Rodriguez tries to squeeze all he can out of Phileas Fogg with blinkers in Cigar Mile
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OZONE PARK, N.Y. – For as well as Phileas Fogg has run over the last 12 months, winning three stakes and finishing in the money in three others – a disqualification from third in the Grade 1 Jockey Club Gold Cup not withstanding – trainer Gustavo Rodriguez has not been completely satisfied.
In hopes of getting a little more from his 5-year-old gelding, Rodriguez will add blinkers to Phileas Fogg when he runs in Saturday’s Grade 2, $500,000 Cigar Mile Handicap at Aqueduct. The Cigar Mile tops an 11-race card that includes three other graded stakes and two $500,000 New York Stallion Series stakes for 2-year-olds. First post for the last major card on this circuit for 2025 is 11:20 a.m.
Since last Dec. 29, Phileas Fogg has won the Queens County, Excelsior, and Grade 2 Suburban. His narrow victory in the Suburban over Antiquarian was part of a four-race sequence that included a second-place finish in the Pimlico Special, a third (disqualified to seventh for interference) in the Jockey Club Gold Cup and a second in the Grade 2 Woodward that Rodriguez believes could have gone better.
“Turning for home, he looks like he’s going to win with no problem and then he just stops,” Rodriguez said. “The last four races – even when he won the Suburban – I was not happy.”
Rodriguez said he does not believe his horse got tired in any of those races.
Rodriguez, who often gets on his horses in the morning, worked Phileas Fogg in blinkers. Joel Rosario, who will ride Phileas Fogg for the first time Saturday, also worked the gelding once in blinkers.
“I love the way he worked in blinkers, Rosario worked him with blinkers and said ‘very nice,’ ” said Rodriguez, who noted the blinkers would be of the small cup variety.
Phileas Fogg doesn’t need blinkers to show more speed. He’s got plenty of early lick. Mika, coming off a dominant first-level allowance win at Laurel Park on Nov. 16, also has some early speed should trainer Mike Maker instruct Manny Franco to use it. Franco wound up on Mika when his scheduled mount, Rated by Merit, was not entered because Chad Brown didn’t like his last workout.
At 114 pounds, Mika gets 11 pounds from both Phileas Fogg and Bishops Bay, the co-highweights at 125 pounds.
Bishops Bay doesn’t figure to be too far off the early lead under Flavien Prat, who rode him to victory in the Grade 3 Forty Niner Stakes, the local prep for the Cigar Mile. Bishops Bay also won the Grade 3 Westchester, a one-mile race at Aqueduct, in May. Bishops Bay’s lone defeat in his last six starts came when he finished sixth after a stumble at the break of the Grade 1 Forego at Saratoga.
Bishops Bay was purchased by KAS for $1.3 million at auction following the Forty Niner and then was given back to trainer Brad Cox, who had trained him for a partnership headed by Spendthrift Farm. The Cigar Mile is being used as a way to get to the $20 million Saudi Cup in Riyadh on Feb. 14.
Crazy Mason began his year with three consecutive wins capped by a neck victory in the Grade 2 Carter Stakes in April. He was third behind top sprinter Book’em Danno in both the Grade 3 True North and Grade 1 Forego at Saratoga. He is coming off a runner-up finish behind Patriot Sprit in the Grade 3 Vosburgh here on Sept. 27.
Crazy Mason is a stone-cold closer and would likely need Phileas Fogg and Mika to mix it up early to have his best chance.
“Even with a moderate pace he’s going to come with his run, but if some pace materialized up front that would give us a great shot to win it,” trainer Gregg Sacco said.
Though his better races have been at six and seven furlongs, Crazy Mason can still be effective at a mile, Sacco said.
“He’s given us every indication when he goes seven-eighths that the added eighth shouldn’t be a problem,” Sacco said.
In the game of musical jockeys, Irad Ortiz Jr. ends up on Crazy Mason for the first time.
Pentathlon, who had Rosario aboard when he won a second-level allowance here on Oct. 24, will have Junior Alvarado up for the first time. Pentathlon ran arguably his best race last time out when trainer Shug McGaughey removed blinkers from his equipment.
Doc Sullivan is coming off a 5 1/2-legnth victory in the Thunder Rumble division of the New York Stallion Series last out. He is not definite to run Saturday as his connections also have the Alex Robb for New York-breds on their agenda on Dec. 26.
Brazenly, who is 1 for 26 the last two years, will be making his graded stakes debut.
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