The Mohawk ($200.00 Purse)
BEL- For Three Year Olds and Upward Foaled in NY
One Mile and One Eighth on the Inner Turf
October 24, 2026

Saturday’s NY-bred card at BEL will also give three year old turf horses their time to shine, as NY-breds will go a mile and an eighth on the grass in hopes of taking the top share of the $200.00 purse. Other than for a lesser amount in 2020, that purse level has been the norm for the race since 2013. Last year, we saw Night Rider Stables take home the Mohawk win with then five year old gelding, Hero Sweep. He is still active and has had a solid career overall, but has not won since last year’s triumph. We have ten ready to go in this year’s race, so let’s take a run through the field!

1- Full Access (Mb Stables, ridden by M Franco)- It’s somewhat hard to get a read on this colt. And, who knows, maybe Mb Stables thinks the same thing at times as just two back he was running in an allowance at FE (that he did win). He’s had his moments, and does have a stake win from early 2025. Overall, he’s hit the board seven times in 13 starts, but those other six races have some fairly subpar outings in them. There’s nothing wrong with his works, so there’s no reason why he can’t have one of his good days. But other than naturally trusting anything Mb enters, I wouldn’t have confidence putting virtual money on him.

2- Furious Luka (Night Rider Stables, ridden by K Carmouche)- Looks to earn the second win in a row for the trainer in this race, and if you asked me in August what I thought about him, I’d say he has a great shot. It was then where he ran second in the Grade 3 Mahony at SAR, continuing a streak of then six races of hitting the board. She wasn’t a factor in the $1,500.00 Simpson, which can easily be forgiven, but did she become demoralized? Is that even a thing on HRP? Should’ve bounced back in the Grade 2 Woodford with better. That does concern me, but this is a great placement spot for her after that. She’s been fine with the distance before.

3- Off The Horizon (Nakamura Stables, ridden by L Salles)- After finishing his three year old season by running third in the Grade 3 Hill Prince, Off The Horizon started this year with two victories and seemed poised for a bigger year. That’s happened to an extent, as in May he did place second in the Grade 3 Arlington Stakes while following that up with an open allowance win. Unfortunately, he was flat last time out in the West Point Handicap from the Spa. I do think he can do a lot better than that, so look for a rebound.

4- Neon Lemon (TwinTowersRacing, ridden by A Beschizza)- Picked up by the trainer in private sales for $60.00 while he was still a maiden, and two starts later he would grab a commanding four length win at AQU. An attempt at the TX Derby did not go well after that, but he would then narrowly miss out in a SAR allowance. After not showing much in the Albany, the trainer is now trying something new by running him on the grass. He did do this in his debut race, and he had an eye-opening work at PRX recently. Very appealing in this field.

5- Flawless Coming (Mo Mentum Farm, ridden by E J Zayas)- Claimed by Mo Mentum Farm for $15.00 in June, and at the time this horse had been a regular participant in claimers. With Mo Mentum Farm, he was sent to SAR to run against NY-breds and showed that he was up for the task before being involved in a three-way photo for the win in the $200.00 West Point Handicap. Headbobs placed him third, but it was still an impressive effort and signaled the end of him running in LS claimers for good (well, at least for the near future). This is a similar race, and he does see some familiar faces from the West Point, all of whom he was better than on that day.

6- Wealthy B Wonka (Mb Stables, ridden by D E Centeno)- For the first time in my three races to cover this weekend, I get to mention KYD prep races! They would begin following an impressive second place run in the $500.00 Great White Way for NY-breds at the Big A (RIP). He’d pick up points in three preps, including the Wood Memorial, but in this barn, that’s not good enough. In June, he’d be moved to the turf and would win the $200.00 Violette at SAR, a similar race to this one. Didn’t cash a check in the $3,000.00 Nashville Derby, but did finish in the top half of that loaded field. Highly impressive work here last month. I’ll be putting him on top.

7- Slick Luka (D J C Racing Stables, ridden by M J Sanchez)- It’s another Luka, but this one will be in the silks of D J C Racing Stables, who claimed him last December for just $6.25. After solid efforts in their first three races together, Slick Luka would win a $18.00 claimer at MTH two starts ago. That got the trainer feeling good about the horse, and he entered him in a PRX allowance, which he would also win. Now, we’ll see how far he can continue to progress. I’m intrigued by his breeding being by the veteran Il Miglio Fabro and out of the highly successful Slckmoment Laga.

8- Barn Breath (Our Athletes, ridden by A Fresu)- It’ll be almost exactly one year to the day when we last saw Barn Breath run on the turf, and he did make it count as he won a NY-bred optional claimer. Four of his 18 career starts are on turf, and he’s won two of them and was second in another. The one he didn’t was a fifth place effort in the BC Juvenile Turf Sprint. While all that looks good, he’s been on the main track since then, winning once in seven starts. He had been competitive, but after a dud in the Grade 1 Goodwood, the trainer goes back to what had worked real well for him earlier in his career. Recent works show that he’ll still have it. My second choice, and we might get a decent price for him.

9- Thomas Shelby (Big Jd Racing, ridden by S Elliott)- Another horse that comes out of the West Point Handicap, and he had the best seat in the house for the three way photo finish for the win as he ended up fourth, about a length back. He’s been a regular in running with the NY-bred condition over the course of his 25-race career and has been able to win some good looking overnights, but has not quite been able to step up in one of the stakes he has attempted for a win. If he can run like he did in the West Point, he can be in the mix here to the end as well, but a few others look a little better.

10- Pulpit Pimp (Nakamura Stables, ridden by F H Da Silva)- Most of his career has spent in overnights at low to mid level tracks, rotating between stretches of running on the dirt then on the turf. He’s been productive, but does not have that one win or even a close second that you can look to and highlight as an impressive result. Last time out he was okay in the $100.00 Red Bank at MTH, running fourth of eight but I just need to see more in order to pick him over some of these others.

Prediction: 6-8-5-9

— NS

Categories: STAKES ARTICLES, Ungraded