Concord Green gets a class test in Pilgrim off maiden score

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Trainer Shug McGaughey believes Concord Green will ultimately show his best when he’s a little older and gets to run longer distances.

But, the son of War Front was pretty darn good last month at Saratoga, when he overcame a slow start and some traffic to rally from 11 lengths back and win his debut by three-quarters of a length going 1 1/16 miles. He’ll take that experience and some additional training into his second start when he meets stakes winner Zulu Kingdom and six others in the Grade 2, $200,000 Pilgrim Stakes at Aqueduct.

The Pilgrim, also run at 1 1/16 miles, offers a fees-paid berth into the $1 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf on Nov. 1 at Del Mar. Pilgrim winners Fire at Will (2020), Structor (2019), and Oscar Performance (2016) have pulled off the Pilgrim-Juvenile Turf double.

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Concord Green broke a little slow in his debut and heading up the backstretch had to steady a bit. He was 11 lengths off a modest pace. But under the hot-riding Dylan Davis, Concord Green worked his way into contention along the inside, had to wait in upper stretch before finding clear room outside, and showed a nice turn of foot to get up.

“I thought he would finish, I didn’t know he’d win,” McGaughey said. “He’s going to be back, but I think he’ll be more into [the race]. I think he’ll be better later on going farther, but it’s not later on and it’s not going farther.”

Zulu Kingdom won his debut in France in June and was purchased privately by a group that included Sol Kumin’s Madaket Stables, Michael Dubb, Michael Caruso, and William Strauss and was turned over to Chad Brown. Off an 86-day layoff, Zulu Kingdom won the Grade 3 With Anticipation Stakes at Saratoga, rallying through a narrow opening along the rail in the stretch under Flavien Prat to beat Tenacious Leader by a neck.

“The only thing I was concerned about with the horse was his focus,” said Brown, who also will run the maiden winner Early Adopter in the Pilgrim. “I really liked the way he trained but I saw a couple of moves in the morning where I thought he would possibly need a run to get some experience in American racing. The fact he went through that hole the way he did and showed as much professionalism as he did was a pleasant surprise for me.”

With Prat in California on Saturday, Joel Rosario has picked up the mount.

Trainer Todd Pletcher has won the last three runnings of the Pilgrim and six overall. He will not run Tenacious Leader in this race, but rather Noble Confessor, a maiden by Quality Road who has lost his first two starts, both on dirt. Noble Confessor’s dam, Sweeter Than Wine, lost her first two starts on dirt before winning a maiden turf sprint.

Without Caution, trained by Cherie DeVaux, won his debut at Saratoga but broke terribly and finished last in the Grade 3 With Anticipation.

Flying Mohawk, Smooth Breeze, and Fully Authorized complete the field.

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