New York-bred Stormy's Majesty took over approaching the far turn and never looked back, scoring by two lengths for his first graded-stakes victory in the $100,000 Discovery Handicap (gr. III) (VIDEO) Nov. 20 at Aqueduct.
Ridden by Edgar Prado for trainer Domenic Galluscio, Stormy’s Majesty dueled with favored Golden Moka through splits of :23.77 and :47.93 before taking command entering the final turn. He opened up a 2 1/2-length advantage at the eighth-pole and was never threatened in the final furlong en route to his dominating score against six 3-year-old rivals.
The chestnut son of Stormy Atlantic completed nine furlongs on a fast dirt track in 1:50.02. The colt is a homebred of Majesty Stud.
Not Abroad was runner-up by 1 1/4 lengths over third-place Teaks North.
"He broke sharp, and was in a good position," Prado said. "I was very happy with where he was. On the backside, I let him go a notch, and he responded well. I was pretty confident most of the way because he was doing everything so easily. He finished well. I think he’s back to his old self. Today, he showed up.”
Stormy’s Majesty won the first three starts of his career—two of them at Aqueduct as a juvenile. He opened up his sophomore campaign by romping in a state-bred optional claimer in June before finishing eighth in the Jim Dandy (gr. II) in his stakes debut. Prior to the Discovery, his biggest win came in the Aug. 25 Albany Stakes against New York-breds. Last out he was never a factor when finishing 10th in the Oct. 23 Empire Classic at Belmont.
Stormy’s Majesty improved to 5-1-0 from eight starts and upped his career earnings to $213,732. He is out of the Raffie’s Majesty mare Raffie’s Dream.
“Edgar and I decided to let him run a little bit," Galluscio said. "In the Empire Classic he got behind and didn’t seem to catch his stride or breathe as well. I was surprised he was on the lead because it looked like there were horses with more speed, but I was very comfortable when they showed the fractions and saw the way Edgar was sitting.”
Sent off as the second choice, he paid $9.10, $4.90, and $3.70. The exacta (2-5) returned $45.20 and the trifecta (2-5-3) was worth $254.
Overcommunication was fourth, followed by Golden Moka, Al Muhtasib, and Dominant Jeannes.