Kentucky Derby trail: Cyclone State leads 8 in Jerome

Cyclone State will look for his third straight win over the course and distance of Saturday’s $150,000 Jerome, a one-turn mile for sophomores at Aqueduct Racetrack.

The Jerome is the first Kentucky Derby prep race of 2025 on the NYRA circuit, offering 10-5-3-2-1 qualifying points to the top-five finishers, respectively.

Trained by Chad Summers for Gold Square, George Messina and Michael Lee, the McKinzie bay enters from a last-out optional claiming score on Dec. 6 following a fifth-out graduation in November. Cyclone State set the pace in both local one-mile wins under returning rider Luis Rivera Jr., holding off reopposing Ican by 2 3/4 lengths last out in a final time of 1:37.53.

“He went about it the right way. I don’t think it was his best performance, but he continued to climb the ladder,” said Summers.

Summers said it looks like there will be no shortage of speed in the Jerome, which presents a new challenge for Cyclone State, who starts from post 6 with Luis Rivera Jr. riding. He earned a career-best 82 Beyer Speed Figure from Daily Racing Form in his frontrunning 2 1/2-length maiden win.

“On paper, it looks like there is a lot of speed in this race,” Summers said. “Mansetti, what he did on the Tapeta was pretty fast, Georgia Magic showed speed and is stretching out from three-quarters, Enduring Spirit has shown speed, and Studlydoright and some others may be coming from behind.”

Co-owner Gold Square looks for a Jerome title defense after capturing last year’s running with the Brad Cox-trained Drum Roll Please.

“Gold Square was fortunate to win it last year with Drum Roll Please, so it is an important race. It is obviously a points race, it is 10 points on the Road to the Derby, you kind of have one eye looking there at this point,” Summers said. “He just needs to keep progressing forward.”

Cyclone State faced strong foes in his first four races, contesting maidens won by next-out Grade 2-winner Showcase and well-regarded Uncaged for Hall of Famer Todd Pletcher, and the now graded stakes-placed pair of Early Adopter and Aviator Gui for conditioner Chad Brown.

Cyclone State, out of the Grade 3-placed Dominus mare Chanel’s Legacy, was a $70,000 purchase at the 2023 Keeneland September Yearling Sale. He was bred by H. Allen Poindexter in Iowa, home of the Iowa State Cyclones, who upset Miami 42-41 on Saturday in college football’s Pop-Tarts Bowl.

Grade 3-placed Studlydoright starts from post 7 with jockey Xavier Perez in the Jerome. Studlydoright traveled in third position of the nine-furlong Grade 2 Remsen last out on Dec. 7 and finished fourth after being bumped at the top of the lane. Trained by Jerry Robb for onwer David R. Hughes, it was only the Nyquist chestnut’s second time finishing out of the top-two in his seven starts, but he picked up two Kentucky Derby points in defeat.

Robb said Studlydoright was not in peak form for the Remsen.

“He missed a lot of training. I wasn’t sure he was quite fit enough. He came up like he might’ve been a little light, because we lost the track at Laurel Park quite a few days,” said Robb. “He is a little bit fitter. I know he is fit, like I said, last time he came up a little short on me.”

Studlydoright added blinkers to capture the one-mile Nashua on Nov. 2 here, earning a career-best 86 Beyer and improving markedly from a runner-up finish in the off-the-turf Laurel Futurity in September.

“I think he changed quite a bit when we put the blinkers on. He became more aggressive and woke up a little bit,” Robb said.

Studlydoright won the 5 1/2-furlong Tremont second-out in June at Saratoga Race Course, exiting to run a close second to next-out stakes-winner and well-regarded New York-bred Mo Plex in the six-furlong Sanford (G3).

Studlydoright, bred in Maryland by Glenangus Farm, is out of the graded stakes-placed Curlin mare Peach of a Gal, who is a half-sister to graded stakes-placed Concealed Identity.

Mansetti, who starts from post 2 with rider Sahin Civaci, ships in off a win in the restricted Clarendon on Nov. 24 at Woodbine.

Trained by Kevin Attard for Al and Bill Ulwelling, the Ontario-bred Collected bay added blinkers and set the pace in the six-furlong Tapeta sprint for Ontario-bred or sired horses, holding clear for a 1 1/4-length score.

"Physically, he's built more like a sprinter. He's a good size for a younger horse, but he does show a tendency to be a little bit headstrong,” said Attard. “Stretching out, he's going to have to relax, and we've been working on that. Hopefully, as he grows and matures, he will figure that out."

The Clarendon score avenged a prominent sixth in the seven-furlong Display on Oct. 13 over the same surface, which followed a gate-to-wire debut victory over the Clarendon course and distance on Sept. 26.

“We were pretty high on him first time out and he ran to what we expected, and then the Display seemed like the next logical step. In hindsight, it was probably a little bit of too much too soon for a young horse,” Attard said. “I don't think he handled it that well. We got him back to the barn and re-grouped and gave him a little more time. He responded well with a couple good works and showed up with a good performance in the Clarendon."

Bred by Jungle Racing, Mansetti, out of the Sky Mesa mare Gidget Girl, was a $40,000 purchase at the 2024 OBS spring sale of 2-year-olds in training. He is a half-brother to dual stakes-winner Straight Up G and his second dam is Surfer Girl, who was Group 1-placed in her native Brazil.

McAfee, who drew post 8 with jockey Jose Gomez, was defeated a head by Optical when rallying up the rail last out in a one-mile starter allowance on Nov. 24 at Churchill Downs.

Trained by Rick Dutrow, Jr. for Black Type Thoroughbreds, Swinbank Stables, Judy Hicks and Campeche Stables, the Cloud Computing dark bay previously came from 7 3/4 lengths back in ninth to win his debut by 3 1/4 lengths when sprinting six furlongs Nov. 1 at the Louisville oval.

McAfee, a $40,000 purchase at the 2023 Keeneland September yearling sale, is out of the Uncle Mo mare Sataves, making him a half-brother to multiple Grade 1 winner and potential 2024 Horse of the Year Thorpedo Anna.

“He’s huge. He’s a big horse and we love him,” Dutrow, Jr. said. “We were so happy with him (in defeat), he ran like a true racehorse on the inside, kept coming, just stuff you really love to see for a second-time starter.”

Thorpedo Anna was purchased for the same amount as McAfee at the 2022 Fasig-Tipton Kentucky fall yearling sale, and both were bred in Kentucky by co-owner Judy Hicks.

Dutrow, Jr., will also saddle FMQ Stables’ maiden-winner Ican, who starts from post 3 under Manny Franco. He was second to Cyclone State in the aforementioned optional claimer Dec. 6. There, he rallied from seven lengths back after a bad stumble at the break, but could only cut into his returning rival’s margin of victory.

The Jerome is slated as Race 8 on Saturday’s nine-race program. First post is 12:10 p.m. Eastern.