Sculcos Folly easy winner of NYSSS Mind Your Biscuits

Michael Dubb’s Sculcos Folly proved much the best with an 8 1/2-length romp 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.

The win provided trainer Rick Dutrow, Jr. with his third victory on the card after sending out Focusyn to win Race 2 and Graywing to score in Race 5 – all three wearing the number 5 saddle towel. The win was also the second consecutive stakes coup for Sculcos Folly following a dominant 5 3/4-length score in the state-bred one-mile Gander under Jaime Rodriguez on March 7 here, bringing his win streak to three-in-a-row.  

Dutrow, Jr. said he was pleased to see Sculcos Folly sit just off the pace after wiring the field in his last two starts.

“The jock told us last time, ‘Rick, this horse settled for me on the lead like you wouldn’t believe.’ Today, he did it again sitting off the pace,” Dutrow, Jr. said. “It’s a new weapon that he’s got. He has plenty of natural speed. He settles in a race, and he can stalk. Let’s hope he just stays sound.”

With Rodriguez back in the irons, the son of Redesdale emerged sharply from the outermost post 5 and stuck his head in front for the first few strides, but was soon overtaken by second choice Illmatic as he rushed up under Manny Franco to mark the opening quarter-mile in 22.24 seconds over the fast footing.

A patient Rodriguez was content to let Sculcos Folly track a half-length back to the outside of Illmatic with the top pair well clear of their other rivals approaching the turn. Sculcos Folly only needed Rodriguez to drop his hands to pounce on his rival exiting the turn, and took command with ease through the half-mile in 45.81.

“He gave me a nice break out of there,” Rodriguez said. “He was comfortable and relaxed. I let the other speed go, I let him get out just a little bit to be comfortable. Right about when we got to three-sixteenths, I asked him just a little bit to see if I got a lot of horse, he responded. I gave another hold, then once I got to the quarter-pole, I hit him once, and he just floats.”

Rodriguez kept his charge to task with a few taps of a left-handed crop before hand-riding through the final sixteenth and wrapping up as Sculcos Folly rolled through the wire first in a final time of 1:16.85. Illmatic held second by 2 1/2 lengths over the rallying stakes-winner Sunday Boy with Hurricane Kaz and Gallant One completing the order of finish.

Rodriguez, who has been aboard Sculcos Folly throughout his win streak, said he is pleased with the way the dark bay has developed.

“Every time he runs, he gets smarter and mature and everything,” the rider said. “He was more calm today, more relaxed, and I loved the way was acting today. More energy, more relaxed, leaving everything in the race. He doesn’t have to be on the lead. He proved it today. One time at Laurel, he came from off the pace to finish second. Anywhere you put him, he’ll give you a run.”

Dutrow, Jr. said Sculcos Folly also responded well to a change in his shoes.

“This was the first race we put glue-on shoes on him,” Dutrow, Jr. said. “We didn’t do it because he absolutely needed it – for other reasons that are involved with the horse too – but [it worked]…he never had a foot issue to where we have to glue him, we did it because we wanted to.”

Sculcos Folly cut back in distance for the second time in his career, but did so successfully for the first time in the Mind Your Biscuits, where he defeated a well-regarded foe in impressive maiden-winner Illmatic.  

“It’s just about who he faces in the race, and he had a customer today [Illmatic] that looked live, and our horse handled it the right way,” Dutrow, Jr. said. “He was comfortable doing it. He let the other horse have the lead and he was comfortable sitting off and just had more horse than him today.”

Owner Michael Dubb said Sculcos Folly, who previously won 2-of-3 starts when in for a tag, will now likely target the seven-furlong $200,000 Mike Lee on June 3 during the Belmont Stakes Racing Festival at Saratoga Race Course.

“The obvious spot is the Mike Lee,” said Dubb, who is a co-owner of yesterday’s Grade 1 Maker’s Mark Mile-winner Zulu Kingdom. “You kind of wonder sometimes if you’re supposed to look to a level higher, but one thing about the Dutrows – they want horses to get in the habit of winning, so Rick has been very adamant, ‘don’t go dreaming, Mike. You just race this horse where he learns how to win and he thinks that’s his job.’"

Franco said the Miguel Clement-trained Illmatic, who entered from a maiden victory that garnered a lofty 91 Beyer Speed Figure on February 28 here, was simply no match for Sculcos Folly.

“That was my plan – to go to the lead,” Franco said. “That’s what I did. I just couldn’t beat the winner. The winner was much the best.”

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. The colt banked $110,000 in victory and brought his record to 7-5-1-0, which includes a 9 3/4-length optional claiming sprint victory in January here. He returned $4.04 as the even-money favorite.

Live racing resumes Sunday at Aqueduct with an eight-race card. First post is 1:10 p.m. Eastern. 

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