Yo Daddy has stakes breakthrough in Listed Excelsior
Winning Move Stable’s Yo Daddy placed four times in previous stakes during his career and earned the elusive score in Saturday’s Listed $150,000 Excelsior, a 10-furlong route for older horses, at Aqueduct Racetrack.
In victory, trainer Linda Rice swept the first three races on the card and she next extended the streak to four, capturing the opener with Munnings Express, Race 2 with Porosity and Race 4 with 15-1 longshot Waitlist. Rice also won her last start on Friday here, with Playa Del Mar taking Race 7, to make it an overall five-race win streak for the conditioner.
Yo Daddy entered off a one-length second in the one-turn mile Listed Stymie on February 28 here. There, he cut back in distance from a local nine-furlong optional claiming victory on February 4, while racing from an eight-month layoff dating to a runner-up effort in the 1 3/4-mile off-the-turf Grade 3 Belmont Gold Cup on June 4 at Saratoga Race Course.
“We wanted to run in this race all along, the adjustment was to use the Stymie. I didn’t intend on that necessarily,” said Rice. “I really didn’t want to shorten him up to a flat mile after he won at a mile and an eighth off the layoff because he seems to like these two-turn distances, but we improvised. We used the Stymie as a steppingstone, and I’m thrilled with the way he ran today.”
The 5-year-old Yoshida bay was haltered for $50,000 from a winning effort in April 2024 at Keeneland and has since hit the board in 14-of-17 starts, including Grade 3 placings in the Saranac [2nd] on turf in August 2024 at the Spa and on the main track in the local Westchester [3rd] in May and the Belmont Gold Cup to close out his 2025 campaign.
“Steve Sigler [owner Winning Move Stable] picked this horse out himself. It was a great claim,” Rice said. “We ran him pretty aggressively for a year and a half and then last summer at Saratoga I ran him in the mile and three-quarter race [Belmont Gold Cup] and I could just tell he needed a break. So, we gave him that break and I said, ‘this horse will come back super as a 5-year-old,’ and he sure did.”
Piloted by Jose Lezcano, Yo Daddy exited post 5 alertly, but Otello swept to the front from the outermost post 6 to mark an opening quarter-mile in 24.66 seconds over the fast dirt while stalked by 4-5 favorite Classicist.
Otello showed the way in the first turn with Classicist keeping close watch and Interceptor saving ground to his inside under Ricardo Santana, Jr. Yo Daddy was under a snug hold in fourth position and settled in approaching the half-mile in 50.34.
“This horse, this year I feel like he’s come back better than before. He’s more relaxed. He breaks, and before he wanted to run off – now, he’s sitting, doing whatever you ask him for,” said Lezcano, who also won the opening race. “At the quarter pole, when I really asked him, he take off and go on and win the race.”
Entering the second turn, Interceptor and Classicist moved to the inside and outside of Otello, respectively, with Lezcano remaining patient aboard Yo Daddy through three-quarters in 1:14.47. Otello weakened approaching the top of the lane and Interceptor’s inside move put him in front of Classicist, but once straightened for home, Yo Daddy launched his bid and hit the front nearing the final eighth.
In the final furlong, Yo Daddy came over to the rail while clear of the Mike Maker-trained Interceptor, who tried to shift to his outside for a final try, but Yo Daddy was safely in front for a 1 3/4-length victory in a final time of 2:03.73.
Classicist held third another 7 1/2 lengths back, with Stowaway completing the superfecta. Otello and Omaha Omaha rounded out the order of finish. Over and Ollie scratched in favor of today’s Native Dancer at Laurel Park.
“He’s got a lot of stamina, and he’s got speed,” said Rice. “He’s proven to us that he can get the Classic distances. He’s a big horse with a big frame and he likes to sit on the outside. He’s almost too big and can get bottled up on the inside and in tight with horses, Jose is aware of that, and he rode him beautifully.”
Lezcano, also aboard for the seasonal debut win, said the bay has matured nicely.
“I think distance for him is not a problem, it’s more how he’s acting on the day,” said Lezcano. “This year, I feel he is more calm and doing the right things. Before, some days he wants to run off and some days he’d completely stay in the back last. This year, he’s putting [me] in a good position and when you ask, he [responds].”
Bred in Kentucky by Big Chief Racing and Rocker O Ranch, Yo Daddy is out of the winning Tale of the Cat mare Elle Stormin’. He earned $82,500 in victory while improving his record to 24-8-6-5 and returning $7.66 for a $2 win bet.
Live racing resumes Thursday at Aqueduct with a seven-race card. First post is 1:10 p.m. Eastern.
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