Carson’s Run on the improve in Listed $175K Knickerbocker

West Point Thoroughbreds and Steven Bouchey’s Carson’s Run is trending in the right direction for Saturday’s Listed $175,000 Knickerbocker, a 1 3/16-mile inner turf test for 3-year-olds and up, at Belmont Park. 

Trained by Miguel Clement, the 5-year-old Cupid chestnut seeks his first win since the Grade 3 Jockey Club Derby Invitational in October 2024 at Belmont at the Big A. That win was part of a memorable campaign that featured a victory in the Grade 1 Saratoga Derby Invitational. As a juvenile, he also captured the Grade 1 Summer at Woodbine Racetrack.

Carson’s Run missed the board in his first three starts this year before a last-out 2 1/4-length second to returning rival Tiz Dashing in a 1 3/16-mile optional claimer on August 21 at Saratoga Race Course.

“He’s doing incredible. Very, very well,” Clement said. “He lost his way a little bit, and I thought for the first time this year, he started to find his way again in his last race. That was his best race of the season. Hopefully, as an older horse, he just needed a little bit more time to get back to peak performance.”

Carson’s Run earned a career-best 92 Beyer Speed Figure in his last-out defeat. 

“That was good. He ran very well,” said Clement. “It took us some time to get him there, but I’m happy he’s back.” 

Carson’s Run [post 3, Samuel Marin] was a $170,000 purchase at the 2023 OBS Spring Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training and is out of the winning Henny Hughes mare Hot N Hectic, a half-sister to multiple graded stakes-winning millionaire Rated R Superstar. He is 16-5-4-0 overall with $1.6 million in earnings. 

West Point Thoroughbreds also sends out Cugino [post 7, Antonio Fresu], co-owned by Jimmy Kahig and trained by Hall of Famer Shug McGaughey. The 5-year-old Twirling Candy bay was a three-length third last out in the August 21 optional claimer at the Spa won by Tiz Dashing, finishing three-quarter-lengths behind runner-up Carson’s Run.

Cugino, 17-6-5-2 overall with $823,810 in earnings, seeks his first win since capturing the Grade 2 Red Smith in November at Belmont at the Big A. He has made three starts this year, launching his season with an off-the-board effort in the Grade 1 Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational in January at Gulfstream Park before a half-length third in a Colonial Downs optional claimer in July. One month before the Pegasus Turf, Cugino posted a career-best 100 Beyer when second in the Grade 3 Fort Lauderdale at Gulfstream. 

EGL-One Racing Thoroughbreds’ West Hollywood [post 5, Edgard Zayas] enters from his first start for trainer Amelia Green when seventh in the restricted Listed Tapit going 1 1/16 miles on August 30 at Kentucky Downs. The 5-year-old Uncle Mo dark bay previously made 10 starts for trainer Brad Cox including a win in the Grade 3 Saranac in 2024 at Saratoga. 

West Hollywood was purchased for $200,000 at the 2026 Fasig-Tipton July Horses of Racing Age Sale and transferred to Green. He is a half-brother to 2021 Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf-winner Pizza Bianca out of the Galileo mare White Hot. 

“He shipped to Kentucky Downs and he actually had a little bit of a heat stroke out of that race. We let him regroup, recover and you couldn’t find a horse that is training better than he is right now,” Green said. 

West Hollywood’s longest race to date was a second-out graduation traveling nine furlongs in May 2024 at Churchill Downs. 

“I’m excited to stretch him out more than anything,” said Green. “The way he trains, he trains like he wants to run all day and he’s bred to run all day. He’s training well on the Tapeta, he breezes on that every week and is doing as good as a horse can do. I’m excited to get him back to the races.” 

Klaravich Stables’ Program Trading [post 1, Dylan Davis] made his last two efforts over 1 1/2 miles in Grade 1 company, landing third in the Christophe Clement Turf in August at the Spa and fourth in the Joe Hirsch Turf Classic last out on October 1 here. Trained by five-time Eclipse Award-winner Chad Brown, the 6-year-old Lope de Vega ridgling previously won the Grade 2 United Nations in July at Monmouth Park. 

Program Trading is 17-7-3-2 overall with over $2.1 million in earnings, including top-level scores in the 2023 Saratoga Derby and Hollywood Derby at Del Mar, as well as the 2024 Turf Classic at Churchill Downs. 

Sackatoga Stable’s Tiz Dashing [post 2, Jose Lezcano] exited his optional claiming win over Carson’s Run and Cugino to finish seventh in the 1 1/2-mile Grade 2 Sycamore on October 9 at Keeneland. Trained by Barclay Tagg, the 4-year-old Tiz the Law bay launched his current campaign with a win in the 1 1/16-mile Grade 3 Canadian Turf in February at Woodbine Racetrack and has posted a 8-1-1-3 ledger this year. 

Tiz Dashing is 16-4-2-3 overall with $507,292 in earnings, also capturing the Grade 3 Hill Prince last November at Aqueduct Racetrack. He is out of the winning Into Mischief mare Breaking Bounty, who is a half-sister to turf graded stakes-winner Osidy. His second dam is dual Group 2-winner Que Belle.

Rounding out the field are dual Grade 2-winner Ole Crazy Bone [post 6, Jaime Rodriguez] for trainer Mike Maker; Grade 3-placed A Bourbon for Toby [post 9, Rajiv Maragh] for conditioner Tom Morley; dual stakes-winner Thundering [post 4, Jorge Ruiz] for trainer Derek Ryan; and stakes-placed Carcano [post 8, Mario Gutierrez] for trainer Victoria Oliver. 

The Knickerbocker is slated as Race 9 on Saturday's 11-race card, which also features the Key Cents in Race 10. First post on Saturday is 11:05 a.m. Eastern. Belmont Park will be open to the public from 10:00 a.m. until 6:45 p.m. on Saturday so racing fans can watch and wager on the simulcast of the Breeders’ Cup from Keeneland. Saturday’s Breeders’ Cup program is headlined by the Grade 1, $7 million Breeders’ Cup Classic.

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