Courtesy of NYRA
Keith McCalmont•Apr 4 2026
Adelphi Racing Club and LJSS Thoroughbreds’ Illmatic makes his stakes debut in Saturday’s $200,000 Mind Your Biscuits division of the New York Stallion Stakes Series, a 6 1/2-furlong sprint for eligible state-sired sophomores, at Aqueduct Racetrack.
Trained by Miguel Clement, the Honest Mischief colt was selected by Joseph Migliore for $290,000 at the OBS Spring Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training where he worked in 10 seconds flat.
Matt Cutair, managing partner of Adelphi Racing Club, said there was lots to like at first sight of the well-bred Illmatic, who graduated impressively at second asking here last out on February 28.
“When we bought the horse in April, part of the conversation was that he was by Honest Mischief and a stallion series eligible horse,” Cutair said. “When we find one that we like, it factors into the calculation. What we are very focused on is buying New York-breds. At any given time, 50-60 percent of our roster are New York-breds horses. We're focused on racing in New York, and we like the program, the restricted races and all the bonuses. When we find a New York-sired horse, it's a little bit of a bonus.”
Illmatic was a pacesetting sixth in his July debut sprinting 5 1/2-furlongs over firm Saratoga Race Course turf. He returned victoriously off a seven-month layoff last out to earn a lofty 91 Beyer Speed Figure here traveling six furlongs against fellow state-breds.
There, Illmatic, off at odds of 9-1 under Jaime Rodriguez, zipped through splits of 22.13 seconds and 45.51 over the good main track en route to a six-length score over odds-on favorite Bounty Banker in a final time of 1:10.68.
“He was definitely green on debut and didn't corner well. He came out of it with a bit of an issue and we took care of that,” Cutair said. “We brought him back slowly. He went to WinStar in Kentucky and then shipped into Belmont and trained better going into the last race.
“Jaime gave him a good ride,” Cutair continued. “He's the kind of horse that wants to be left alone to do what he wants to do. When you get into his mouth, he kind of resents it. The issue he came out of the debut with, plus getting into his mouth a little bit, may have caused him to fade a bit late after breaking so sharp. In the return race, Jaime did a great job of letting him do what he wants to do. He's just a naturally fast horse that wants to do it that way.”
