The Gander ($135.000 Purse)
AQU- For Three Year Olds Foaled In NY
One Mile on the Dirt
March 7, 2026

Eleven horses that call the Empire State home will be heading to the starting gate for the $135.000 Gander, and for everyone involved in this field, a win here would be the biggest of their career. Only one horse here has made over $100.000, and six of them haven’t even hit $50.000 in earnings, so this is a steppingstone race for everyone. Last year’s winner, Classical, who is trained by D J C Racing Stables, tried to do exactly that into graded competition after his win, but has not won since. Here’s a look at the field for this year’s race!

1- Grievous (Royalty Stables, ridden by C Cedeno)- Broke his maiden in December at TAM, and was moved into the $150.000 Swale at GP after that. It would be a painful race for the trainer to watch, and there will be no excuses for a similar performance here if Grievous wants to keep getting these chances.

2- Very Strange (Axeman, ridden by Jam Rodriguez)- After getting his debut race out of the way, Very Strange has exclusively run with the NY-bred in his next starts. He was competitive in most of them, before finishing as the runner up last month in the $135.000 Runyon. This race is a furlong longer, but even though Very Strange did lose by two there, he should still be fine with the added distance.

3- Yonis On The Run (Spb Racing, ridden by K J Coa)- One of the more experienced horses in this field, having made ten starts to this point. Three of them are wins, but none have been in one of the stakes that he has run in. His best win to date came in an optional claimer at GP, so nothing wrong with that at all. Stretches out to a mile for the first time.

4- Grand Sharky (Red Fox Farms, ridden by J Rosario)- After starting his career at the free track in December, Grand Sharky took on NY-Breds here at a mile last month and broke his maiden. After that solid effort, he’ll get a chance here, but hopefully his most recent mile work represents a “slow” end of the range he typically runs.

5- Sweet N Spicy (Mb Stables, ridden by E Cancel)- Sweet N Spicy has one win over his five career starts, but has been able to hit the board in four of them. Turned in a competitive third here, in a dead heat, at the $150.000 Jerome with a strong come from behind effort but could not carry that into the Grade 3 Holy Bull down at GP four weeks later. Works well, and figures to have a strong shot.

6- The Fixer (Mb Stables, ridden by R Gutierrez)- Made the first six starts of his career either here or at SAR, but it would take a trip down to Florida to break his maiden, coming last time out for a smaller purse at TAM. He convincingly won that race by four lengths and will return to NY-Bred competition with that in his back pocket.

7- Creepy Shine (RNP Stables, ridden by K Carmouche)- The gelding has gone back and forth between the dirt and the turf in his eight-race career as he looks to find the conditions he thrives at the best. He’s won once over that time, on debut at the free track, and would be gelded in late January, was third here in an allowance three weeks ago.

8- Angel In Command (Mb Stables, ridden by S Civaci)- After winning his first two races, Angel In Command would be sold to Mb Stables for $200.000 in mid-January. The trainer had high aspirations by entering him into the $250.000 Davis Stakes last month, and while his race was not necessarily a bad one, he did not cash a check. This is a drop down in competition from that, and he’ll definitely be one of the top choices here with a similar effort.

9- Resurgent (D J C Racing Stables, ridden by D Davis)- The trainer hopes for his third Gander win in four years, and pins his hopes on this colt by Lea that we saw here last month. In the Runyon, Resurgent did finish third but was beaten by three lengths along the way. He’s won once over five starts and is looking for his breakthrough in a race like this.

10- Belgian Connection (Nakamura Stables, ridden by E A Ellingwood)- No one in this field has run more than Belgian Connection, as this will be twelfth career start. Also ran in the Runyon last month, but it was actually not the last time he has raced. He struggled in that race, and just last week, was down at TP running in an optional claimer that he also failed to cash a check in. He’ll be back in action, just ten days later and maybe I could have more confidence in him if the last two results were better.

11- Crossing The Lake (The Sidley Stud, ridden by G Kocakaya)- He’s been running at fair or low-level tracks for his career, with his last two starts coming at BTP. After a little more than a three-month layoff, Crossing The Lake was a non-factor in BTP allowance, but maybe stretching out will help as he has only been a sprinter so far. Works are showing progress, so while I don’t rule him out, others are more appealing.

Prediction: 2-6-8-5

— NS

Categories: STAKES ARTICLES, Ungraded