OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Trainer Rick Dutrow believes he has a very nice horse in his barn in the 2-year-old Igniter. He’s just not certain how far the son of Volatile wants to run. Dutrow should get a better idea on Saturday at Aqueduct when Igniter stretches out to 1 1/8 miles around two turns in the Grade 2, $250,000 Remsen Stakes, a race that could fuel or extinguish dreams of the Kentucky Derby six months hence. Igniter is one of 12 juveniles who are attempting 1 1/8 miles on dirt for the first time. Chambersville has won at the distance, but on turf. I Did I Did is the only other member of this field to have won beyond one mile. :: Access the most trusted data and information in horse racing! DRF Past Performances and Picks are available now. Igniter finished third in his debut sprinting at Saratoga in early August and seven weeks later, on Sept. 27, he came back to win a one-mile maiden race at Aqueduct. In it, he defeated next-out maiden winners Rebel Instinct and Courting, the latter a $5 million yearling purchase who is also in the Remsen. In fact, both races in which Igniter has competed have proven key events. Igniter was beaten 4 3/4 lengths first time out by Golden Tornado. While that horse has not run back, Oscar’s Hope, the runner-up from that Aug. 9 race, came back to win three of his next four starts, including the Jean Laffite Stakes at Delta Downs. Glorious Boy, sixth on Aug. 9, has won two of his next three, including the Pulpit Stakes over Gulfstream’s Tapeta. “He’s been in live races, both of them,” Dutrow said. Dutrow said the 10 weeks in between Igniter’s maiden win and the Remsen were by design. “I see him as being a very nice horse. He’s got personality, he’s got size, he’s got competition in him,” Dutrow said. “He’s got a big test, I see it, but I feel he’s up to it. He’s had great timing going into this race, he runs over a track that he’s already won on with the same rider [Manny Franco]. We got some things on our side here.” Trainer Todd Pletcher has been anticipating getting Courting around two turns since he finished fourth behind Igniter on Sept 27. Pletcher had to settle for running Courting back at one mile on Nov. 9, a race he won by 2 1/2 lengths. Now, Courting, a son of Grade 1 winners Culin and Cavorting, gets his chance to run 1 1/8 miles. “He’s definitely a two-turn horse,” Pletcher said. “I thought he showed some decent tactical speed the other day, he got into a good rhythm. I know the figures weren’t real fast, but I think it was a strange day to make numbers. It started raining later on the card. I think the track tightened up later. I thought visually it was a good race.” Pletcher also entered Renegade and Grittiness, the latter a maiden who finished second to Courting on Nov. 9. Grittiness gets blinkers for the first time in what will be his fourth start. Renegade crossed the wire first by a head over Paladin in a one-mile maiden race at Aqueduct on Oct. 17 but was disqualified and placed second for herding Paladin near the wire. Pletcher vehemently disagreed with the decision to disqualify the horse. Renegade was dealing with a quarter crack that forced him to miss a workout. He worked a half-mile in 50.50 seconds at Belmont Park on Monday. “We got in what we needed to get in, he’s showing good energy coming into this out of his work on Monday,” Pletcher said. Paladin, a son of Gun Runner who brought $1.9 million at the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga sale in August 2024, finished 5 1/4 lengths clear of the third-place finisher in that Oct. 17 maiden race in which he was ultimately elevated to first. “I thought he was poised to win before he got herded by Johnny [Velazquez], then he galloped out really good starting after that,” said Chad Brown, the trainer of Paladin. “It was a really solid debut.” Danny Gargan, who won the Remsen in 2022 and 2023 with Dubyuhnell and Dornoch, sends out Talkin in the Remsen. Talkin won an Aug. 30 maiden race from which third-place finisher, Further Ado, came back to win his maiden by 20 lengths and last Saturday’s Grade 2 Kentucky Jockey Club by 1 3/4 lengths. Talkin, meanwhile, came back to finish second behind runaway winner Napoleon Solo in the Grade 1 Champagne on Oct. 4. Talkin is drawn in post 11. Mid-Atlantic stakes winners Balboa and Probably Dreaming, are drawn in posts 10 and 12, respectively. Day One Starter and Concarneau complete the field. The Remsen awards its top five finishers qualifying points (10-5-3-2-1) to the May 3 Kentucky Derby. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.