SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Thus far, Nakatomi’s 6-year-old campaign has not looked much like his 5-year-old season. Trainer Wesley Ward hopes that changes Saturday when Nakatomi seeks a repeat victory in the Alfred G. Vanderbilt Stakes at Saratoga. A Grade 1 race a year ago with a $350,000 purse, the Vanderbilt will be run as a Grade 2 this year, but it did get a purse increase to $400,000. In 2024, Nakatomi made his seasonal debut in the Pelican Stakes at Tampa Bay Downs before going to Dubai, where he finished third in the Golden Shaheen. Following a pattern that he’s used with mostly all the horses he sends abroad, Ward gave Nakatomi plenty of time to recover. He came off the bench with a 1 1/2-length victory over Skelly in the Vanderbilt. Following a sixth-place finish in the Breeders’ Cup Sprint last fall, Ward gave Nakatomi plenty of time off, eschewing a winter prep and training him right into the Golden Shaheen, where he was beaten a neck by Dark Saffron. :: Get exclusive Saratoga Clocker Reports from Mike Welsch and the Clocker Team. Available every race day.  “I can’t believe he got beat, actually, the way the race played out,” Ward said Monday. “The favorites didn’t show up and the longshot just kept going. He ran a really good race in defeat.” Ward said when Nakatomi came back to the U.S., he seemed to bright and energetic. So, after consulting the owners, he decided to run him in the Grade 3 True North at Saratoga in June. A slow start and a sloppy, speed-favoring track may have conspired against him, as Nakatomi finished fifth, 5 1/4 lengths behind Book’em Danno. “Unfortunately, he got left at the gate, and then after that, unfortunately, playing the track, because it was kind of speed favoring, Irad [Ortiz Jr.] made that middle move down the backside and he couldn’t overcome the bad start,” Ward said. “Now, he’s had a couple of nice works, we drew a great post with a rider that got him out of the gate last time. It looks like a very contentious race on paper. I entered with a little apprehension looking over the field, but that post really lured me into the race, so away we go.” Nakatomi drew the outside post in this eight-horse field and will be ridden by Emisael Jaramillo, who rode Nakatomi in Dubai. Skelly, who ran second to Nakatomi in last year’s Vanderbilt, is back in this field and will break from the rail. Between Skelly and Nakatomi, in post order, are Full Moon Madness, Damon’s Mound, Mullikin, Book’em Danno, Nash, and Baby Yoda. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.