The $1 million Haskell Stakes (G1) on Saturday (July 20) at Monmouth Park in Oceanport, New Jersey, is the first major race for 3-year-olds following the Triple Crown. usracing.com is publishing profiles on the contenders.
2024 Haskell Stakes Contenders: TUSCAN SKY
Like his more accomplished stablemate and Haskell opponent Mindframe, Tuscan Sky didn’t race as a 2-year-old and won his first two starts at 3. That’s where the similarities end.
Tuscan Sky. Monmouth Park Photo.
Tuscan Sky began his career in January at Aqueduct, rarely a spot where Todd Pletcher’s top prospects debut. He went 2-for-2 on off tracks in Queens before flopping badly there in his stakes debut, the Grade 2 Wood Memorial. The Wood’s prestige as a Kentucky Derby prep has dropped dramatically in this century, and this year’s edition was one of its weakest ever.
Tuscan Sky never got involved in the Wood and finished seventh, beaten 12 lengths by winner Resilience, who subsequently was sixth in the Derby and last of 10 in the Belmont Stakes. Tuscan Sky redeemed himself in his next start, the ungraded Pegasus Stakes at Monmouth Park, where he showed grit in drawing clear from a four-way speed duel and winning by 6¾ lengths.
That runaway earned him a spot in the Haskell, where Tuscan Sky appears to be in over his head against Grade 1 winners Fierceness (if he runs) and Dornoch and Belmont runner-up Mindframe. His 9-2 morning-line odds make him an underlay in a very competitive event.
2024 Haskell Stakes Odds and Post Positions: Tuscan Sky
Post position: 3
Odds: 9-2
Jockey: Javier Castellano
Trainer: Todd Pletcher
Owner: Spendthrift Farm
Career record: 4-3-0-0
Career earnings: $190,500
Last race: Pegasus Stakes, June 15 (1st)
Top Equibase speed figure: 111
Pedigree: Vino Rosso-South Andros, by Sky Mesa
Color: Gray
Running style: Front-runner/stalker
Notes: Tuscan Sky is by Vino Rosso, hero of the 2019 Breeders’ Cup Classic at Santa Anita … Tuscan Sky worked an easy half-mile in 49.80 seconds July 13 at Saratoga … Rider Javier Castellano on Tuscan Sky’s Pegasus: “I think this horse deserves a shot in the Haskell the way he won this race. The pace was quick, and he was chasing and still finished good. That’s a good sign going forward.”