O'Connor tops Joseph's pair in Harlan's Holiday Stakes

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – The first invitation list for the $3 million Pegasus World Cup on Jan. 27 is due out next week. The list figures to be partially determined by the outcome of Saturday’s $150,000 Harlan’s Holiday Stakes at Gulfstream Park, a race that shares top billing with the Grade 2 Fort Lauderdale on an outstanding 11-race program that begins at 12:10 p.m.

The Harlan's Holiday is part of a Rainbow 6 wager that has a mandatory payout on Saturday.

A field of 11 was entered for the 1 1/16-mile Harlan’s Holiday, led by O’Connor, who is coming off a game victory in the Grade 2 Fayette Stakes on Oct. 28 at Keeneland. He is one of two horses trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. entered in the Grade 3 Harlan’s Holiday along with Ny Traffic.

The Chilean-bred O’Connor came into last year’s Harlan’s Holiday with high expectations off a one-sided allowance victory in his U.S. debut only to finish fourth as the 6-5 favorite. Despite the disappointing effort, O’Connor still earned a spot in the 2023 Pegasus but was never a factor, ultimately finishing nearly 21 lengths behind race winner Art Collector.

“He didn’t fire his best shot in the Harlan’s Holiday last year, trained super for the Pegasus, then didn’t run his race at all,” Joseph recalled.

O’Connor, a Group 1 winner in Chile before joining Joseph’s stable during fall 2022, was graded stakes-placed in three consecutive starts exiting the Pegasus, including the Grade 2 Charles Town Classic when second best behind stablemate Skippylongstocking. After finishing fifth in the Grade 2 Woodward, O’Connor finally got back on the winning track with a big effort in the Fayette, rallying from near the rear of the field to a head decision over Il Miracolo.

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“We did surgery on him for an entrapped epiglottis before the Charles Town Classic,” Joseph said. “His race in the Woodward was frustrating because he missed the break that day. I was just so happy he got that win last time at Keeneland. It was a solid effort. I think it was his best race so far. He was very handy racing in between horses despite taking dirt. It was a tough trip and he was very professional to overcome that and still win. I think he’s probably among the top three or four horses currently pointing for the Pegasus, although for us, this is a very important race in its own right.”

The well-traveled Ny Traffic appears to be cycling back to top form after being sidelined for 13 months due to an ankle issue. He has started twice on the comeback trail, winning an open allowance race going 6 1/2 furlongs at Aqueduct before finishing second at the same distance against New York-breds in the Hudson Stakes on Oct. 29. Although the majority of his races have come around one turn, Ny Traffic’s most notable performance came at 1 1/8 miles when beaten a nose by Authentic in the 2020 Haskell at Monmouth Park.

“He’s coming up to this race in good order, and I felt it was a good time to stretch him back out around two turns again,” said Joseph who expects Ny Traffic to “be on the lead or thereabouts” breaking from post 2.

Trainer Todd Pletcher will counter with a pair of his own – Grand Aspen, who exits an easy first-level allowance win at Churchill Downs, and stablemate Gasoline, who posted back-to-back allowance victories over the Louisville oval before finishing a non-threatening fifth in the Grade 2 Clark on Nov. 24.

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Octane is among the others in the lineup hoping to secure an invitation to the Pegasus World Cup with a big effort Saturday. He is coming off arguably the top performance of his career, a 1 3/4-length triumph in the restricted Gil Campbell Memorial Handicap for Florida-breds going a mile on Oct. 21.

The remainder of the field includes Dubyuhnell, Blue Devil, Miles D, Steal Sunshine, Lure Him In, and Signator, who is expected to scratch to compete in the Queens County on Sunday at Aqueduct.

Rampart Stakes

Maryquitecontrary will attempt to successfully defend her title when taking on five other fillies and mares, including the Grade 1-placed Nostalgic, in the $125,000 Rampart.

Maryquitecontrary rallied to a popular 3 1/2-length decision over Colorful Mischief trying a mile for the first and only time in the 2022 Rampart. The victory capped a near-perfect 3-year-old campaign for the late-running filly, who then came right back to open her 2023 season with a similarly easy 2 1/2-length triumph in the Grade 2 Inside Information. Maryquitecontrary, who was beaten a half-length by Three Witches in the Grade 3 Princess Rooney despite yet another very wide trip in her last start on Oct. 7, has since been transferred to trainer Eddie Plesa Jr., who will saddle her for the first time in the Rampart.

“She’s training excellent, doing excellent. I couldn’t be any more pleased with that part of it and I’m anxious to run her on Saturday,” Plesa said.

Nostalgic is coming off a distant second behind runaway, gate-to-wire winner Hot and Sultry in the Grade 3 Chilukki at Churchill, which followed her third-place effort in the Grade 2 Beldame at Aqueduct. Trained by Bill Mott, Nostalgic won her only start at Gulfstream Park during the winter of 2022 and has never finished worse than third in three starts at a mile.

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