In the sixth, he guided Eldest Son, making his bow in the Jamie Ness barn, to a hard-fought neck victory over another 10-1 outsider, It’s Viper, in an allowance/optional claimer for three-year-olds. Two Triple Crown-nominated runners, B West and Seven’s Eleven, finished sixth and ninth, respectively, while flashy last-out maiden winner Omo Dada was a troubled 10th in a race in which the top four finishers all went off at 9-1 or higher.

Rivera won aboard She’ll Make Waves for trainer Jerry Robb in a claiming event for sophomores. The Cross Traffic filly is 2-for-2 in her career after a hard-fought win in which the top three were all within a head… 

On Friday jockey Jevian Toledo and trainer Brittany Russell teamed up to win three. That included sharp maiden scores by sophomores Uncle Jake and Goodgirl Badhabits. The latter, making her career debut, won by 12 ¾ lengths in the 5 ½-furlong contest.

The former, making his first start in Russell’s barn, won by 9 ½ lengths in a one-mile test. It was the Triple Crown nominee’s second career outing. 

As for his next start, he could obviously seek to move through his allowance conditions, or, if the connections feel ambitious, try to take bigger swings. While he won’t make the March 18 Private Terms Stakes, the next likely local stakes spot would be the April 15 Federico Tesio Stakes, a nine-furlong contest that is a win-and-in for the Preakness.

“We think he’s a really nice horse,” Russell said. “It’s nice to see he has the allowance [condition]. Who knows. The Tesio? I think he wants to go all day. That’s also a big ask off a maiden win, so I think we’ll just stay grounded.”