The Remsen – GII
$250.000 Two Year Olds
1 1/8 Miles Dirt
Aqueduct – December 6, 2025
In only a couple of weeks the calendar will flip, and it will be a new year. No one is waiting for a calendar flip and for two-year-olds to become three-year-olds though for the focus to shift to the Kentucky Derby, the race everyone wants to win. It is evident that focus on the Derby is not calendar dependent by the sudden growth of the TC nominations in recent days. The BC is over, and we are all chomping at the bit to get into Road To the Derby qualifying season so The Remsen with its coveted Derby points attached comes at the perfect time to feed the beast of Derby dreams. Not surprising, The Remsen has drawn a full field of ten hoping to get the jump on getting into the big dance.
1. Daring Ned (The Sidley Stud/M. Franco) One of several horses in the field that already have some Derby qualifying points in the bank. He is looking to take advantage of his inside draw to add to that five-point balance. In his last race he was able to win the G3 Grey Stakes at Woodbine from off the pace. Most of the two-year-old elites were in the BC that weekend, but he was competitive in the G1 Pharoah stakes when he absolutely flew home for a close fourth. He will need to avoid traffic but should love the extra distance.
2. Self Love (Mb Stables/P. Lopez) Mb Stables is looking to continue their “streak” of Remsen/Derby wins with their homebred who currently leads the stable’s perennial in house Derby qualifying race with thirteen points. He finished ahead of his rival on the rail in the G1 Pharoah and then won the G3 Street Sense at Churchill in his next start. Has the weapon of early speed to get into a good stalking position from this post. He is a winner of three of six starts and has never yet missed hitting the board. Dangerous.
3. Knight Bus (Delta Farms/F. Pennington) Knight Bus is looking to cast a spell on the field as he ventures into stakes competition for the first time. The gelding has two wins on his resume but faded to fourth after making the lead in his last race which is not the confidence building win you would want to see when taking this kind of step up. That race however was on a muddy track so he might have had an excuse for the trainer to shove that aside. Will likely be hoping the rain holds off (twenty four percent chance) and he will see a fast track.
4. Creepy Echo Party (Martyparty/D.E. Centeno) Lightly raced with one win in three starts. He was a face closing third in his last when he was tested in an ungraded stakes going seven furlongs. He continues his distance progression and given his performances thus far it looks like going longer will not pose an issue. His longer works are encouraging, and he is a big horse carrying a fairly light weight on his average frame, so he is very possibly further along on his form development than some others
5. Hurts (Royalty Stables/J.R. Velasquez) He has nineteen points already in the Derby qualifying race and he was the leading two-year-old and favorite going into last month’s BC Juvenile. He finished a strong third in that one rallying like a demon from tenth to third in the late stretch. The winner in that one had the pace advantage to stay out of trouble and take the win, and Hurts ran valiantly in defeat, but the challenge of his running style (to date) will always remain. Closers have to have some luck with pace and traffic, but his talent is undeniable. He is the class of the field based on resumes to this point.
6. Karma Is Josh Allen (Rock Creek/P. Husbands) Should I be embarrassed that I don’t know who Josh Allen is? I feel like I should, but I am too lazy to actually look it up. Hopefully he has some karma banked because this appears to be a big ask for a maiden who has not yet put up a SRF speed figure north of the eighties to tackle this field. He put in a pretty good mile work at the end of October, but his last mile work was almost a second slower. The positive in his racing record is that he seems to get better as he goes longer and he did just miss at a high level MSW in his last.
7. Record Machine (Acber Farms/R.M. Hernandez) He won his debut effort in a MSW at Del Mar which is impressive and he jumped right into the G1 Champagne is his next start. He drew post nine and finished ninth, but he was closing fast so it was not all in all a bad effort. He bounced back to show promise again when finishing a close driving second to Daring Ned in the G3 Grey. Another closer who will need to find a trip, but he is talented and a threat.
8. Mastery (D J C Racing Stables/Jam Rodriguez) Won a State Bred MSW at Saratoga and finished second in the State Bred Sleepy Hollow in his last start. NY bred restricted races are not easy spots but his two off the board finishes were in open company – they were also on off tracks, so it is hard to get a great read on his form.
9. Firing Squad (Twin Towers Racing/F. Geroux) One of four entries who are already nominated to next year’s Triple Crown series, but he is the only one of the four yet to have any points towards that goal. This will be his acid test, but his trainer obviously has hopes and aspirations for him. Progressed to a MSW win at Aqueduct in his fourth start at six furlongs. He was a closing second in his next effort at Del Mar where he stretched out to a mile proving that he can handle a route of ground. Seems to be versatile but his outside post may force him to use early to get some positioning.
10. Pleasure Connection (Nakamura Stables/R. Bejarano) Was the winner of his last start which was his first after being gelded and where he defeated Firing Squad who drew directly to his inside. He went wire to wire that day but he has shown different dimensions in his running line, so his trainer has strategic options. Steps up today and gets a class test. Just as an aside…how do you in good conscience geld a horse named Pleasure Connection?! It just seems doubly cruel but if it results in a win here it’s a small price to pay.
Up until last year The Remsen was a horrible indicator of Derby success. Although many of its winners had gone on to make the Derby field none had even hit the board and had actually run pretty dismally until last year. The 2024 winner, Extreme Jet, defied history by going on to win the Derby by open lengths and later adding a Belmont win as well. We will see if this year’s winner can duplicate that success and begin a new trend. I have to go with Hurts in this spot given his proven quality and consistency. I look for him to overcome the challenges of his running style. Self Love appears to be his most likely threat for the win with the first and second finishers from the Grey, Daring Ned and Record Machine, right on their heels.
Categories: Grade II, STAKES ARTICLES