Courtesy of NYRA Press Office
Adelphi Racing Club, Madaket Stables, Corms Racing Stables and On The Rise Again Stable’s Pandagate, bred in the Empire State by Fred W. Hertrich, III., overcame a troubled start under Dylan Davis to post a 5 1/2-length score in the one-turn mile Gander on February 25 here. He has since shipped back to Clement’s care in Florida at Payson Park.
The sophomore son of Arrogate was a debut winner over the same distance here against fellow state-breds in October with Davis up before closing to finish third in an open-company optional-claiming route in December at Laurel Park.
Clement said Pandagate has a number of potential options, including the Grade 2, $750,000 Wood Memorial presented by Resorts World Casino; the nine-furlong Federico Tesio on April 20 at Laurel Park; or the Group 2 UAE Derby on March 30 at Meydan Racecourse in Dubai which offers 100-50-25-15-10 Kentucky Derby qualifying points to the top-five finishers.
“He came back last week and we'll get to a work at the end of this week. We're very happy with him. He's another one that we'll leave eligible for everything,” Clement said.
A $130,000 purchase at the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Preferred New York-bred Yearling Sale, Pandagate is out of the Clement-trained stakes-placed Sky Mesa mare Kitty Panda.
