Phileas Fogg on target for G1 Jockey Club Gold Cup

By Mary Eddy —-

Friday, September 11, 2026

Phileas Fogg on target for G1 Jockey Club Gold Cup

Money Game to miss G1 JCGC; Forever Young gallops over main track

ELMONT, N.Y. – Jupiter Stable’s dual graded stakes-winner Phileas Fogg is on schedule for his return from a short respite in the Grade 1, $1 million Jockey Club Gold Cup on Friday, September 18 at the new Belmont Park.

Following a three-year project to transform Belmont Park into a world-class sports and entertainment destination, The New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) will celebrate a new era on Friday, September 18, with a live racing program anchored by the Jockey Club Gold Cup. The 10-furlong route for 3-year-olds and up provides a “Win and You’re In” berth to the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Classic in October at Keeneland.

To help unveil the new Belmont Park to a national audience on September 18, FOX will present live coverage of the Jockey Club Gold Cup as part of its Belmont Park: Return to Racing telecast to air from 3-4:30 p.m. Eastern.

Trained by Gustavo Rodriguez, the 6-year-old son of Astern was last seen successfully defending his title in the Grade 2 Suburban presented by Subourbon Life on July 4 at Saratoga Race Course in a dominant 10-length wiring under regular pilot Kendrick Carmouche that earned a career-best 114 Beyer Speed Figure.

“He’s good, he worked today,” Rodriguez said. “Everything went beautiful and we are ready to go.”

Phileas Fogg has worked steadily at Saratoga since his Suburban score, and moved down to Belmont to post a five-furlong breeze over the main track in 1:00.45 this morning under Carmouche.

“He breezed over the new Belmont. Kendrick Carmouche breezed him today,” Rodriguez said. “The new Belmont is beautiful and we loved the way he worked today. Kendrick was very, very happy with the way he worked. So, me too. I love what I saw.”

Phileas Fogg was under consideration for the nine-furlong Grade 1 Whitney on August 8 at Saratoga, but was rerouted to target this spot in favor of its 10-furlong distance.

“We know he loves a mile and a quarter,” Rodriguez said. “We just wanted to give him more time. The Whitney race was kind of too close for him. We decided to give him a little more time so he could recover from his last race.”

The talented bay gelding was haltered for $62,500 by his current connections in July 2024 at Saratoga, and has since been the gift that keeps on giving, providing Rodriguez with his first graded wins as a trainer with his Suburban coups. He has hit the board in 11-of-13 starts since the claim, including two additional Listed stakes wins at Aqueduct Racetrack in the nine-furlong Queens County and 10-furlong Excelsior.

Entries for the Jockey Club Gold Cup will be taken on Saturday, September 12. Others currently possible for the Jockey Club Gold Cup include globetrotting Japanese superstar Forever Young; 2025 Horse of the Year Sovereignty, who is battling a foot abscess; multiple Grade 1-winning multimillionaire Nitrogen, who earned Eclipse Award honors last year as Champion 3-Year-Old Filly; Group 2 Godolphin Mile-winner Banishing; dual graded stakes-winner Willy D’s; and multiple graded stakes-placed Yo Daddy.

Susumu Fujita’s Forever Young cleared quarantine Thursday and trained for the first time over the Belmont Park main track. The 5-year-old Real Steel gelding, trained by Yoshito Yahagi, returned to the main track Friday morning under assistant trainer and exercise rider Yuki Araki to gallop once around the main track. He then enjoyed an extended walk around parts of Belmont’s backstretch before returning to his barn.

Netkeiba reported overnight that Shin Emperor, who accompanied Forever Young on the trip from Japan, will bypass the Grade 1 Joe Hirsch Turf Classic on September 26 here.

In the barn of dual Eclipse Award-winning trainer Brad Cox, Gary and Mary West’s Money Game worked five-eighths in 1:01.40 over the Oklahoma training track at Saratoga this morning, but exited the breeze with an injury to his right-front and will not compete in next Friday’s Grade 1 Jockey Club Gold Cup.

“We got him over to Rood and Riddle across the street here. He had an injury to his right-front leg,” said Blake Cox, son of and assistant to Brad Cox.

Money Game, a 4-year-old Candy Ride colt, won his first four starts culminating in a nine-furlong optional-claiming win in June at Saratoga. He earned a career-best 106 Beyer last out when second in the Grade 3 Monmouth Cup on July 18.

Cox also provided an update on George Messina and Michael Lee’s Fionn, who worked on Saratoga’s Oklahoma training turf Friday in preparation for a possible start in the Grade 2, $500,000 Flower Bowl on September 26 at Belmont Park, a “Win and You’re In” for the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf.

“She worked very well, we’re very happy with it. She went a half in 49 and one,” Blake Cox said.

The 4-year-old Twirling Candy dark bay has banked in excess of $2 million through a 12-7-1-1 record topped by a nose victory in last year’s nine-furlong Grade 1 Belmont Oaks Invitational at Saratoga. She was last seen finishing fifth as the mutuel favorite in a one-mile optional-claimer on August 13 at the Spa, while racing from a nearly seven-month layoff under Tyler Gaffalione.

“It was short for her, she’s a filly that the more ground the better,” Cox said. “A mile at Saratoga was not ideal for her but hopefully she needed the race. Tyler came back and said he couldn’t really pull her up. She did a lot of running after the wire, just not much before.

“She’s possible for the Flower Bowl,” Cox continued. “Hopefully, she’ll get a lot out of that first run and it looks like she has because her works have been pretty good since that race.”

For more information about the new Belmont Park, visit NewBelmont.com.