Cairo Caper, a $50,000 purchase turned stakes winner, will look to add another major score to his résumé Saturday, Aug. 9, when he lines up in the Grade 2, $500,000 Secretariat Stakes at Colonial Downs.

The one-mile turf test for 3-year-olds has drawn a competitive field, including 5-2 morning-line favorite Dream On, but Cairo Caper’s connections are confident their 9-2 shot belongs.

Trained by Phil Schoenthal for Maple Lane Farm LLC (Bill Thompson), Cairo Caper enters off two solid 2025 starts that have seen him more than hold his own. After beginning his career at Woodbine under trainer Nathan Squires, the Cairo Prince gelding was sent to Schoenthal earlier this year in search of opportunities restricted to 3-year-olds.

“When they looked at the schedule, they realized there really weren’t any three-year-old races up in Canada until the later part of the year,” Schoenthal said. “So they agreed to send the horse to me for the spring and summer to take some shots at some of these straight three-year-old races.”

The results so far have been promising. In his first start for Schoenthal, Cairo Caper finished seventh in the Woodhaven Stakes at Aqueduct but was beaten just 1 ½ lengths after a strong performance in his first after a six-month break.

“Obviously, the result is not what you watch from a paycheck standpoint, but we felt like he ran really well that day off the long layoff,” Schoenthal said.

He followed that up with a runner-up finish in the Grade 3 Penn Mile, again facing Dream On, who capitalized on a ground-saving trip while Cairo Caper was floated wide.

“We felt like we ran a winning race that day,” Schoenthal said. “He kind of got floated wide and bumped at the quarter pole. It cost him a little momentum, and the eventual winner caught the seam right up the fence and had a dream trip. Hats off to him for winning, but we felt like we ran a winning race that day. We were happy to be second and looking forward to trying him again down here.”

Cairo Caper brings a record of two wins from seven starts and earnings of $198,077 into Saturday’s race, with Victor Carrasco set to ride. His top victory came in the Soar Free Stakes at Woodbine, and he also broke his maiden at that track on turf.

Should Cairo Caper run well at Colonial, Schoenthal said options remain open for the rest of the season. “We’re thinking about taking a shot at the 6 ½-furlong race at Kentucky Downs [the Franklin-Simpson], or possibly he’ll go back to Canada,” he said.

For now, all eyes are on Colonial Downs, where Cairo Caper looks to log his breakthrough win.

SECRETARIAT STAKES ENTRIES