El Kabeir targets Jerome for 3-year-old debut

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – El Kabeir, the winner of the Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes at Churchill Downs on Nov. 29, will make his 3-year-old debut in the Grade 3, $200,000 Jerome Stakes over Aqueduct’s inner track, his connections said Monday.

The Jerome, run at a mile and 70 yards on Jan. 3, is the first of four races for 3-year-olds here that offer qualifying points to the May 2 Kentucky Derby.

“Timing-wise, it makes sense,” said Tonja Terranova, the wife and assistant of trainer John Terranova. “Keeping him here, he’s doing really well here.”

On Monday, El Kabeir worked a half-mile in 48.80 seconds over the Belmont Park training track, his first workout since winning the Kentucky Jockey Club by a head over Imperia. Under exercise rider Simon Harris, El Kabeir went his first quarter in 24.65 seconds and his last in 24.15 with minimal encouragement. He galloped out five furlongs in 1:01.69.

“Perfect,” Tonja Terranova said. “He looks amazing. He’s put on weight. He’s happy.”

El Kabeir, a son of Scat Daddy owned by Zayat Stables, won his maiden by 10 3/4 lengths at Saratoga on Aug. 30 in his second start. After finishing a well-beaten fourth in the Champagne on Oct. 4, El Kabeir came back with an improved second-place finish to the undefeated Blofeld in the Grade 2 Tempted at Aqueduct on Nov. 2.

Tonja Terranova didn’t know if El Kabeir would spend the entire winter in New York. Unlike in years past, however, when her husband sent a string to south Florida, this year, John Terranova has about a dozen horses based at Tampa Bay Downs.

“We’ll take it race by race,” Tonja Terranova said. “Right now, he’s thriving being here.”