Twenty Six Black back in action in Listed $150K Elusive Quality

Roger Cimbora, Jr.’s New York homebred Twenty Six Black will look to make a successful 2026 debut in Saturday’s Listed $150,000 Elusive Quality, a six-furlong outer turf sprint for older horses, at Belmont at the Big A.

Trained by Horacio De Paz, the 6-year-old War Dancer gelding won his seasonal debut in 2023 and 2024 here at the Big A. Last year, he finished a one-length fourth in this event to launch a career-best campaign that included stakes wins in the restricted Disco Partner at Saratoga Race Course and state-bred New York Turf Sprint Championship last out on October 25 here.

Twenty Six Black [post 3, Jaime Rodriguez] freshened up over the winter at Nick de Meric’s training center in Ocala, Florida, and has put together four works over the Belmont Park dirt training track, including a half-mile breeze in 48.86 seconds on Saturday.

“He always goes to Nick de Meric's in Ocala for the winter. Nick had him as a baby as well,” De Paz said. “He knows the routine with him and always brings him back to us in great shape.

“He can run well fresh,” De Paz added. “Obviously, he's older now so you wonder if he'll need a race or not, but everything is going well in the morning. He knows his job. He's not a horse that overdoes it. Every once in a while, he can work fast when he's doing really well. He's an old pro.”

Twenty Six Black has seen his purse earnings increase in each of his four years of racing, banking $284,750 last year as part of a campaign that saw him finish second in the Grade 2 Troy at Saratoga and third in the Grade 3 Belmont Turf Sprint here. He also matched up career-best 100 Beyer Speed Figures for his place effort in the Troy and win in the Disco Partner.

“It's been a steady progression. I use him as an example with other owners for letting a horse develop,” De Paz said. “Usually, you want to go in stakes races right away but letting them build that confidence and steadily improve helps them out tremendously. He's a horse that runs 6-or-7 times a year, but they're very honest races at a high level.”

De Paz has always thought highly of Twenty Six Black, who used to train with former stablemate and now Grade 1-winning millionaire Be Your Best.

“As a 2-year-old, he was working in company with Be Your Best. They were 2-year-olds at the same time. He's just a runner,” De Paz said.

De Paz said he’s hopeful of a big effort on Saturday from Twenty Six Black, who can be a bit of a handful on race day but is well loved by his team.

“He's a barn favorite,” De Paz said. “When he's on the muscle in the paddock - he's a big boy, he can really get on it – he’s tough, especially at Saratoga, but other than that, he's all class to work with.”

Twenty Six Black is out of the First Dude mare Brazo de Oro, who also produced the stakes-placed De Paz trainee Can’t Fool Me for Cimbora, Jr. He has banked $627,310 via a 17-7-4-2 ledger.

J and N Stables and Diamond M Stables’ Grade 3-winning New York-bred Dancing Buck [post 5, Luis Rivera, Jr.] will look to win the Elusive Quality for the second time after wiring this event in 2024.

Trained by Michelle Nevin, the 8-year-old War Dancer gelding is also set for his seasonal debut over a course he enjoys, having won 5-of-10 turf starts here topped by a five-length win in the 2022 Grade 3 Belmont Turf Sprint over yielding footing during the Belmont at the Big A fall meet.

Dancing Buck made four starts last year, including a 1 3/4-length fifth as the pacesetter in the Grade 3 Belmont Turf Sprint in September and a half-length win in the Listed Turf Sprint Championship here on November 1 to close out his campaign.

He wintered in New York and returned to the work tab on the Belmont dirt training track in mid-March where he has worked steadily, including an easy half-mile in 52.25 on April 23.

“He's a grass horse and has never been a good work horse on the dirt ever, so we let him do it his way,” Nevin said. “He's a heavier-set fella. Hopefully, he's tight enough but there's no pressure either way.”

The hard-trying gelding has banked $699,588 through a 26-8-5-1 record with five of those wins coming in gate-to-wire fashion.

“He's an easy old fella. He's a lovely horse and he loves to race. He's a trier. Hopefully, he gets the trip that he needs to get lucky,” Nevin said.

Bred in the Empire State by co-owner J and N Stables, Dancing Buck, out of the multiple stakes-placed Catienus mare Frivolous Buck, is a full brother to the Nevin-trained and J and N Stables’ campaigned stakes-winner Mz Big Bucks.

Juddmonte’s Kentucky homebred Spiced Up [post 4, Jose Lezcano] will look for his first win since rallying to capture the Grade 3 Mahony, a 5 1/2-furlong sprint over firm turf on August 10 at Saratoga.

Trained by Hall of Famer Bill Mott, the 4-year-old Quality Road colt exited the Mahony to finish off-the-board in the Grade 1 Franklin Simpson in September at Kentucky Downs ahead of a closing third in the six-furlong Carle Place here in October to close out his campaign.

Spiced Up has two starts under his belt this year, including a distant ninth in an optional-claimer on January 4 at Gulfstream Park followed by a stalking second last out in a 5 1/2-furlong allowance sprint on April 3 over a Keeneland turf course rated as good. He was scratched from a Saturday allowance optional-claimer here.

Spiced Up is out of the winning Pioneerof the Nile mare Cardamon, who is a half-sister to Emollient, a dual-surface Grade 1 winner, as well as Grade 1-placed Hofburg. All three half-siblings were also trained by Mott. Cardamon is also a full-sister to Calm Water, dam of Group 1-winning multimillionaire Laurel River. Spiced Up has banked $214,135 via an 8-2-1-1 ledger.

Also entered are Clock Tower [post 6, Dylan Davis], winner of the 2024 Grade 3 Cecil B. DeMille at Del Mar and last year’s Listed Paradise Creek here for trainer Wesley Ward; Waralo [post 1, Ricardo Santana, Jr.], who makes his first start since a pacesetting second in the aforementioned New York Turf Sprint Championship in October here for trainer Chris Englehart; and three-time winner Son of a Birch [post 2, Kendrick Carmouche] for trainer Robert Falcone, Jr.

Acoustic Ave, Ignite the Light, Willintoriskitall and Shoot the Nickel are entered for the main-track only.

The Elusive Quality is slated as Race 8 on Saturday’s 11-race card, which also features the Grade 3, $175,000 Fort Marcy in Race 4.

First post on Saturday at the Big A is 12:50 p.m. Eastern with the facility open to the public from 10 a.m. - 8:45 p.m. to accommodate an 11 a.m. first post at Churchill Downs for their 14-race card that features the Grade 1, $5 million Kentucky Derby in Race 12 at 6:57 p.m.   

America’s Day at the Races will present live coverage and analysis of the Belmont at the Big A spring/summer meet on the networks of FOX Sports. For the broadcast schedule and channel finder, visit https://www.nyra.com/aqueduct/racing/tv-schedule/.
 
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