The $1 million Haskell Stakes (G1) at Monmouth Park had a surprising winner and a bunch of surprising efforts.
With Baby Vino winning on July 18 at 28-1 in his graded stakes debut and five horses who were either grade 1 winners or grade 1-placed finishing behind him, the race could be viewed as a fluke.
Yet, given that the race was contested on a sloppy, sealed racetrack, two things could be true. Baby Vino may have been a legit winner and some of the more accomplished 3-year-olds behind him could have hated the going.
Owned by Cosmo Stables and Delta Squad Racing, Baby Vino came into the Haskell off a lopsided 10 3/4-length victory in the Pegasus Stakes at Monmouth. As impressive as the margin may have been, beyond that, one of the premier speed figure services had the son of Vino Rosso tied for the fastest last-race number.
His half-length victory over Preakness Stakes (G1) winner Napoleon Solo in the 1 1/8-mile Haskell validated that number as well as the work done by trainer Lindsay Schultz to turn a colt who needed five tries to break his maiden—and did not get that initial victory until May 1 at Oaklawn Park—into a grade 1 winner.
"His maiden races taught him a lot," Schultz said. "He got a lot of different trips. He got in trouble, stopped and started, and he progressed with every one of them. He's always worked like a good horse and he learned how to run like a good horse."
What happens from here will determine if Baby Vino deserves inclusion among the elite of the 3-year-old class or is just a horse for the course at Monmouth, where he owns two stakes wins.
The likely next targets are the Aug. 29 $1.25 million Travers Stakes (G1) at Saratoga Race Course or the Sept. 19 Pennsylvania Derby (G1) at Parx Racing. The Travers would be a 1 1/4-mile showdown with the best of the 3-year-old crop, but Schultz said the added furlong should not be a problem for Baby Vino.
"I would think he can go that distance," Schultz said about the 1 1/4 miles. "He's by Vino Rosso (the 2019 Breeders' Cup Classic, G1, winner). He had to run all the way down the stretch."
Napoleon Solo and Iron Honor, who was 3 1/2 lengths back in third, basically followed each other as they did in the Preakness when they were 1-2 in the middle jewel of the Triple Crown.
Espoir USA's Napoleon Solo was a surprising 7-2 third choice despite his win in the Preakness and turned in a game effort while setting the early pace and showing determination in the stretch before yielding late.
"He came out well and is at Saratoga now," trainer Chad Summers said about the classic winner. "Everything Is good. He ate up his feed last night. I'm disappointed we didn't get the victory. Obviously, we have respect for Lindsay and Baby Vino. They ran well the last two starts. It was a race that we felt was in our grasp to win and you want to win those races. We circled it on the calendar and we've been pointing to it since the Preakness and I am a little disappointed to come up short."
Like Baby Vino, Napoleon Solo will target either the Travers or the Pennsylvania Derby in the coming weeks.
The Puma, who was the 3-1 second choice, was a neck behind Iron Honor in fourth in a good effort, considering it was his first race since March 28 when he was second in the Florida Derby (G1).
Spendthrift Farm's Further Ado disappointed as the 6-5 favorite. The son of Gun Runner won the Blue Grass Stakes (G1) by 11 lengths but then was 11th in the Kentucky Derby (G1). He followed that up with a win in the Matt Winn Stakes (G3) but was fifth in the Haskell, nearly 6 lengths behind.
"There does not appear to be any real issues at this time. So there's no excuse," said Ned Toffey, COO and general manager of Spendthrift. "Maybe he didn't like the track, but they all had to run on the same track so it's not an excuse. Hopefully, you chalk it up to that and you move forward and hope for a better track and that's what does the trick."
Toffey said trainer Brad Cox would make the call but said the Travers and Pennsylvania Derby were the likely possibilities for the grade 1 winner.
Ocelli, the sport's highest earning maiden, showed little in the wet going and was seventh and last, though he did add $12,500 to his impressive earnings which now stand at $842,300.
Schultz's win a first for female trainers
Jena Antonucci certainly got the ball rolling.
In 2023, Antonucci entered the record books by winning the Belmont Stakes (G1) with Arcangelo , becoming the first female trainer to capture a Triple Crown race.
Since then, Linda Rice has been a dominant force in New York racing, especially in the winter, and earlier this year Cherie DeVaux became the first female trainer to win the Kentucky Derby when Golden Tempo prevailed. The son of Curlin then went on to annex the Belmont Stakes, making DeVaux the first woman to win two Triple Crown races in the same year.
On Saturday, Schultz joined the club, becoming the first female trainer to win the Haskell in its 59 editions.
"What's even better is that I am the first female trainer to win the Haskell and there was a first female to win the Derby," she said. "So I think it's just great that these women like Kathleen O'Connell and Linda Rice have been around and opened it up for us. It's not different for me to be a woman now. So hopefully I am the first of many women to win the Haskell."
Big win for stallion Vino Rosso
There was some minor consolation for Spendthrift Farm as Baby Vino's sire is Vino Rosso, a Spendthrift stallion.
While most of the farm's team could not make it to Monmouth due to a canceled flight, stallion sales manager Mark Toothaker drove to the track and expressed gratitude to the winning connections.
"You saved him," a joyful Toothaker said about Vino Rosso to the connections at the post-race press conference. "He may have been on his way out of Kentucky, so you may have just saved him. So thank you."
Vino Rosso, a son of Curlin who stood the 2026 season for $7,500, is the sire of grade 1 winner Bottle of Rouge and was a top five sire of black-type 3-year-olds in 2024.
"I can't say it was much of a consolation, but it was our stallion," Toffey said. "He's a good horse. But the challenge is that the breeding market is so driven by the commercial side of things. Years ago when there was more breed-to-race people than there are now, I think he would be much more popular. Hopefully this helps and he has a big crop of 2-year-olds. If Baby Vino goes on and takes another grade 1 and somebody else for 'Vino' steps up, we'll be in good shape."
