OZONE PARK, N.Y. - As a half-brother to 2018 Triple Crown winner Justify, Stage Raider certainly has the pedigree to get his connections excited. Now, he has a performance to, ahem, justify that excitement. While the Triple Crown prep season was wrapping up Saturday, Stage Raider set the foundation to be a presence in the 3-year-old division in the second half of the year with a flashy 10 3/4-length maiden victory in the slop at Keeneland. Sitting third early under Irad Ortiz Jr., Stage Raider swallowed up the two pace horses in front of him turning for home and, though he ducked in a few paths after being shown the whip by Irad Ortiz Jr., Stage Raider was quickly corrected and went on to victory under a vigorous hand ride. He covered seven furlongs in 1:22.62 and was assigned a 95 Beyer Speed Figure. :: Bet horse racing on DRF Bets. Double Your First Deposit Up to $250. Join Now. “He ran super,” trainer Chad Brown said Sunday morning. “He really trained well all winter. We’re elated with the result, but not totally surprised.” Saturday was Stage Raider’s second start. In his debut, on Jan. 23 at Gulfstream Park, Stage Raider finished a well-beaten second behind Prevalence. Brown said Stage Raider showed some immaturity prior to that race, but acknowledged that his horse ran “into a buzzsaw” that day. “And he probably needed the race, he was soundly beaten but ran well to run second,” said Brown, who trains Stage Raider, a son of Pioneerof the Nile, for owner/breeder John Gunther. “He really got a lot out of that race, decided to rest him and point him to Keeneland and try him on a diff surface as well. He certainly didn’t mind the wet track yesterday. I’m told he came out of the race well so far.” Brown said Stage Raider has some quirks about him and in that respect reminds him of Empire Maker, Stage Raider’s paternal grandsire, whom Brown was around when he worked for trainer Bobby Frankel. “I can see a lot of Empire Maker in the horse training and you saw a little bit of it in the stretch,” Brown said. “But he’s a class horse. Yes, he’s a little quirky, but he’s cooperating, he’s learning his job, I’m proud of him.” Brown plans to ship Stage Raider to Belmont Park in the coming week to 10 days. Brown said he will weigh several options for Stage Raider. Races like the Grade 3 Peter Pan at Belmont on May 8, the Grade 1 Woody Stephens at Belmont on June 5, and the TVG.com Pegasus at Monmouth Park on June 13 are among those he would consider. “We’re all excited to stretch the horse out the way he galloped out and given his pedigree,” Brown said. “Our hope and dream would be he would develop into a Haskell and Travers horse. He’s got a long way to go off a maiden win and on a wet track, albeit, but then again he’s got the pedigree.” As far as the Kentucky Derby is concerned, Brown still plans to be represented by Blue Grass Stakes runner-up Highly Motivated. That horse is expected to work at Keeneland over the weekend before moving to Churchill Downs on April 19. While Brown said Sunday he is “strongly leaning” toward training Wood Memorial third-place finisher Crowded Trade to the Preakness on May 15, he left the door open slightly for the Derby. “I do like how he came out of this race,” Brown said. “He’s really bounced out of it well, I’m pleasantly surprised because he ran really hard, but he looks better now than going into it physically. I want to see him work, I want to see Highly Motivated work. I definitely want to be represented in the Derby with one of them.” Risk Taking, seventh in the Wood Memorial, is possible for the Peter Pan as a steppingstone to the Belmont Stakes, Brown said. Brown’s Kentucky Oaks hopeful, the undefeated Search Results, is expected to work at Belmont over the weekend before shipping to Kentucky on April 19.