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Mendelssohn, who finished fourth as the favorite in Saturday’s Grade 1, $750,000 Cigar Mile at Aqueduct, has been retired from racing and will stand at stud at Coolmore America’s Ashford Stud, it was announced Sunday morning.

He will stand for a fee of $35,000, and join a roster that includes Triple Crown winners American Pharoah and Justify.

Mendelssohn, trained by Aidan O’Brien, is a half-brother to the champion mare Beholder and Grade 1 stakes winner turned super-sire Into Mischief. Mendelssohn, a son of Scat Daddy, at $3 million was the Keeneland September sale topper in 2016.

At age 2, Mendelssohn won the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf as part of 2-for-5 campaign.

He earned his way to the Kentucky Derby with an 18 1/2-length victory in the Grade 2 UAE Derby at Meydan.

He was well backed at 6-1 in the Kentucky Derby, but found the sloppy Churchill Downs track and the fast-paced nature of the race too much to handle and finished last.

O’Brien wanted to keep him on dirt and sent him to the U.S. five more times after the Derby. He finished third in the Grade 3 Dwyer at Belmont, second in the Grade 1 Travers at Saratoga, third in the Grade 1 Jockey Club Gold Cup and fifth in the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Classic at Churchill before Saturday’s Cigar Mile.

T.J. Comerford on Sunday morning told the New York Racing Association publicity department that Mendelssohn’s long campaign likely caught up to him in the Cigar. His connections had been considering a run in the $9 million Pegasus at Gulfstream Park on Jan. 26.

“I was a little disappointed, but he’s had a long year and I guess it’s to be expected,” Comerford said. “It’s probably the latest we’ve ever run a horse after campaigning all the time in America. He was showing signs up to the race of being fresh, but I suppose it took its toll on the day.”

Mendelssohn retires with a record of 4-2-2 from 13 starts with earnings of $2,542,137.

“Being by our own Scat Daddy and a half-brother to Into Mischief and Beholder, you couldn’t ask for a better pedigree and he showed real brilliance when wining the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf at Del Mar and the UAE Derby by a street, recording a new track record,” Dermot Ryan, Coolmore America manager, said in a press release announcing the colt’s retirement.

“He also ran some excellent races in defeat this fall, notably in the Travers and the Jockey Club Gold Cup. We have already had a huge number of inquiries about him and I have no doubt that he will prove extremely popular.”

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OZONE PARK, N.Y. – There was a sense of relief along with that of accomplishment for John Velazquez Friday as he became the 18th jockey to ride 6,000 winners in North America. He accomplished the feat when he rode Singapore Trader to victory in Aqueduct’s fifth race.

Appropriately enough, the milestone came aboard a horse trained by Todd Pletcher, for whom Velazquez has ridden 1,750 winners in his career.

“I guess it was meant to be,” said Velazquez, who noted that his 5,000th winner also came for Pletcher on Galloping Giraffe at Belmont Park on June 14, 2013.

The last few winners came slowly for Velazquez, who at one point endured an 0-for-21 streak after he rode his 5,996th winner on Nov. 11.

“Everybody kept asking me ‘When is it going to happen?’” Velazquez said.

Velazquez tried to downplay the accomplishment.

“It’s another number, I pray to God to stay here for a little while longer, one day I’ll look back and say ‘Well, I accomplished something,” he said. “My job is to come here and win races, that’s what I care about.”

Velazquez is the sport’s all-time leader in purse money won with more than $395.6 million. He will likely become the first rider to surpass the $400 million mark in 2019.

The 6,000th win came just six days after Velazquez turned 47 years old. He rode his first career winner at El Comandante in Puerto Rico in 1990 and immediately moved his tack to New York. He has been a mainstay on this circuit for almost three decades, winning 22 individual meet riding titles and being the winningest rider at NYRA tracks from 2001-04.

In 2013, he became the all-time winningest rider at Saratoga, where he has won more than 900 races.

Velazquez is a two-time Eclipse Award winner and was inducted into Hall of Fame in 2012. He is a two-time Kentucky Derby winner (Animal Kingdom in 2011 and Always Dreaming in 2016), and has won the Belmont Stakes twice (Rags to Riches in 2007 and Union Rags in 2012). He has won 15 Breeders’ Cup races.

Pletcher wasn’t at Aqueduct for the win but he said earlier this week that he marveled at Velazquez’s consistency “at the highest level for such a long time” and said he was proud of the success they had together.

On Friday, Pletcher told NYRA publicity, “winning 6,000 races is a tremendous accomplishment, but what I’m most proud of Johnny for is the person he is: a leader of the jockey community, a caring father, loving husband, friend and mentor to many. These are the qualities that make him so special.”

Velazquez, who hasn’t put a timetable on how much longer he will ride, said his goal is to ride “more winners. That’s what I’m looking for. That’s what you’re here for, to try to do the best job you can do.”

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OZONE PARK, N.Y. – The New York Racing Association will offer 52 stakes worth $7.37 million at Aqueduct in the first third of 2019, according to the schedule it released Friday.

Aside from a few changes to the New York Claiming Championship Day on March 30 and the addition of the $100,000 Bernardini Stakes, the stakes program virtually mirrors that of 2018. The Bernardini, at 1 5/16 miles, will be run March 2.

New York’s series of 3-year-old races that offer qualifying points for the Kentucky Derby remains intact. That series begins with the $150,000 Jerome, a one-turn mile, on New Year’s Day, and continues with the Grade 3, $250,000 Withers Stakes at 1 1/8 miles on Feb. 2 and the Grade 3, $300,000 Gotham Stakes, a one-turn mile, on March 9. The series concludes with the Grade 2, $750,000 Wood Memorial at 1 1/8 miles on April 6.

The Jerome and Withers offer 17 Derby points (10-4-2-1) to its top four finishers, while the Gotham offers 85 (50-20-10-5) and the Wood offers 180 (100-40-20-10).

The April 6 card will be the highlight of the Aqueduct schedule, with five graded stakes: the Grade 1 Carter Handicap, the Wood, Grade 2 Gazelle, Grade 3 Bay Shore, and Grade 3 Excelsior.

The March 9 card, topped by the Gotham, also includes the $250,000 Busher Invitational, Grade 2, $200,000 Tom Fool Handicap, and the $150,000 Heavenly Prize Invitational.

The Busher, a one-turn mile; the Busanda, a two-turn 1 1/8-mile race on Feb. 3; and the Gazelle, a two-turn 1 1/8-mile race, offer qualifying points to the Kentucky Oaks for 3-year-old fillies.

On March 30, there will be 10 starter races billed as stakes for claimers. The $90,000 Mr. Sinatra and the $80,000 Karakorum Elektra have been eliminated, replaced by the Dads Caps and Belle Gallantey, each worth $45,000 and for horses that started for a tag of $8,000 in 2018-19.

There will be 60 days of racing at Aqueduct from Jan. 1 through April 20. Racing will be on a four-day-a-week basis in January and February and three days a week in March. The spring April meet will be only 12 days, beginning April 5.

Racing moves to Belmont on April 26.

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OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Complexity and Sippican Harbor, Grade 1 winners this year on the New York Racing Association circuit, are both recovering from minor issues that may delay their 3-year-old seasons.

Complexity, winner of the Grade 1 Champagne, came out of his 10th-place finish in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile with sore shins, according to trainer Chad Brown. Complexity is getting some time off at Stonestreet Farm in Ocala, Fla.

“I think they were bugging him a little bit on the final turn of the race,” Brown said. “He just wasn’t striding out right, wasn’t his normal self. We took some time to cool them out and address them and start back next year.”

Brown said Complexity will shorten up in distance for his 3-year-old season.

Sippican Harbor, winner of the Grade 1 Spinaway at Saratoga, came out of her sixth-place finish in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies with a chip in an ankle that needed to be surgically removed.

Trainer Gary Contessa said Sippican Harbor is convalescing in Kentucky and will be sent to Palm Meadows, where he will have six or eight horses likely in January.

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OZONE PARK, N.Y. – On Oct. 7, 2017, Copper Town beat Patternrecognition in a $75,460 first-level allowance race at Belmont Park. Saturday, 420 days later, Copper Town and Patternrecognition meet again as two of the protagonists in the Grade 1, $750,000 Cigar Mile at Aqueduct.

Since that October day, Copper Town has raced only once, owing to myriad issues, including an abscess on his hind end followed by bone bruising that kept him away from the races for a year.

Copper Town returned to action on Oct. 13 at Keeneland and, despite a slow start and four-wide trip, he rolled to a five-length victory in a second-level allowance race going 6 1/2 furlongs. The big question is whether one race in 420 days is enough to have him ready to take a Grade 1 stakes.

“From a talent perspective he certainly fits,” said trainer Todd Pletcher, who has won this race four times. “Hopefully, one race and the training he’s done since then, in particular his penultimate breeze was excellent, is enough. In a perfect world, we would have had another start. He’s pretty much run well every time he’s run. It’s a matter of if he can step up that little bit more.”

Patternrecognition is 3 for 5 since losing to Copper Town 60 weeks ago. One of those wins came in the Grade 2 Kelso Handicap on Sept. 22, a one-turn mile race at Belmont that he controlled throughout on the front end to win by a length over a field that included Sunny Ridge and Timeline, both of whom are back in this field.

With Mendelssohn in the field, it would seem unlikely that Patternrecognition would be able to make the lead. In November 2017, Patternrecognition did win a one-mile allowance race sitting second early on.

Patternrecognition, trained by Chad Brown, is drawn nicely on the outside and will be ridden by Jose Ortiz.

Mendelssohn will seek to become the 11th 3-year-old to win the Cigar Mile, in what is the 30th running of the race (previously known as the NYRA Mile). Mendelssohn set the pace in the Travers, where he finished second to Catholic Boy, and in the Breeders’ Cup Classic, where he wound up fifth behind Accelerate. Both of those races were at 1 1/4 miles. Still, at the shorter distance and breaking from the rail, Mendelssohn figures to be sent running by jockey Ryan Moore.

“We think that’s the way for him to tackle these races,” said T.J. Comerford, assistant to trainer Aidan O’Brien. “He seems to like being up there.”

Pat On the Back came within a nose of defeating the Grade 1-winning Diversify in the Commentator Stakes going a one-turn mile at Belmont in May. He has won two New York-bred stakes around one turn since, including the Empire Classic going 1 1/8 miles Oct. 20 at Belmont.

“He seems to really run to his competition and even more so in a couple of races this year he’s exceeded them, too,” trainer Jeremiah Englehart said. “I’m pretty confident the Pat On the Back I want to see that day will show up.”

Sunny Ridge, trained by Jason Servis, won the State Dinner Stakes around one turn and was second to Patternrecognition in the Kelso.

True Timber, Timeline, and Stan the Man complete the field.

The Cigar Mile goes as race 9 on a 10-race card that begins at 11:30 a.m. and includes the Grade 2 Remsen, Grade 2 Demoiselle, and Grade 3 Go for Wand.

KEY CONTENDERS

Copper Town, by Speightstown
Last 3 Beyers: 101-106-98

◗ Lightly raced but extremely talented runner makes graded stakes debut off one race in 420 days.

◗ In his allowance wins, he’s beaten the likes of Backyard Heaven and Patternrecognition, horses that went on to become graded stakes winners.

◗ Showed ability to win from off the pace last out after recording his two previous wins on the front end.

Patternrecognition, by Adios Charlie
Last 3 Beyers: 102-100-100

◗ Skipped the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile after front-running score in Grade 2 Kelso on Sept. 22.

“I just know this horse really needs extended time in between races,” Brown said.

◗ His two best speed figures have come in one-turn mile races.

Mendelssohn, by Scat Daddy
Last 3 Beyers: 100-101-99

◗ Half-brother to champion mare Beholder is still chasing that elusive Grade 1 dirt win and will likely be the one to catch from the rail.

◗ May have been in need of a race when he finished a well-beaten third to Firenze Fire in the Grade 3 Dwyer at Belmont in July, his last race at one mile.

Pat On the Back, by Congrats
Last 3 Beyers: 91-96-98

◗ His nose lose to Diversify in the Commentator Stakes in May came with the benefit of a track that favored closers.

◗ He has won two New York-bred stakes this year, including the Empire Classic, a race from which third-place finisher Mr. Buff has won two straight allowance races against open company.

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OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Maximus Mischief has been nothing short of brilliant winning his first two starts by a combined 14 3/4 lengths at Parx Racing. On Saturday, he gets his first true test when he ships to Aqueduct and tries two turns for the first time in the Grade 2, $250,000 Remsen Stakes going 1 1/8 miles at Aqueduct.

Maximus Mischief, a son of Into Mischief, was purchased for $340,000 out of the Fasig-Tipton Midlantic sale in May. Though he had some gate issues in the morning before his first start, according to trainer Butch Reid, Maximus Mischief broke alertly in his Sept. 29 debut, waltzing to an 8 3/4-length victory while being wrapped up. He earned a 94 Beyer Speed Figure.

Three weeks later, he again broke alertly, and though he attempted to bear out for the first sixteenth of a mile, he straightened away and beat two rivals in a seven-furlong allowance. He ran the distance in 1:25.22 and was assigned a 98 Beyer Speed Figure.

Reid said he’s been most impressed by the colt’s athleticism.

“A lot of horses his size are kind of clods,” Reid said. “He’s very light on his feet, fluid action, covers ground unbelievably, switches leads so brilliantly.”

Reid said it was his hope to get Maximus Mischief around two turns before the end of the year and said the Remsen was one of the few opportunities to do that.

“Would I have liked to have had an intermediate jump to a mile or mile and sixteenth?” he said. “Sure, but those races are hard to find.”

The Remsen lost a significant player when Champagne runner-up Code of Honor was held out of the race by trainer Shug McGaughey. Vekoma, winner of the Grade 3 Nashua Stakes here Nov. 4, also was not entered, with his connections opting to wait until early next year to run him again.

Network Effect, a son of Mark Valeski, won his debut by three lengths going seven furlongs at Saratoga. He missed a planned start in the Breeders’ Futurity due to a temperature. He finished second, beaten 1 3/4 lengths by Vekoma, in the Nashua.

“I thought he finished up strong, plus he needed the race and got a lot out of it,” trainer Chad Brown said. “I’m happy with him.”

Bourbon War won an off-the-turf maiden race going a mile here Nov. 14. Though it’s coming back on relatively short rest, trainer Mark Hennig felt the pros outweighed the cons in deciding to run. Among the pros, he said, are that Bourbon War is familiar with the track, and there are only six others in the field.

“I think getting around two turns is what we were thinking, too, versus his next race being a one-turn mile if you run back at Gulfstream,” Hennig said.

Trainer Danny Gargan won a five-way shake to claim Tax for $50,000 for owners Hugh Lynch and Corms Racing on Oct. 21. The horse won going 1 1/16 miles around two turns, and Gargan doesn’t think 1 1/8 miles will be an issue.

“He wants to run farther,” Gargan said. “It’s hard to find 2-year-olds that want to run long.”

Jungle Warrior will try dirt for the first time in the Remsen. He had a win and a fifth in the Grade 1 Summer on turf at Woodbine. Jimmy Jerkens – who has taken over the training from Sid Attard – said the horse was “ridiculously wide” in the Summer.

He shows five works on dirt.

Trainer Jaime Mejia ships in Chinomado and Gladiator King from South Florida, though both look like longshots.

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OZONE PARK, N.Y. – As the field emerged from the fog in the Grade 3 Tempted Stakes here Nov. 2, Enliven appeared in good position to win the one-turn mile race for 2-year-old fillies.

In midstretch, however, Oxy Lady blew by Enliven en route to a five-length victory at odds of 36-1. Enliven finished second, seven lengths clear of the rest of the field.

On Saturday, Enliven will make her first start since then in the Grade 2, $250,000 Demoiselle Stakes going 1 1/8 miles at Aqueduct. The good news is Oxy Lady won’t be in the starting gate.

“No excuse last time, just got our butt kicked,” trainer Kiaran McLaughlin said. “I think the distance should be a plus, not negative.”

Enliven, a daughter of Ghostzapper owned and bred by Godolphin Racing, is out of the mare It’s Tricky, a two-time graded stakes winner at 1 1/8 miles. Enliven is a half-sister to Enticed, who finished second in this year’s Wood Memorial.

Enliven will break from the rail under Joe Bravo.

“I like it,” McLaughlin said of the post. “It’s the shortest way around. We’ll be forwardly placed.”

Positive Spirit, a three-quarter sister to 2017 Kentucky Derby winner Always Dreaming, is coming off a maiden win going a one-turn mile on Nov. 8 at Churchill Downs. That race came a month after she lost a maiden race at Keeneland by a neck.

“The mile and an eighth and the way she’s doing, I think I’m sitting on a very, very nice filly,” trainer Rodolphe Brisset said. “I think the light bulb really went on when she got beat at Keeneland.”

Filly Joel was a sharp maiden winner on Oct. 25 at Belmont, her first start going a route of ground. She has had a steady work tab since that race over Aqueduct’s main track, which has been a bit deeper than usual this fall.

“I like the way the track is,” said Rudy Rodriguez, who trains Filly Joel. “I don’t worry too much time-wise as long as they come back good, train good, eat good.

“I breezed her three-quarters one day, she breezed very good. She came back and is acting like she’s doing better and better. This is a good race for her to prove she can move forward and I think she will.”

Jennifer’s Dream is owned and is trained by the same people as Jaywalk, the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies winner: Cash is King Stable and John Servis. While Jennifer’s Dream hasn’t shown Jaywalk’s brilliance in her first two starts, she has a very strong pedigree, being by Medaglia d’Oro out of the Grade 1-winning mare Joyful Victory.

Girl of Tosconova, Afleet Destiny, and Molto Bella complete the field.

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