Durante gets back in winner’s circle with rally in G3 John A. Nerud
Durante benefitted from a forwardly-placed trip and ran down Acoustic Ave from the outside in the final furlong, securing the victory by a neck to post his first win in nearly one year in Saturday’s Grade 3, $175,000 John A. Nerud, a six-furlong sprint for older horses, at Belmont at the Big A.
Owned and trained by David Jacobson, the 7-year-old Kentucky-bred son of Distorted Humor tracked in second as Acoustic Ave led the compact six-horse field through the opening quarter-mile in 22.50 seconds and the half-mile in 45.54 over the sealed Aqueduct main track rated good.
Under Ricardo Santana, Jr., Durante broke sharp and stayed just off the pacesetter, gaining early position on contenders Full Moon Madness and 4-5 favorite One Nine Hundred. Durante maintained the solid position out of the turn, and, when straightened for home, Durante outkicked One Nine Hundred to his outside before setting his sights on Acoustic Ave.
The duo battled in deep stretch, with Durante responding to Santana, Jr.’s right-handed encouragement and proverbially say "good night, Mrs. Calabash, wherever you are” to the rest of the field in completing the course in 1:10.45.
Acoustic Ave, trained by Linda Rice and ridden by Jose Lezcano, finished 1 1/4 lengths clear of Full Moon Madness for runner-up honors. Radio Red, One Nine Hundred and Silver Slugger completed the order of finish.
Durante, who shares a name with the famous 20th-century comedian and actor, earned his first victory in his last 10 starts and made a winner’s circle trip for the first time since the Grade 3 Aristides last May at Churchill Downs.
Jacobson added blinkers last out for a runner-up effort in a six-furlong optional claimer in April at Keeneland and Durante again benefitted from the equipment choice.
“He was getting a little lazy in the first part of it in his last couple of races, so I put the blinkers on, and they really worked,” Jacobson said. “He ran well in his first race with blinkers last time and today we really got a handle on it.”
Jacobson said mounting a title defense with a return trip to the Aristides on May 30 is the next logical spot.
“It was an amazing race today. He beat some good horses and he’s doing real good,” he said. “I can’t wait to get him back to Churchill and run him in the Aristides – he won that last year, so we’re going to aim for that."
Off at 7-1, Durante returned $16.50 on a $2 win wager. The namesake for the Great Schnozzola was a recently minted millionaire and improved his career earnings to $1.12 million through a 48-11-8-7 record and racked up another Aqueduct highlight before the famed track closes for good next month, adding to his 2023 win in the Grade 3 Bold Ruler here.
Santana, Jr., who had previous experience piloting Durante last year, also appreciated the blinkers and his horse’s ability to compete in different circumstances.
“I rode him before and he relaxed when I rode him at Oaklawn [on Feb. 14, 2025]. He broke a step slow and I was lucky to get outside the speed – that day he fought to the end,” Santana, Jr. said. “Today, I loved my post. The only different thing today was the blinkers and today, he fought again. He’s a decent horse. He runs on every racetrack."
The New York-bred Acoustic Ave made his fourth consecutive stakes start and returned to earning black type following a fifth-place finish in the Grade 2 Carter presented by NYRA Bets in April here.
“He ran a very good race. He ran hard,” Lezcano said. “The winner got me right before the wire. I think my horse ran one of the best races. I thought that there was speed outside of me, but if no one goes, I go. My horse, it doesn't matter where he is, as long as he is happy. Wherever he is, he is going to run. This horse, he always tries, he always tries very hard."
Live racing resumes Sunday at Aqueduct with a nine-race card. First post is 1:10 p.m. Eastern.
America’s Day at the Races presents live coverage and analysis of the Belmont at the Big A spring/summer meet on the networks of FOX Sports. For the broadcast schedule and channel finder, visit https://www.nyra.com/aqueduct/racing/tv-schedule/.
NYRA Bets is the official wagering platform of Belmont at the Big A, and the best way to bet every race of the spring/summer meet. Available to horse players nationwide, the NYRA Bets app is available for download today on iOS and Android at www.NYRABets.com.
