Antiquarian rolls in Westchester with big plans ahead

Antiquarian made a winning return to the races Sunday, tracking the early pace and powering away to a 5 3/4-length score in the Grade 3, $175,000 Westchester Stakes at Belmont at the Big A.

Hall of Fame jockey John Velazquez teamed with Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher to send Antiquarian off as the 2-1 second choice in the four-horse field for older horses going one mile on a fast main track. The Centennial Farms colorbearer was making his 5-year-old bow and his first start since finishing eighth Nov. 1 in the Breeders' Cup Classic at Del Mar.

Defending Westchester champion Bishops Bay (4-5) and Quint's Brew (4-1) hooked up early, with Quint's Brew showing the way in the two path and Bishops Bay prompting along the rail through a quarter-mile in 24.19 seconds and a half in 47 flat. Antiquarian sat a perfect trip just off the duo as Pentathlon (8-1) trailed.

Velazquez gave his mount the cue approaching the five-sixteenths pole. Antiquarian responded with a strong run, drew even at three-quarters of a mile in 1:10.91 and took command coming to the quarter pole. He drifted in slightly under right-handed urging from the crop near the furlong marker, switched leads and drew clear under steady handling to stop the clock in 1:35.42.

"Perfect trip," Velazquez said. "That's what I was expecting: the speed showed up in front of me. I put him behind horses and let him do his thing from the three-eighths pole home, that's the way it worked out. He came back real sharp this time, that's for sure. Hopefully, he can mature for me a lot."

Bishops Bay rallied to clear runner-up honors by a nose over the closing Pentathlon. The Brad Cox-trained Bishops Bay was making his first start since a fourth-place finish in the Group 1 Saudi Cup in February. The son of Quality Road put together an 8: 6-1-0 campaign in 2025 that included scores in the Grade 3 Forty Niner and Grade 2 Cigar Mile Handicap.

Flavien Prat, who came in a perfect 6-for-6 aboard Bishops Bay, was satisfied with the comeback effort.

"He ran a good race," Prat said. "I thought he ran well. The winner beat us by a few lengths. I thought it was still a good comeback. The first quarter was slow and then we picked it up, the whole way around."

Quint's Brew tired to finish fourth. Rated by Merit was scratched.

The Westchester win pushed Antiquarian's career record to 11: 5-3-0 with bankroll of $1,110,350, edging him past the career earnings of his sire, Preservationist, who carried the same Centennial Farms silks to scores in the 2019 Woodward Stakes and Suburban (G2) for trainer Jimmy Jerkens.

Antiquarian put together a strong 4-year-old campaign that included a victory in the Jockey Club Gold Cup last August at Saratoga, where he avoided trouble and held off the rallying Sierra Leone by 1 1/2 lengths to earn a career-best 108 Beyer Speed Figure from Daily Racing Form. He also captured the 2024 Grade 3 Peter Pan at Belmont at the Big A.

Centennial Farms president Don Little Jr. said the next start could come in the Grade 1, $1 million Metropolitan Handicap on June 6 at Saratoga, a "Win and You're In" qualifier for the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile at Keeneland. The Grade 2, $500,000 Suburban on July 4 at Saratoga also figures as a possibility after Antiquarian came up a head shy of Phileas Fogg in last year's running of the 1 1/4-mile event.

"Like a lot of the good handicap horses, the ultimate goal is Keeneland for the Breeders' Cup in the fall," Little said.

Bred in Kentucky by Brereton C. Jones, Antiquarian is a chestnut son of Preservationist out of the winning Istan mare Lifetime Memory, who is a half-sister to graded stakes winner Speaktomeofsummer and stakes winner Proud Reunion. He brought $250,000 at the Keeneland September yearling sale.

Antiquarian paid $6.34 and $2.60. Bishops Bay returned $2.32 to place. There was no show wagering.