Defections leave Bernardini Stakes wide open

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – When trainer Todd Pletcher elected not to ship American Tattoo up from Florida it made for a wide-open second renewal of the $100,000 Bernardini Stakes, to be run Saturday at Aqueduct.

The Bernardini, run at 1 5/16 miles, drew a field of nine 4-year-olds and up, though not all are expected to start. Patagonia was entered back in a second-level allowance for Sunday and if it fills would run there, trainer Jonathan Thomas said. Backsideofthemoon, second in the Jazil Stakes last out, is likely to scratch and run in next Saturday’s $125,000 Stymie Stakes here going a mile, trainer Bob Klesaris said.

Adventist, a 7-year-old gelding who in 2016 finished third in the Grade 1 Wood Memorial, is making his third consecutive trip to Aqueduct for a stakes race. In December, he was beaten a neck by Stan the Man in the Queens County. In January, he was third, beaten five lengths by Mr. Buff in the Jazil. Both of those races were at 1 1/8 miles.

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Adventist, based at Parx with trainer Uriah St. Lewis, has shown the ability to succeed at a distance of ground, having pulled a 50-1 upset in the Grade 3 Greenwood Cup going 1 1/2 miles at Parx last October.

“I’m very confident,” St. Lewis said Friday. “I think we have a great chance of winning that race.”

Further fueling St. Lewis’s confidence is the way the Bernardini may set up. Though the pace in a distance race like this is not typically fast, the field does contain many front-running types, including Ekhtibaar, Armament, and Leitone.

“If they run their true races, he’ll be coming at the end,” St. Lewis said of Adventist.

Adventist will be ridden by John Bisono. As the 124-pound highweight, Adventist will concede six pounds to the rest of the field.

Leitone was a Group 1 winner in Chile going long on turf, and in 2017 he finished second to the filly Wow Cat in a 1 3/16-mile dirt stakes in that country. Wow Cat won the Grade 1 Beldame at Belmont in 2018.

Leitone, now trained by Jason Servis, won the Claiming Crown Jewel at Gulfstream in December before finishing fourth after setting the pace in the Jazil Stakes. Most recently, he finished third behind Sir Winston in a one-mile allowance on Jan. 31.

Trainer Rob Atras, who won last year’s Bernardini with Royal Albert Hall, sends out the uncoupled entry of Heavy Roller and Dynamax Prime. Both have been successful at 1 1/8 miles, and both have Atras believing they could handle more ground. Dynamax Prime won a 1 1/4-mile starter handicap at Laurel last March.

Blugrascat’s Smile, who goes first off the claim for Gary Sciacca, is making his 50th career start and first beyond 1 1/8 miles in this spot.

The Bernardini goes as race 8 on a nine-race card that begins at 1:20 p.m.