Kinetic Sky seeks his second consecutive stakes victory against a solid group of seven other foes in Saturday’s $150,000 Excelsior Stakes for 4-year-olds and upward traveling 1 1/8 miles at Aqueduct. Trained by Rick Dutrow, Kinetic Sky rallied from off the pace to grab last month’s Stymie by a nose over an extremely wet racetrack that might have favored outside paths. “I got kind of a tough [post] position inside and when I asked him to go and get position outside, he was there for me and went on to finish up,” jockey Jose Lezcano said after the Stymie. The Stymie was contested around a one-turn mile. Dutrow had been considering turning back Kinetic Sky next week for either the Grade 2 Carter at Aqueduct or the Grade 3 Commonwealth at Keeneland until he was informed by the racing office that the Excelsior wasn’t coming up a particularly strong field. :: Bet the races with a $200 First Deposit Match + FREE All Access PPs! Join DRF Bets. “We decided to start looking into it,” Dutrow said. “I feel like he’s very live in there. He’s doing very good. We’re happy with him.” Dutrow also entered Messier, who looks to reach the winner’s circle for the first time since the Grade 3 Robert B. Lewis at Santa Anita in early 2022. Messier made his first start for Dutrow in a high-level allowance at Laurel on Jan. 27. Although beaten at odds-on, Messier, who had a throat operation since that race, made an early wide move into the teeth of the pace over a track that favored horses racing near the rail. Olympic Dreams wheels back quickly after wiring a high-level allowance over course and distance a week ago. Trained by Patrick Quick, Olympic Dreams earned Beyer Speed Figures of 90 or higher in four of his last five starts. “He ran a great race and came out of it good; there are no races for him in the month of April and not much in May either, so we thought we’d run him back,” Quick told NYRA publicity. “It is short rest and that’s always concerning, but he’s just doing great and is healthy as can be.” Quality Chic was nipped by Kinetic Sky in the Stymie after a pacesetting gambit. “I don’t really have any excuses for my horse,” jockey Ramon Vazquez said after the Stymie. “My horse got on the lead and got it very easy, and when I asked him, he responded very well. [Kinetic Sky] just was a little bit better.” After the Stymie, Quality Chic then finished fourth, 1 3/4 lengths behind Olympic Dreams in that allowance. Isaac Castillo pilots Quality Chic from post 7 for trainer David Jacobson. Jacobson also runs Laughing Boy, who finished last of eight in the Stymie. Laughing Boy breaks from the inside on Saturday and should be a strong pace factor. Kuchar earned two stakes placings in 2022 and appears to be rounding back into his best form for trainer Rudy Rodriguez after earning a career-best 91 Beyer taking a second-level allowance over nine furlongs here on March 1. Curbstone returned from a lengthy layoff to take down second-level allowance foes at one mile on Feb. 25 for trainer Tom Morley. Rocco Strong finished third behind Kuchar on March 1, but previously earned a career-high speed figure when winning a first-level allowance over muddy going. – additional reporting by David Grening :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.