Bishops Bay got up just in time to score a gutsy neck win over a determined Mika in the $500,000 Grade 2 Cigar Mile Handicap Dec. 6 at Aqueduct.

The win was Bishops Bay's first win at the Grade 2 level, and it kept alive his owners' fervent hopes of running in the $20 million Saudi Cup on Feb. 14.

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"The goal is to get to the Middle East, and this will help the cause," said trainer Brad Cox. "I don't know how soon we'll get the word if he's in, but we'll nominate him and make an attempt to run."

Though he may lack a Grade 1 win due to the downgrading of the Cigar Mile back in 2023, Bishops Bay has done very little wrong in his 13-race career with nine wins and three seconds. Also a multiple Grade 3 winner, he has now earned $977,800 in his career.

"He's very game. A very consistent horse who likes to win. I'm proud of the effort," Cox said. "There was some concern that the horse on the lead (Mika) had gotten away when they straightened away, but he needed every inch of ground in the stretch and another well-timed ride by Flavien Prat and got there."

Cox said if the son of Uncle Mo receives an invite to compete in the one-turn, 1 1/8-mile Saudi Cup, he could run in a prep race at King Abdulaziz Racecourse in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Bishops Bay ($4.40) came into the Cigar Mile off a victory in Aqueduct's Grade 3 Forty Niner Stakes at the same mile distance.

Mika had scampered clear after the start and led by three lengths over Bishops Bay in the field of six after a half a mile in :45.72. He still held a 2 1/2-length lead at the quarter pole through six furlongs in 1:09.63 and maintained that same margin at the eighth pole.

Prat was able to kick Bishops Bay into top gear and the margin began to shrink in the stretch. Making full use of the mile distance, Bishops Bay took the lead in the final strides and completed the mile in 1:34.62.

"He's a very game horse. He's very honest and always shows up. He has a great mind and wants to win every time, so he's fun to be around," Prat said.

Mika, who was running in a graded stakes race for the first time, finished second by 4 1/4 lengths over third-place finisher Crazy Mason, who rallied from 12 1/2 lengths behind to take third.

"He ran great," trainer Mike Maker said about Mika. "He's a 3-year-old (running) against older horses, so I am not complaining."

Paladin is Derby Dreaming with Strong Remsen Stakes Win

Paladin took a significant step toward Kentucky Derby dreaming by defeating Renegade and Balboa to win $250,000 Grade 2 Remsen Stakes on Dec. 6 at Aqueduct. His two-length victory for trainer Chad Brown in the 1 1/8-mile race for 2-year-olds in his first two-turn race improved his record to 2-for-2 and stamped him as a contender for next year's Triple Crown series.

Paladin. (Eclipse Sportswire)

Paladin had won his prior start over a one-turn mile in an Oct. 17 maiden race at Aqueduct, elevated from second to first when Renegade was disqualified for interference in the stretch. This time around, Paladin did not need any action from the stewards.

Sweetly positioned by jockey Flavien Prat, Paladin raced in third along the inside through the first turn and down the backstretch behind opening splits of :23.32 and :47.42. By the time the leaders had completed six furlongs in 1:12.53, he was angled into the clear by Prat and Paladin did the rest. He wore down Renegade and Balboa and extended his lead to the wire to finish two lengths in front in 1:50.97. Paladin paid $5.76 to win as the favorite.

"Everything went well. I was a bit worried there'd be a lack of pace, but we were able to sit right off of the pace," Prat said. "When I tipped him out, he reacted the right way."

Runner-up Renegade finished 1 1/2 lengths head of a gradually tiring Balboa in third. The well-bred Courting ran wide with a challenging trip and finished a non-threatening fourth, 3 1/2 lengths behind Balboa. Grittiness was fifth.

The top-five Remsen finishers earned qualifying points in the road to the 2026 Kentucky Derby presented by Woodford Reserve on a 10-5-3-2-1 basis. Officials at Churchill Downs, which hosts the Derby as usual on the first Saturday in May, use qualifying points as a preference system when the Derby draws more than its capacity field of 20 horses.

Six Remsen participants have gone on to success in the run for the roses, but none since Thunder Gulch won both races in 1994-95.

Prat won the Remsen for the second straight year after his success aboard the Eoin Harty-trained Poster for Godolphin in 2024.

"It is that time of the year when you start dreaming," Prat said. "There is still a long way to go. A lot of tests to answer, but today was a good race." -- Byron King

Zany Adds to Pletcher's Demoiselle Dominance

Repole Stable's Zany captured the Grade 2 $250,000 Demoiselle Stakes for 2-year-old fillies Dec. 6 at Aqueduct. It marked the 10th time Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher won the race considered to be an early prep for the 2026 Longines Kentucky Oaks.

Zany, a daughter of 2015 Triple Crown winner American Pharoah, lived up to her 3-5 favoritism in the Demoiselle. She pulled away with authority atop the six-horse field to win easily by 8 1/2 lengths. Zany picked up 10 qualifying points toward the Kentucky Oaks.

Zany wins the Demoiselle. (Eclipse Sportswire)

The Demoiselle was just the second start for Zany, who romped by 6 1/2 lengths in a 6 1/2-furlong maiden special weight sprint at Gulfstream Park in her Nov. 2 debut. Owner Mike Repole quickly put a bug in Pletcher's ear about the mile-and-an-eighth Demoiselle.

"Mike was like, 'We've got to go to the Demoiselle," Pletcher said. "There were not many options to run until the first of January at Gulfstream, and we didn't feel we wanted to sit on her that long."

Shilling set the pace in the Demoiselle, reeling off fractions of :24.05 and :48.16 with Zany and jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. about a length behind. Zany ($3.50) forged to the front turning for home and widened her margin in the stretch as she covered the 1 1/8 miles in 1:50.55. Jumping the Gun finished second. Concurrently was third. Shilling ended up fourth.

"She did it the right way, every step of the way," Ortiz said. "It was impressive the way she did it today."

Pletcher said Zany would return to Florida, but it was too early to target her next start. -- Bob Ehalt