The list of past winners of the Caesars Jockey Club Derby Invitational Stakes (G3T) may not be long, but it is certainly illustrious.
Due to the pandemic in 2020, the race has only been held twice since its inception in 2019, and before September 17 only two horses had won the marathon turf stakes.
The first, Spanish mission was a multiple Group 2 winner and finished third in the world-famous Lexus Melbourne Cup (G1).
Last year, Godolphin's Yibir used the Jockey Club Derby as a springboard to victory in the Longines Breeders' Cup Turf (G1T) and recognition as the 2021 Eclipse Award-winning male turf runner.
Godolphin recorded back-to-back Jockey Club Derby victories on Saturday, and while another turf win and the Eclipse Award will be no effortless feat, the 2022 international stable's winner is the home-bred Pride of Nations certainly showed tremendous promise when he took a 6 1/4-length victory under legendary European jockey Frankie Dettori in the $955,000 event for 3-year-olds Aqueduct race track.
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“He has that twist. Since his first run here he has really grown and filled out his figure. He's done fantastic work since he's been here. It’s good to see,” said assistant Chris Connett, who saddled the winner for British trainer Charlie Appleby. “Frankie gave him an absolute top performance. He traveled around and accepted exactly what you wanted. For a race like this it was pretty effortless.”
For Nations Pride, Saturday's victory in the final leg of the Caesars Turf Triple for Three-Year-Olds brought victories in the last two outings of the series and a stunning triumph Classic dam in their rubber fight.
After Kentucky West Racing and Clarke Cooper's Classic Causeway captured the Caesars Belmont Derby Invitational Stakes (G1T) for trainer Ken McPeek by three-quarters in a choppy Nations Pride round to open the Caesars Series, Nations Pride rallied with a 1-3/4-length triumph in the Caesars Saratoga Derby Invitational Stakes (G1T) as Classic Causeway finished third.
Classic Causeway was third again on Saturday as a homebred son of Theophilus turned the Jockey Club Derby into a landslide victory with a lightning-fast stretch run.
“He settled in and strengthened himself at Saratoga,” said Dettori, who last rode at Aqueduct in 1990 when he won the Aqueduct Budweiser Breeders' Cup Handicap with Fire the Groom. “He's been here training for 10 weeks and he's done two races. He has matured and learned a lot.”
For Godolphin and Appleby, the Jockey Club Derby capped a very productive afternoon in North America. Before the Up-to-date York race on the opening weekend of the Belmont at the Gigantic A meeting, the Connections captured the Ricoh Woodbine Mile (G1T). Newfangled games and the Pattison Summer Stakes (G1T). Mysterious night both at honeysuckle.
“We were able to see Newfangled Games win up there in Canada, which was very impressive,” Connett said.
As for future plans for Nations Pride, Connett said the three-year-old will return to the UK on September 20 and Appleby will be thinking about future plans which may or may not include the Breeders' Cup Turf.
“That guy put a suggestion in Charlie’s head anyway. We’ll head home on Tuesday and let the dust settle, see how he comes out of it and make plans from there,” Connett said.
Classic Causeway, a son of Giant's Causeway, tried to take the lead in the Jockey Club Derby, as he had done in the first leg, but this time Nations Pride, who was ninth early in the Belmont Derby, was much closer to the pace in the 1 1/2 2 mile test. When Classic Causeway and jockey Flavien Prat led a half-mile length in :48.33, Nations Pride finished third.
Dettori left the quarter pole, tipped out of the Classic Causeway and then zoomed past the leader, opening a two-length lead at the eighth pole that seemed to grow larger with each powerful stride.
“He got off his feet well and I didn’t want (Classic Causeway) to have an effortless time at the front. As (Discourage ) accepted it, it was great. It saved me from work. From then on it was just a matter of saving ground and getting him to turn in properly and get on the straight. He never had any doubts,” Dettori said. “At the corner I knew I had won the race.” I knew that and I hadn’t put the car in gear yet. Everyone was cooked.
Frankie Dettori gives everything for the cameras on board Nations Pride
Sent off as a robust 1-2 favorite ($3.10), the result of the Oasis dream mare Essential time covered the 1 1/2 miles in 2:24.14, breaking the indoor turf track record of 2:27 set by Pebbles at the 1985 Turf Race, a race on November 2nd.
Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners and Albert Frassettos winner in a race The Gray Wizard recovered from fifth place in the field of six to take second place by half a length over Classic Causeway.
A Caravaggio Trained by Graham Motion, The Gray Wizard gelding began his career in Ireland and has had two starts in the United States, a fourth and a second in first level approval races Saratoga Race Track And Laurel Parkrespectively.
Nations Pride has won six of nine starts and earned $1,434,216 for his connections.
