Illmatic and Sculcos Folly square off in NYSSS Mind Your Biscuits
Adelphi Racing Club and LJSS Thoroughbreds’ Illmatic makes his stakes debut in Saturday’s $200,000 Mind Your Biscuits division of the New York Stallion Stakes Series, a 6 1/2-furlong sprint for eligible state-sired sophomores, at Aqueduct Racetrack.
Trained by Miguel Clement, the Honest Mischief colt was selected by Joseph Migliore for $290,000 at the OBS Spring Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training where he worked in 10 seconds flat.
Matt Cutair, managing partner of Adelphi Racing Club, said there was lots to like at first sight of the well-bred Illmatic, who graduated impressively at second asking here last out on February 28.
“When we bought the horse in April, part of the conversation was that he was by Honest Mischief and a stallion series eligible horse,” Cutair said. “When we find one that we like, it factors into the calculation. What we are very focused on is buying New York-breds. At any given time, 50-60 percent of our roster are New York-breds horses. We're focused on racing in New York, and we like the program, the restricted races and all the bonuses. When we find a New York-sired horse, it's a little bit of a bonus.”
Illmatic was a pacesetting sixth in his July debut sprinting 5 1/2-furlongs over firm Saratoga Race Course turf. He returned victoriously off a seven-month layoff last out to earn a lofty 91 Beyer Speed Figure here traveling six furlongs against fellow state-breds.
There, Illmatic, off at odds of 9-1 under Jaime Rodriguez, zipped through splits of 22.13 seconds and 45.51 over the good main track en route to a six-length score over odds-on favorite Bounty Banker in a final time of 1:10.68.
“He was definitely green on debut and didn't corner well. He came out of it with a bit of an issue and we took care of that,” Cutair said. “We brought him back slowly. He went to WinStar in Kentucky and then shipped into Belmont and trained better going into the last race.
“Jaime gave him a good ride,” Cutair continued. “He's the kind of horse that wants to be left alone to do what he wants to do. When you get into his mouth, he kind of resents it. The issue he came out of the debut with, plus getting into his mouth a little bit, may have caused him to fade a bit late after breaking so sharp. In the return race, Jaime did a great job of letting him do what he wants to do. He's just a naturally fast horse that wants to do it that way.”
Three races after Illmatic’s swift score, Bold Journey took down the six-furlong Grade 3 Tom Fool for older horses in a slightly slower 1:10.70 with the Adelphi Racing Club and LJSS Thoroughbreds co-owned One Nine Hundred [95 Beyer] in third.
“We were in the Tom Fool with One Nine Hundred and we were keenly aware of the times for the day,” Cutair said. “Illmatic ran a very fast race that day and did what he wanted to do. He'll be running against better horses this time, so it will be interesting to see how he responds to that.”
Illmatic, bred by Sequel Stallions New York, is out of the Woodman mare Woodflower. He is a half-brother to stakes-winner Magna Rose and Arigatou Gozaimasu, who finished second to Queen Azteca in the Group 3 UAE Oaks in February 2025.
Cutair said Illmatic made a good first impression on Migliore at the sale, which added to a strong pedigree and being by Honest Mischief, who sired the winners of both of the $500,000 NYSSS races in 2024 in Sacrosanct [Great White Way] and Stone Smuggler [Fifth Avenue].
“He worked well and we like buying New York-breds. Joe loved the horse,” Cutair said. “The Honest Mischiefs have done really well from a New York sire perspective, but to Joe's eye most of them are a little short-legged and he [Illmatic] had a little more leg - a little more scope - than a lot of them do. Joe thought he was the best Honest Mischief he'd seen that year.”
If Illmatic is to become the next stakes-winning progeny of Honest Mischief, he will have to overcome a well-regarded recent stakes-winner for trainer Rick Dutrow, Jr. in Sculcos Folly and do so with a new rider in Manny Franco, who was aboard for a five-eighths breeze in 1:02.01 on March 28 over the Belmont Park dirt training track.
“He had a nice work in company with Manny up. He's trained well out of his win. We're going to run into that nice Rick Dutrow horse, but we're pretty excited about it,” Cutair said.
Franco will pilot Illmatic from post 4.
Michael Dubb’s New York-bred stakes winner Sculcos Folly [post 5, Jaime Rodriguez] will look to complete a hat trick of local wins for Dutrow, Jr.
The Redesdale colt faced state-bred company for the first time last out on March 7 in the local one-turn mile Gander. There, with returning pilot Jaime Rodriguez up, he showed the way through splits of 23.12 seconds and 47.12 over the good footing and held a 3 1/2-length lead at the stretch call. Sculcos Folly continued to find more down the lane and stopped the clock in 1:36.94 while 5 3/4-lenghts the better of runner-up Minorinconvenience, who ran tenth in Saturday’s Grade 2, $750,000 Wood Memorial presented by Resorts World Casino here. The winning effort earned a career-best 92 Beyer.
Sculcos Folly worked a half-mile in 53.63 Tuesday over the Belmont dirt training track in preparation for the Mind Your Biscuits.
“He worked good. He’s in a good zone. I just want to keep him right there. He’s never been a good workhorse as far as times go, but he’s taking care of himself. We’re happy with him,” Dutrow, Jr. said.
Sculcos Folly trailed throughout his July debut in a restricted maiden auction event at Saratoga but has won 4-of-5 starts since, completing his juvenile campaign with claiming sprint wins in July at Monmouth Park and in November at Laurel Park.
Sculcos Folly has reached a new level as a sophomore, beginning with a rallying three-quarter length second after a troubled start in an optional-claimer on January 9 at Laurel Park. He then shipped to New York on short rest to wire a local six-furlong starter optional-claimer in 1:10.61 on January 22 here ahead of his Gander score.
Dutrow, Jr. said the four-time winner is in fine fettle.
“He looks like a seal, he's so slick and lean and sharp looking,” Dutrow, Jr. said.
Bred in New York by Lannister Holdings, Sculcos Folly was a $70,000 purchase at the 2025 OBS Spring Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training and is out of the 10-time winning Johannesburg mare Cool Johanna, who also produced stakes-placed winners D’fever and Zolo.
DiRico Racing and Breeding’s Sunday Boy [post 1, Christopher Elliott] makes his first appearance since a rallying 12-1 upset score in the seven-furlong $500,000 NYSSS Great White Way on December 6 here.
Trained by James Ryerson, the Central Banker colt graduated at sixth asking with a strong stretch kick under returning rider Christopher Elliott to stop the clock in 1:24.90 for a 2 3/4-length score over next-out maiden winner and subsequent Damon Runyon runner-up Combat Mission.
Sunday Boy, out of the winning Harlan’s Holiday mare Lady Daphne, is a full-brother to the dual-surface multiple stakes-winner Sunday Girl. He boasts good references in local state-bred company leading into the Great White Way, finishing a troubled 4 3/4-length sixth to the victorious next-out stakes winner Jaxer on turf in October and followed with a 5 1/2-length second in a one-turn mile main track maiden in November won by Talk to Me Jimmy, who subsequently captured the Listed Withers and landed eighth in Saturday’s Wood Memorial.
Sunday Boy, bred by McMahon of Saratoga Thoroughbreds, has banked $319,600 via a 6-1-2-0 ledger.
Also entered are maiden winner Gallant One [post 3, Jorge Vargas, Jr.] for trainer Edward DeLauro; and the maiden Hurricane Kaz [post 2, Dylan Davis] for trainer Dimitrios Synnefias.
The Mind Your Biscuits [previously the Times Square] is slated as Race 6 on Saturday’s eight-race race card which also features the NYSSS Fourstar Crook [previously the Park Avenue] for eligible state-sired sophomore fillies in Race 7. First post is 1:10 p.m. Eastern.
The re-named stakes honor two of the highest earning state-sired horses of each sex, with Mind Your Biscuits banking in excess of $4.2 million and Fourstar Crook earning over $1.6 million.
Mind Your Biscuits, a New York-bred Posse chestnut, won the Grade 1 Malibu and Grade 2 Amsterdam for trainer Robert Falcone, Jr., before a tenure with conditioner Chad Summers that included back-to-back wins in the Group 1 Dubai Golden Shaheen from 2017-18 at Meydan Race Course. Overall, he built a 25-8-10-3 record with his last win being a dominant score in the 2018 Grade 3 Lukas Classic at Churchill Downs.
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