NYRA Press Office

​Spendthrift Farm’s Major Dude sprung a mild upset on Sunday at Aqueduct Racetrack in the Grade 2, $200,000 Pilgrim for 2-year-olds at 1 1/16 miles on turf, gamely holding off odds-on favorite I’m Very Busy to give trainer Todd Pletcher and jockey Irad Ortiz, Jr. their second consecutive graded stakes win on the card.

Ryan Martin

​Repole Stable’s Chocolate Gelato backed up a highly impressive maiden victory, utilizing a ground-saving trip under jockey Irad Ortiz, Jr. to capture a breakthrough win in Sunday’s Grade 1, $400,000 Frizette at the Belmont at the Big A fall meet.

NYRA Press Office

​The late scratch of morning-line favorite Flirting Bridge and a water-logged inner turf course paved the way for a Chad Brown-trained exacta in the Grade 3, $200,000 Fasig-Tipton Waya on Saturday at Aqueduct Racetrack, with Rocky Sky proving narrowly best over her stablemate Capital Structure in the 1 3/8-mile race for fillies and mares 3-years-old and up.

NYRA Press Office

​The Grade 1, $500,000 Champagne produced another unlikely winner on Saturday at Belmont at the Big A, with trainer Chad Brown’s Blazing Sevens closing down the center of a sloppy and sealed main track to prevail by 3 1/4 lengths en route to a potential start in the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile.

Brian Bohl

​J and N Stables and Diamond M Stable’s Dancing Buck broke sharp and took a lead he never relinquished, with the New York-bred leading at every point of call and storming home to a five-length victory in Saturday’s Grade 3, $200,000 Belmont Turf Sprint for 3-year-olds and up during the Belmont at the Big A fall meet at Aqueduct Racetrack.

NYRA Press Office

Emory Hamilton's homebred Pleasant Passage overcame rainy conditions and a yielding turf course to live up to her name in Saturday’s Grade 2, $200,000 Miss Grillo at Aqueduct Racetrack with a gate-to-wire three-quarter-length victory that could catapult her to the Breeders’ Cup on November 4 should her connections choose to go.