Crazy Mason stretches back out to one mile in G3 Forty Niner
Donna Wright and Reeves Thoroughbred Racing’s Crazy Mason stretches back out to one mile in Sunday’s Grade 3, $200,000 Forty Niner, a one-turn test for 3-year-olds and up, at Belmont Park.
Trained by Gregg Sacco, the 5-year-old Coal Front horse employed his usual deep closing tactics to finish a head runner-up in the seven-furlong Grade 3 Vosburgh on October 1 here when beaten a head by T Kraft, who is entered in Saturday’s Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile. In defeat, Crazy Mason earned a career-best 100 Beyer Speed Figure.
“That was a heartbreaker,” said Sacco. “It was a big effort. He seemed to love the Belmont racing strip. That was his highest Beyer. I think he’s still an improving type of horse, just a solid dude. It’s heartbreaking that he’s lost some of these races, especially the Vosburgh, but he’s doing fantastic.”
Crazy Mason [post 5, Manny Franco] won the Grade 2 Carter last April at Aqueduct Racetrack, and has hit the board in seven graded stakes in 10 attempts since. Before the Vosburgh, he was a three-quarter-length fourth in the Grade 1 Forego to Hymn, who is entered in the Breeders’ Cup Sprint.
“He ran dynamite in the Forego, another big bang-up race in the Vosburgh, so he’s coming into this race in peak form,” Sacco said. “We expect a big effort. The longer stretch is definitely to his advantage with his style, but he did break better last time. He didn’t drop to another area code at the start.”
Sacco said glue-on shoes seem to be making a difference for Crazy Mason and he’ll run in them.
“The only change is glue-on shoes. He didn’t have anything bad, his feet have always been a little funky, but he’s never taken an unsound step in his life. We brought in Ian McKinlay [farrier and hoof specialist], and he said, ‘Gregg, this horse will benefit leaps and bounds,’” Sacco said. “We saw an immediate change. He’s been gliding over the track at Delaware Park, even a slight improvement for a horse running the way he is would be a big help.”
After the Vosburgh, Sacco entertained the idea of supplementing Crazy Mason to the Breeders’ Cup Sprint, but connections opted for the Forty Niner instead.
“He loves New York, loves Belmont’s track,” Sacco said. “I was very impressed, myself. I think NYRA’s done a great job. It’s modern, beautiful and state-of-the-art, and I look forward to coming back on Sunday.”
Jay Em Ess Stable’s Ignite the Light [post 3, John Velazquez] makes his graded debut for trainer Rick Dutrow, Jr. The 5-year-old Into Mischief gelding was a head second in the 6 1/2-furlong Stable Recovery last out on September 19 at Parx Racing to Buccherino, who is entered in Sunday’s Grade 3 Bold Ruler here.
“He’s doing great,” Dutrow, Jr. said. “He can get a mile around one turn. We’re happy with him, but he’s stepping up into tougher competition.”
Dutrow, Jr. said Ignite the Light, 5-2-2-0 this year among a 19-4-5-1 overall record, is still improving. The bay went 0-for-6 in his first two years of racing in 2023-24.
“We’re happy with him, look at his form from Day One, it is unbelievable that he’s wound up in this zone,” said Dutrow, Jr. “He was one who would pull up in a minute and just didn’t like things, he wouldn’t perform, was hard to read, but now he’s easy to train.
“We don’t have the stars in the barn like we used to, but who knows what these guys could turn into, Ignite the Light is doing very good,” Dutrow, Jr. added.
Godolphin’s Kentucky homebred East Avenue [post 1, Flavien Prat] seeks his first win in his fourth start since taking the Grade 3 Salvator Mile in June at Monmouth Park. Trained by Brendan Walsh, the 4-year-old Medaglia d’Oro bay earned a field-best 104 Beyer for that nose score over multimillionaire Bishops Bay.
East Avenue is 13-4-2-0 with $1.1 million in earnings, including a win as a juvenile in the Grade 1 Breeders’ Futurity at Keeneland. He is out of the unraced Ghostzapper mare Dance Music, a half-sister to 2023 Horse of the Year Cody’s Wish, and his second dam is Grade 1-winner Dance Card.
St. Elias Stable, Woodford Racing and breeder Phipps Stable’s Pentathlon [post 6, Paco Lopez] is 3-for-6 this year for Hall of Famer Shug McGaughey. The 5-year-old Speightstown chestnut captured a 1 1/16-mile optional claimer last out on October 4 here and earned a career-best 97 Beyer, and now looks for his first graded score in his third try.
Rounding out the field are the Group 1-placed Bendoog [post 2, Junior Alvarado] for Hall of Famer Bill Mott; the Jorge Abreu-trained multiple graded stakes-placed Nelson Avenue [post 4, Edgard Zayas], who has been second in this event the past two years; dual graded placed Gate to Wire [post 7, Javier Castellano] for Hall of Famer Todd Pletcher; and multiple stakes-placed Warp Nine [post 8, Frankie Pennington] for trainer Harold Wyner.
The Forty Niner is slated as Race 9 on Sunday’s 11-race card, which features the Grade 3, $200,000 Bold Ruler [Race 2], Listed $175,000 Turnback the Alarm [Race 8], $175,000 Casa Creed [Race 10] and state-bred $175,000 Notebook [Race 4]. First post is 11:30 a.m. Eastern.
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