The Caesars Jockey Club Derby Invitational Stakes (G3T) may not have a long list of past winners, but it's definitely illustrious.
Run only twice since its 2019 inception due to the pandemic in 2020, prior to Sept. 17 only two horses had won the marathon turf stakes.
The first, Spanish Mission, went on to be a multiple group 2 winner and finished third in the world-famous Lexus Melbourne Cup (G1).
Last year, Godolphin's Yibir used the Jockey Club Derby as a springboard to victory in the Longines Breeders' Cup Turf (G1T) and acclaim as the Eclipse Award-winning male turf runner in 2021.
Godolphin registered back-to-back Jockey Club Derby wins Saturday, and while another Turf win and Eclipse Award will not be a simple task, the international stable's 2022 winner, the homebred Nations Pride, certainly displayed a tremendous amount of promise in romping to a 6 1/4-length win under iconic European jockey Frankie Dettori in the $955,000 event for 3-year-olds at Aqueduct Racetrack.
"He's got that turn of foot. Since his first run here, he's really grown and filled out that frame of his. He's done fantastic since he's been here. It's nice to see," said assistant Chris Connett, who saddled the winner for British trainer Charlie Appleby. "Frankie gave him an absolute peach of a ride. He traveled around and picked up just how you would like. It was fairly straightforward for a race like this."
For Nations Pride, Saturday's win in the final leg of the Caesars Turf Triple for 3-year-olds, gave him victories in the last two stakes in the series and a resounding triumph over Classic Causeway in their rubber match.
After Kentucky West Racing and Clarke Cooper's Classic Causeway captured the Caesars Belmont Derby Invitational Stakes (G1T) for trainer Ken McPeek by three-quarters of a length over a troubled-trip Nations Pride to open the Caesars series, Nations Pride rebounded with a 1 3/4-length triumph in the Caesars Saratoga Derby Invitational Stakes (G1T) as Classic Causeway finished third.
Classic Causeway was once again third Saturday as the homebred son of Teofilo turned the Jockey Club Derby into a landslide victory with a lightning-quick stretch run.
"He settled in at Saratoga and strengthened up," said Dettori, who last rode at Aqueduct in 1990 when he won the Aqueduct Budweiser Breeders' Cup Handicap on Fire the Groom. "He's been here 10 weeks and training on it, and he had two races. He's matured, and he's learned a lot."
For Godolphin and Appleby, the Jockey Club Derby capped a highly productive afternoon in North America. Prior to the New York race on the opening weekend of the Belmont at the Big A meet, the connections captured the Ricoh Woodbine Mile (G1T) with Modern Games and the Pattison Summer Stakes (G1T) with Mysterious Night, both at Woodbine.
"We were able to catch the sight of Modern Games winning up there in Canada, that was very impressive," Connett said.
As for future plans for Nations Pride, Connett said the 3-year-old will return to Great Britain Sept. 20, and Appleby will mull over future plans that may or may not include the Breeders' Cup Turf.
"This fella has put a proposition into Charlie's head anyway. We travel home on Tuesday, and we'll let the dust settle, see how he comes out of it and make plans from there," Connett said.
Classic Causeway, a son of Giant's Causeway, tried to lead gate-to-wire in the Jockey Club Derby as he did in the opening leg, but this time Nations Pride, who was ninth early on in the Belmont Derby, was much closer to the pace in the 1 1/2-mile test. As Classic Causeway and jockey Flavien Prat led by a length through a half-mile in :48.33, Nations Pride was third.
Leaving the quarter pole, Dettori tipped outside of Classic Causeway and then zoomed past the frontrunner, opening a two-length margin at the eighth pole that seemed to expand with each powerful stride.
"He broke well, and I didn't want to let (Classic Causeway) have it easy in front. When (Daunt) took him on, it was great. It saved me from doing the job. From then on, it was just saving ground and getting him to turn properly and heading into the straight, he was never in doubt," Dettori said. "At the corner I knew I had the race won. I knew that, and I still hadn't gone for the gears yet. Everyone was cooked."
Sent off as a heavy 1-2 favorite ($3.10), the produce of the Oasis Dream mare Important Time covered the 1 1/2 miles in 2:24.14, smashing the inner turf course record of 2:27 set by Pebbles in the 1985 Turf, a Nov. 2 race.
Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners and Albert Frassetto's one-race winner The Grey Wizard rallied from fifth in the field of six to grab second by a half-length over Classic Causeway.
A Caravaggio gelding trained by Graham Motion, The Grey Wizard began his career in Ireland and was coming off two United States starts, a fourth and second in first-level allowance races at Saratoga Race Course and Laurel Park, respectively.
Nations Pride has won six of nine starts and earned $1,434,216 for his connections.
