Versatile Catholic Boy sharp for Suburban

ELMONT, N.Y. – On this weekend last year, Catholic Boy won the Grade 1 Belmont Derby, affirming himself as the top 3-year-old turf horse in the country. But wait, there’s more.

Six weeks later, Catholic Boy won the Grade 1 Travers on dirt at Saratoga, making him a rare dual-surface Grade 1 winner.

A year later, Catholic Boy enters Saturday’s Grade 1, $700,000 Suburban Stakes at Belmont Park coming off a victory in the Grade 2 Dixie on turf.

“This race will determine if he stays on the dirt or do we go back to the turf,” trainer Jonathan Thomas said.

The Suburban, run at 1 1/4 miles, has been the early-season objective all along for Catholic Boy, who at age 2 won the Grade 2 Remsen on dirt two starts after winning the With Anticipation on turf at Saratoga. Thomas said he used the Dixie as the first start this year because of the six-week spacing from that race to the Suburban.

And, Thomas said, “We felt starting him back on the turf was going to be a little bit easier on him.”

If his workouts are any indication, Catholic Boy has moved forward from the Dixie. On June 23, Catholic Boy breezed five furlongs in 58.28 seconds, galloping out six furlongs in 1:11.08.

“He came out of that work extremely well, his energy level is very good,” Thomas said. “Although it wasn’t by design, it was nice to see him flash that kind of speed on the dirt. I don’t want to see it again except in the afternoons, maybe.”

Catholic Boy may need to use a little bit of his early speed to gain position as he breaks from the rail in a bulky 11-horse field.

While Mitole is probably the top older dirt horse in training, he is not part of this route division. Thus, the competition Catholic Boy faces is solid, though not outstanding.

Marconi, a bust at 3, has improved significantly this year and has won the Skip Away, Flat Out, and Grade 2 Brooklyn Stakes in his last three starts.

“It seemed like after the Skip Away win he’s become more consistent in his training,” trainer Todd Pletcher said. “He’d shown us hints at times there was something there but he wouldn’t always deliver. Since then, winning that race and coming back and winning the next two, he seems to be in a really good groove at the moment.”

Pletcher is stepping Wooderson up in class off two allowance wins. Wooderson is a half-brother to the champion filly Rachel Alexandra by Breeders’ Cup Classic winner Awesome Again.

“He’s always given us the impression that more distance, with that pedigree, should suit him fine,” Pletcher said.

Trainer Jimmy Jerkens sends out both Preservationist and Rocketry. Preservationist, a 6-year-old son of Arch, is making his stakes debut coming off two allowance wins three months apart. He is stretching out from 1 1/16 miles to 1 1/4 miles, and will be ridden by Junior Alvarado.

“He’s had some nice, long two-turn works in between races,” Jerkens said. “Junior is better than your average jockey settling them early, and he seems to fit him good.”

Rocketry, who finished second to Marconi in both the Flat Out and Brooklyn, is getting blinkers to help keep him a little closer early on.

“If some of them throw in the towel and start backing up, you know he can pick them up and get something,” Jerkens said. “Seems like he’s doing real good and you just don’t want to sit on them forever and not run him anywhere.”

Carlino ran a sneaky good fourth in the Jockey Club Gold Cup here last year. In his 5-year-old debut he made up a ton of ground under Manny Franco to finish 3 3/4 lengths behind winner Tenfold in the Pimlico Special in May.

“First start off a long layoff we went into it kind of thinking we were going to get a race into him at a distance he’d be comfortable at,” trainer Mark Hennig said. “As it turned out he did get outrun early, but he was finishing very well. As Manny said, the horses were all over the track as he was making his run. If he could have had a straight path he would have been even closer.”

Lone Sailor, second in the Oaklawn Handicap and third to Vino Rosso in the Grade 1 Gold Cup at Santa Anita, is getting blinkers for trainer Tom Amoss.

Pavel, a Grade 1 winner, Realm, Mead Hall, and Cordmaker complete the field.