NY Island Cap
One of the graded stakes on the card for Friday is the NY Island Cup. The mile and a quarter long race is set to go off on the turf at 3:00 PM Eastern. Offering up a total purse of $750,000 the race has drawn in twelve runners for this year despite the downpour which left the track in a yielding condition for post time on Friday. Open to three-year-olds and up the race has attracted both established veterans and those coming into a graded race for the first time in their careers. Let’s take a look through the twelve contenders for this Friday.
- Tears In The Club (IRE) – beerkeg4 – R. Hansen – 7/1
This six-year-old chestnut gelding will be making his twenty-eighth career start this weekend. A Grade I winner of just over a million in career earnings, the most recent start for the gelding came in late April overseas in South Africa during the Manha Manha Challenge (G1) at a mile and a quarter. The gelding would break sharply and go straight to the lead out of the gate but would fade in the stretch to cross the wire in ninth while setting a speed figure of one hundred ten. The most recent win for the gelding came in November of 2024 during the Euro Champion Final (G1) over the same distance in Belgium in which he would take the race from gate to wire, winning by a quarter of a length.
2. Greg Stink (IRE) – alydarthvader – R. Bokie – 7/1
Seeking out the first graded win of his career this Friday, the five-year-old gelding most recently started overseas in South Africa during the Manha Manha Challenge (G1) at a mile and a quarter. Stalking the pace from fourth, the gelding would fall back in the stretch to cross the wire in sixth, setting a speed figure of one hundred eleven. Prior to this the gelding would have his most recent win, which came against allowance company at nine furlongs in Australia. Again, stalking from fourth, the gelding would start to advance midway through the race and would go on to win by three lengths.
3. The Composition – corza – C. Orza – 16/1
Spending much of his career sprinting, the five-year-old chestnut recently returned to longer races and will be attempting to get the first graded stakes win of his career with this race. The chestnut horse most recently started against allowance company over nine and a half furlongs on the dirt in Ontario. Out of the gate in second, he would fall back in the stretch to cross the wire in third, setting a speed figure of one hundred five. His most recent win was also in allowance company, though in July of last year at seven furlongs overseas in South Korea. Held off the pace in eighth, he would start closing in on the rest of the field halfway through the race and would move to take over the pace in the stretch, winning by a length and a half on the dirt. His most recent graded start was also on the dirt in the Camelot Road (G3) in which he would finish eighth. The horse has never won over the turf, though he has made five starts over the surface, his best finish coming in a second-place finish against allowance company over ten furlongs this past February.
4. Crypto Scheming – mtk76 – M. Kelly – 19/1
Lightly raced with just eight career starts, this four-year-old colt is sired by Annapolis. Winning half of his lifetime starts, the colt will be making his graded stakes debut on Friday. The most recent start for the bay colt came against listed stakes company at nine furlongs in New Jersey. Out of the gate in fifth, the colt would only advance to fourth by the time the field reached the wire. He would set a speed figure of one hundred six. His most recent win was against allowance company at the same distance across the country in California. Sitting just off the pace in second, he took control of the pace halfway through the race and went on to win by an impressive seven lengths. He will be off as Friday’s longshot.
5. Parti Sconosciute (IRE) – mainline –A. Jolly – 6/1
At five-years-old, the brown stakes winning horse is seeking out his first graded win in this race on Friday. The most recent start for the son of No Nay Never came in Germany druing The M Class (G2) at a mile and three-eighths over a track listed as yielding. Stalking the early pace from second, the horse faded back in the stretch to cross the wire in fifth, setting a speed figure of one hundred four in his graded stakes debut. His last win was in his prior start against listed stakes company at a mile and quarter overseas in Hong Kong over a track rated as good at post time. Again, stalking from second, the horse took over command of the pace midway through the race and would win by an impressive six length margin with a speed figure of one hundred nineteen.
6. Sadler’s Stars (IRE) – sojaboy – M. Buck – 10/1
With thirty-two career starts, the son of Sea The Stars will be making his graded stakes debut on Friday at six-years-old. The most recent start for the Irish-bred was in a listed stakes race in Ontario over ten furlongs. Sent out in the middle of the pack out of the gate, he would fade to sixth in the stretch, setting a speed figure of one hundred one. His most recent win was in October of last year against allowance company at nine furlongs. Stalking the pace from third, the horse quickly advanced through the field early and had worked his way into first by the halfway point of the race. He would go on to win the race by three and a quarter-lengths.
7. Sedynu (IRE) – baggygreen – H. Ross – 7/1
Sired by Sea The Stars, the six-year-old bay horse is seeking out his first Grade I win with this start on Friday. The most recent start for the bay horse came overseas in Germany during The M Class (G2) at a mile and three-eighths over a yielding course. Breaking just off the pace and settling into fourth, the horse never seemed to be able to find his stride in the race and would cross the wire in fourth where he started, setting a speed figure of one hundred seven. His most recent win came in September of last year during The Pierro (G3) at a mile and five-sixteenths in Maryland over a course rated as good. Off the pace in seventh, he started to advance at the halfway point of the race and quickly made his way into first. He would go on to win the race by four and three-quarter lengths. His latest Grade I attempt would come in March of this year in the Sydney Cup (G1) at a mile and a quarter in Australia where he would finish sixth.
8. Raveyard (FR) – stallbrant – W. Kewmwa – 16/1
The five-year-old light grey gelding is by Hello Youmzain (IRE) and has won five of his twenty-five career starts. The gelding is seeking out his first graded win with this race having most recently started in The M Class (G2) in Germany at a mile and three-eighths over a yielding course. Tucked in behind a couple of front runners in third early, he would make his run in the stretch and would cross the wire in second, setting a speed figure of one hundred nine. His most recent win was in his debut race for this season against allowance company at ten and a half furlong over a track rated as good in his native France. Out of the gate in fifth, he took control of the pace halfway through the race and would go on to win by eight and a half lengths.
9. Hot Seven Up (GB) – statebred – B. Renfroe – 12/1
Returning to graded company for this race and seeking out his first stakes win, the four-year-old gelding is one of the younger contenders in our field for Friday. The most recent start for the bay came last month in Italy against a listed stakes field over ten furlongs. Held back in eighth after the break, the gelding was allowed to start his advance midway through the race but would come up short at the wire to finish second by a half a length and while setting a speed figure of one hundred eight. His most recent win came just prior to this against allowance company in the UAE over the same distance on a yielding course. In fifth early, the gelding would start moving forward halfway through the race and would win by an impressive ten and a half-length margin. The gelding’s only graded start to date is last year’s Challenge Cup (G3) in Japan over a mile and a quarter where he would finish fifth.
10. Pista De Berlino (JPN) – adrianhold – F. Gossett – 5/1
Coming into this race off of two consecutive wins the five-year-old bay gelding by Japanese Triple Crown winner Contrail, the gelding has an aptitude for soft going winning six of his eight starts on off tracks and never finishing off the board. The most recent start for the gelding came in The M Class (G2) last month in Germany over a mile and three-eighths. The gelding took the field from gate to wire, winning by four lengths with a speed figure of one hundred thirteen. Prior to this the gelding would also win The Victoria Cup (G2) in Australia over a mile and a quarter over a yielding course.
11. Saying All (JPN) – coagulate4 – D. Givins – 5/1
A million-dollar earner, the Japanese-bred horse is by Epipanhea (JPN) and has made twenty-seven career starts. The five-year-old bay horse most recently started in late April overseas in South Africa during the Manha Manha Challenge (G1) at a mile and a quarter. Settling back into sixth at the break, he would fall back halfway through the race before finding another gear and getting up to cross the wire in fourth, setting a speed figure of one hundred thirteen. His most recent win came in his prior start which was in the Sydney Cup (G1) over the same distance in Australia. Further off the pace in tenth, the horse started to advance on the rest of the field at the halfway point of the race, eventually winning by a length and a half.
12. Honor The Sunrise – prahan – B. Bauder – 9/1
Returning to graded company this weekend, the six-year-old bay gelding will be making his thirty-first career start on Friday. Most recently starting in early April against allowance company across the country in California, the gelding stalked the pace from third out of the gate, moved up into second by the halfway point of the race, and took command of the pace in the stretch to win by two and a half lengths in the mile and five-sixteenths race while setting a speed figure of one hundred nine. The most recent graded start for the gelding was in last year’s Breeders’ Bowl Turf (G1), also in California, at a mile and a half. Settling into the rear of the field in fourteenth, he would lose ground throughout to cross the wire in nineteenth.
Flrancho’s Picks:
Win: Pista De Berlino (JPN)
Place: Saying All (JPN)
Show: Sedynu (IRE)