The "Second Season" starts Saturday for The Puma.
Though he was forced off the Triple Crown trail with a leg infection just 12 hours before he was set to line up in the Kentucky Derby starting gate as one of the favorites, The Puma finally gets his chance to prove he belongs in the top class of 3-year-olds in Saturday's $1 Million, Grade 1 NYRA Bets Haskell Stakes at Monmouth Park.
"He's had five or six breezes since the (Kentucky) Derby and in that last breeze he showed us everything we wanted to see. We think he's ready," said Gustavo Delgado, Jr., who is the assistant to his father, Gustavo Delgado, Sr.
The Puma, who is owned by the Delgados' OGMA Investments, JR Ranch and High Step Racing, was very much in the Triple Crown series conversation in March by virtue of his win in the Grade 3 Tampa Bay Derby, following that up with a tough loss by a nose to Haskell competitor Further Ado in the Grade 1 Florida Derby.
His total qualifying points ranked him in sixth place on the Kentucky Derby leaderboard until misfortune struck.
"We think all the time he had to recover from those (Derby) prep races will help him," said Delgado, Jr., who sent The Puma out for a one-mile jog and a one-mile gallop around the Monmouth Park oval Wednesday morning.
In addition to Haskell glory, a guaranteed spot in the starting gate for the $7 million Breeders' Cup Classic at Keeneland Oct. 31 is on the line as the race is a "Win and You're In" through the Breeders' Cup Challenge Series.
"It's still a long season. There are plenty of races on the calendar for him," said the younger Delgado, who will be joined here by his father on Friday morning to oversee final preparations.
The Puma, a son of champion and 2021 Belmont Stakes winner Essential Quality, was unraced as a juvenile and started his career in January at Gulfstream Park under Javier Castellano. The Hall of Fame jockey became his regular rider as the colt earned $422,280 from a record of 1-2-1 in four starts this year, but he won't be in the irons for the Haskell.
Castellano, a four-time champion jockey, was injured in a multiple horse spill at Saratoga earlier this month and will be sidelined for a number of weeks. Castellano was also the regular rider for 2023 Kentucky Derby winner Mage, also co-owned and trained by the Delgados, and they finished second to Geaux Rocket Ride in the Haskell that year.
Luis Saez will take over the reins Saturday.
"You never want to see anyone get hurt at any time and we feel for Javier. But Luis seems to be the right fit," Delgado, Jr. said. "He was actively looking for the mount and those are the things that you want to hear. But this is Javier's horse. He's been working him and riding him for a long time so the timing is terrible.
"But now we have to go race by race and keep the focus on Saturday. Luis is very capable and we've had success with him in the past. We think our horse us ready, even with the jockey change."
There is every reason for confidence in Saez, who has ridden in six Haskells and knows his way around this track. He finished third once, second twice, and has won twice, on Dornoch in 2024 and Maximum Security in 2019.
While the Delagados, who run a boutique operation and own most of the maximum of 18 horses they keep in the barn, are shooting for a Haskell win, they will consider a positive performance a major plus as they play the long game.
"There is no pressure," Delgado, Jr. said. "We want to get him back to where he was, and good like he was going into the (Kentucky) Derby. It's unfortunate what happened to him during Derby week, but more importantly, we would love to see him back racing.
"We want to see a good effort and take it from there. There are still a lot of good races down the road. It's a long season for these 3-year-olds."
Friends Schultz, Ellingwood on Opposite Sides
Life on the racetrack can take twists and turns. Two friends and former co-workers find themselves connected to different Haskell horses.
Lindsay Schultz is the trainer of Baby Vino, who earned his place in the starting gate by virtue of a dazzling 10¾-length win in the NYRA Bets Pegasus Stakes (Listed), the final Haskell prep.
Emily Ellingwood is the exercise rider for dual Grade 1 winner Napoleon Solo, who most recently won the Preakness Stakes for trainer Chad Summers.
Many years ago they both worked for trainer Tom Proctor. Schultz was the assistant trainer with dreams of one day having her own stable and Ellingwood was an exercise rider with dreams of becoming a jockey.
"I never could have imagined we'd both be here with a Haskell horse. I try to take it day by day. You never know what's going to happen in life. Honestly, looking back, if you told my younger self where I am today I wouldn't believe you," said Ellingwood, who galloped White Abarrio before that horse won the 2023 Breeders' Cup Classic and now puts a Triple Crown race winner through his morning paces. "I'm happy for Lindsay."
Said Schultz, "I'm happy for Emily. She's got a lot of horse experience and a solid foundation and she's done well. She's great. It is cool that we're both here now and in this position."
But the backside sisterhood only extends so far.
"It's very cool to be in a race like this with an old friend. It's great. But to be honest, I want to kick her butt," said Ellingwood.
"It would be great if our horses finished in the exacta, but only as long as I come out on top," said Schultz.
Ellingwood, who works fulltime for Summers, also gallops the 4-year-old filly Dry Powder. On the Haskell undercard she takes on a field of six others of her gender in the $500,000, Grade 2 Molly Pitcher, which also features the Bob Baffert-trained Splendora, the reigning Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint winner.
"Dry Powder is doing really good, just like Napoleon Solo," she said. "She is a lovely horse to get on. She's straightforward. She gives you everything she's got. Like him, she also has a huge heart. She's a great workhorse in the morning."
Delta Squad Racing Joins Baby Vino Ownership
When Baby Vino runs in the Haskell he will be carrying a new set of silks.
Trainer Lindsay Schultz reported that Marcus and Chrystal Osborn of Cosmo Stables have sold a minority interest in the son of Vino Rosso to Josh Isner's Delta Squad Racing.
Isner is relatively new in the sport and Delta Squad Racing is the sole owner of 2026 Gulfstream Park Oaks (Grade 2) winner Prom Queen. The Brad Cox-trainee recently ran fourth in the Grade 3 Indiana Oaks and earlier this season was fourth in the Grade 1 Acorn at Saratoga and then fifth in the Grade 1 Kentucky Oaks.
Delta Squad also partners on horses with noted owners Michael Dubb, Sol Kumin's Madaket Stable, and John Stewart's Resolute Racing.
Ocelli Arrives From Kentucky
Haskell contender Ocelli arrived by van in the middle of the night and was tucked into his stall in the barn of Chad Brown. Trainer Whit Beckman ran Brown's Kentucky string before going out on his own and now will be competing against one of his mentors. Brown sends out Iron Honor in the Haskell and the colt will try to turn the tables on Napoleon Solo, whom he finished 1¼ lengths behind in the Preakness last time out.
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