Jerome Stakes is the first Kentucky Derby prep race of the year on the New York circuit

Cyclone State (Gold Square, George Messina and Michael Lee) will look for his third straight win over the course and distance in the $150,000 Jerome Stakes, a one-turn mile for sophomores, at Aqueduct Racetrack on Saturday, January 4.

The Jerome is the first Kentucky Derby prep race of the year on the New York circuit, and offers 10-5-3-2-1 qualifying points to the top-five finishers, respectively.

The Jerome is slated as Race 8 on Saturday's nine-race program. First post is 12:10 p.m. Eastern.

2025 Jerome Stakes Field & Odds

Race 8 at Aqueduct Racetrack

Saturday, January 4 - Post 3:39 PM

Entry	Horse	ML Odds	Jockey	Trainer
1	Enduring Spirit	30-1	Sofia Vives 118 Lbs	Jose Jimenez
2	Mansetti	10-1	Sahin Civaci 120 Lbs	Kevin Attard
3	Ican	8-1	Manuel Franco 118 Lbs	Richard Dutrow, Jr.
4	Omaha Omaha	8-1	Raul Mena 120 Lbs	Michael Gorham
5	Georgia Magic	10-1	Romero Maragh 118 Lbs	Raymond Handal
6	Cyclone State	7-2	Luis Rivera, Jr. 120 Lbs	Chad Summers
7	Studlydoright	5-2	Xavier Perez 123 Lbs	John Robb
8	McAfee	2-1	Jose Gomez 118 Lbs	Richard Dutrow, Jr.

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Trained by Chad Summers, the McKinzie bay enters from a last-out optional claiming score on December 6 following a fifth-out graduation in November. Cyclone State set the pace in both local one-mile wins under returning rider Luis Rivera, Jr., holding off reopposing Ican by 2 3/4 lengths last out in a final time of 1:37.53.

"He went about it the right way. I don't think it was his best performance, but he continued to climb the ladder," said Summers.

Summers said it looks like there will be no shortage of speed in the Jerome, which presents a new challenge for Cyclone State [post 6, Luis Rivera, Jr.], who earned a career-best 82 Beyer Speed Figure in his frontrunning 2 1/2-length maiden win.

"On paper, it looks like there is a lot of speed in this race," Summers said. "Mansetti, what he did on the Tapeta was pretty fast, Georgia Magic showed speed and is stretching out from three-quarters, Enduring Spirit has shown speed, and Studlydoright and some others may be coming from behind."

Co-owner Gold Square looks for a Jerome title defense after capturing last year's running with the Brad Cox-trained Drum Roll Please.

"Gold Square was fortunate to win it last year with Drum Roll Please, so it is an important race. It is obviously a points race, it is 10 points on the Road to the Derby, you kind of have one eye looking there at this point," Summers said. "He just needs to keep progressing forward."

Cyclone State faced strong foes in his first four races, contesting maidens won by next-out Grade 2-winner Showcase and well-regarded Uncaged for Hall of Famer Todd Pletcher, and the now graded stakes-placed pair of Early Adopter and Aviator Gui for conditioner Chad Brown.

Cyclone State, out of the Grade 3-placed Dominus mare Chanel's Legacy, was a $70,000 purchase at the 2023 Keeneland September Yearling Sale. He was bred by H. Allen Poindexter in Iowa, home of the Iowa State Cyclones, who upset Miami 42-41 on Saturday in college football's Pop-Tarts Bowl.

David R. Hughes' Grade 3-placed Studlydoright [post 7, Xavier Perez] traveled in third position of the nine-furlong Grade 2 Remsen last out on December 7 here and finished fourth after being bumped at the top of the lane. Trained by John "Jerry" Robb, it was only the Nyquist chestnut's second time finishing out of the top-two in his seven starts, but he picked up two Kentucky Derby points in defeat.

Robb said Studlydoright was not in peak form for the Remsen.

"He missed a lot of training. I wasn't sure he was quite fit enough. He came up like he might've been a little light, because we lost the track at Laurel Park quite a few days," said Robb. "He is a little bit fitter. I know he is fit, like I said, last time he came up a little short on me."

Studlydoright added blinkers to capture the one-mile Listed Nashua on November 2 here, earning a career-best 86 Beyer and improving markedly from a runner-up finish in the off-the-turf Laurel Futurity in September.

"I think he changed quite a bit when we put the blinkers on. He became more aggressive and woke up a little bit," Robb said.

Studlydoright won the 5 1/2-furlong Listed Tremont second-out in June at Saratoga Race Course, exiting to run a close second to next-out stakes-winner and well-regarded New York-bred Mo Plex in the six-furlong Grade 3 Sanford.

Studlydoright, bred in Maryland by Glenangus Farm, is out of the graded stakes-placed Curlin mare Peach of a Gal, who is a half-sister to graded stakes-placed Concealed Identity.

Al and Bill Ulwelling's Ontario-bred Mansetti [post 2, Sahin Civaci] ships in off a win in the restricted Clarendon on November 24 at Woodbine Racetrack.

Trained by Kevin Attard, the Collected bay added blinkers and set the pace in the six-furlong Tapeta sprint for Ontario-bred/sired, holding clear for a 1 1/4-length score.

"Physically, he's built more like a sprinter. He's a good size for a younger horse, but he does show a tendency to be a little bit headstrong," said Attard. "Stretching out, he's going to have to relax, and we've been working on that. Hopefully, as he grows and matures, he will figure that out."

The Clarendon score avenged a prominent sixth in the seven-furlong Listed Display on October 13 over the same surface, which followed a gate-to-wire debut victory over the Clarendon course and distance on September 26.

"We were pretty high on him first time out and he ran to what we expected, and then the Display seemed like the next logical step. In hindsight, it was probably a little bit of too much too soon for a young horse," Attard said. "I don't think he handled it that well. We got him back to the barn and re-grouped and gave him a little more time. He responded well with a couple good works and showed up with a good performance in the Clarendon."

Bred by Jungle Racing, Mansetti, out of the Sky Mesa mare Gidget Girl, was a $40,000 purchase at the 2024 OBS Spring Sale of Two-Year-Olds in Training. He is a half-brother to dual stakes-winner Straight Up G and his second dam is Surfer Girl, who was Group 1-placed in her native Brazil.

Black Type Thoroughbreds, Swinbank Stables, Judy Hicks and Campeche Stables' McAfee [post 8, Jose Gomez] was defeated a head by Optical when rallying up the rail last out in a one-mile starter allowance on November 24 at Churchill Downs.

Trained by Rick Dutrow, Jr., the Cloud Computing dark bay previously came from 7 3/4 lengths back in ninth to win his debut by 3 1/4 lengths when sprinting six furlongs on November 1 at the Louisville oval.

McAfee, a $40,000 purchase at the 2023 Keeneland September Yearling Sale, is out of the Uncle Mo mare Sataves, making him a half-brother to multiple Grade 1 winner and potential 2024 Horse of the Year Thorpedo Anna.

"He's huge. He's a big horse and we love him," Dutrow, Jr. said. "We were so happy with him [in defeat], he ran like a true racehorse on the inside, kept coming, just stuff you really love to see for a second-time starter."

Thorpedo Anna was purchased for the same amount as McAfee at the 2022 Fasig-Tipton Kentucky Fall Yearling Sale, and both were bred in Kentucky by co-owner Judy Hicks.

Dutrow, Jr., will also saddle FMQ Stables' maiden-winner Ican [post 3, Manny Franco], who was second to Cyclone State in the aforementioned optional claimer on December 6. There, he rallied from seven lengths back after a bad stumble at the break, but could only cut into his returning rival's margin of victory.

Rounding out the field is Laurel Park optional-claiming winner Omaha Omaha [post 4, Raul Mena] for trainer Michael Gorham; as well as maiden-winners Georgia Magic [post 5, Romero Maragh] for conditioner Ray Handal and Enduring Spirit [post 1, Sofia Vives] for trainer Jose Jimenez.

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