Dirt Mile or the $2 million Mile on turf. Catholic Boy finished 13th in last year’s Classic.

Catholic Boy is 5 for 6 on turf in his career, including a victory in the Grade 2 Dixie at Pimlico on May 18.

He has been successful going turf to dirt. At 2, Catholic Boy won Grade 2 Remsen Stakes at Aqueduct after finishing a troubled fourth in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf. At 3, he won the Grade 1 Travers following his victory in the Grade 1 Belmont Derby on turf.

“He has a history of bouncing out of his turf races really well,” Thomas said. “We’ll learn a lot by running. It’ll answer some questions for us.”

Eight were entered in the Knickerbocker including Lucullan, winner of the Lure Stakes at Saratoga, and Glorious Empire, winner of the Grade 1 Sword Dancer at Saratoga in 2018. Noble Indy, a recent allowance winner, was entered in Sunday’s $100,000 Point of Entry Stakes as well as the Knickerbocker, with his connections wanting to evaluate both races before making a final decision on where to run.

Argonne, Cullum Road, Dr. Edgar, and Olympico were also entered in the Knickerbocker.