The Nerud – (Grade lll)

Purse $175.00 – For Four Year Olds And Upward

6 Furlongs – Dirt

Aqueduct – May 9, 2026

Though it was a muddy mess at Aqueduct, Super Powers gets up in the final strides to take the 13th edition of The Nerud. This was his first graded stakes win since being purchased at auction for $40.01 back in September of 2024. As was pointed out in this race’s preview, Super Powers has been a hard-knocking gelding who has now finished out of the money just five times in his last sixteen starts. The final time for the six furlongs was 1:11.44 over the muddy surface. With the win, trainer La Canada Racehorses and jockey Jaime Rodriguez each secured their first victory in The Nerud. The son of In A Major Way added another strong payday, raising his lifetime earnings to $403.73. Performances like this suggest there could be even bigger wins ahead, especially now that Super Powers has established himself at the top level over multiple sprint distances. Congratulations to all the connections on a well-earned graded stakes victory.

Winner: Super Powers – (La Canada Racehorses, Jam. Rodriguez) This California-bred broke relatively sharp from the gate and sat in third traveling down the backside by about a length. Passing the ⅜ pole, Super Powers took second and was starting to close in on Dorian Gray who was setting a strong pace. He was well within striking distance at the top of the lane, and jockey Jaime Rodriguez was trying hard to get this horse in front. There were many rivals closing fast around him, but ultimately this five-year-old just got his nose down on the wire to win in a thriller. Momentum is clearly building for what could be an exciting summer campaign. Well done!

Second Place: Only Way Is Up – (The Sidley Stud, M. Franco) Coming in this race with three previous off-track wins, connections were happy to see some rain in the forecast. Only Way Is Up ran two-wide pretty much the entire way around the racetrack. He had a clean break and sat in fourth down the backstretch and rounding the far turn. About two lengths off the pacesetter, jockey Manny Franco started to ask his horse at the quarter pole and was closing stoutly. Only Way Is Up was unfortunately outkicked in the stretch and didn’t get to the wire in time. However, it was still his best effort in the past year. It would be interesting to see this Florida-bred on the grass down the road.

Third Place: Reliant – (D J C Racing Stables, J. Lezcano) There was a dead heat for third place between this horse and Dorian Gray. There was no speed from Reliant early, and he sat in last running down the backside. Jose Lezcano was hoping for some fast fractions rounding the turn as he was preparing to ask his horse to go. It wasn’t until the quarter pole that Reliant was starting to make up ground, and there was a clear lane to run down on the rail. It seemed that there was too much ground to make up, but this gelding made things interesting late to finish third by a neck. With a two-length win in the mud earlier in his career, this is another horse who loves to run on an off-track.

Third Place: Dorian Gray – (Mb Stables, R. Santana Jr.) Well, there weren’t any surprises with this Breeders Cup Champion, as he went off as the favorite and went straight to the lead. He was already a length ahead passing the ⅜ pole, setting early fractions of 22.55 and 46.30. Dorian Gray and Ricardo Santana Jr. were just cruising on the front end, rounding the turn and entering the stretch. Things began to fall apart in the final furlong, where rivals were starting to catch him on the outside. He fought on gallantly but just couldn’t hold on in the final strides. There ended up being a dead heat for third with Reliant, who was to his outside. Watch out for this one’s summer campaign.

– AJM

Categories: Grade III, STAKES ARTICLES