Huge crowd turns out for season opener at Aiken
©Tod Marks
Tailgaters were out in force thanks to wonderful weather and an exciting six-race $150,000 card at the showcase facility off of Richland Avenue.
Jockey Stephen Mulqueen, one of the top NSA riders over the past two campaigns, got off to a rousing 2026 start with a pair of victories over hurdles in the season kickoff at Aiken, S.C., on Saturday.
More than 30,000 fans gathered at the pristine course on a warm sunny day to catch the action. And in a day of mostly close finishes — four of the five jump races were decided by less than three lengths — a different owner-trainer combination found the winner’s circle. Five different riders were victorious, too.
Here’s how the action played out:
Fil Dor preps for future stakes with tuneup on the flat
In the opener, recent U.S. import Fil Dor, who captured his second NSA start in the Grade 1 Colonial Cup at Camden, S.C., in November, got back to work with a 5 3/4 length tally over a pair of rivals.
The Ricky Hendriks – trained eight-year-old, now owned by Del Rio Racing, was on or near the lead from the flag drop, and easily pulled away from his Hendriks stablemate, Starforce, by 5 3/4 lengths in the 1 ¼-mile leg stretcher. New NSA rider Jake Coen, who rode for Fil Dor’s previous conditioner, Gordon Elliot, in Ireland, had the mount for his first NSA start.
Fil Dor was fifth in his US debut in the American Grand National at Far Hills before roaring to victory in the Colonial Cup. There are two spring Grade 1s on the calendar, the Iroquois in Nashville, and the Commonwealth Cup at Great Meadow, both in May.
Leading owner Riverdee Stable gets off to fast start with Pudding Lane
Lightly raced four-year-old Pudding Lane, a son of turf star English Channel, earned his first win in three NSA outings with a one-length tally over Erdenheim Farm’s Grahamzilla in the $20,000 maiden starter/claiming hurdle.
With Bernie Dalton at the controls for his trainer-wife, Kate, Pudding Lane raced in mid-pack in the tightly bunched field early, moved into contention the second time around the course, and outfinished Grahamzilla (Jake Coen) and Morning March Partners’ Morning March (Freddie Procter), for the win.
Riverdee Stable, the leading 2025 NSA owner, acquired Pudding Lane following four starts on the flat, where he had a pair of third place finishes.
Riverdee owns Pudding Lane in partnership with Joe Fowler, a longtime client of the Daltons.
L’Avvocato secures first win in 16 months in $25,000 handicap
The seven-year-old French-bred son of Frankel raced at the back of the five-horse field for the first mile and a half, rallied two fences from home, and outdueled the previous leader, Hudson River Farms’ The Insider (Stephen Mulqueen), before drawing clear by 2 1/2 lengths through the lane.
Leading apprentice Evan Dwan was atop the winner for trainer Kathy Neilson. Paul and Molly Willis’ Love Shaq (Sean McDermott) was third.
Prior to his victory in the handicap, for horses rated at 110 or less, L’Avvocato had made nine starts without a score after taking two straight early in his NSA career.
Claramente graduates maiden ranks in NSA debut
The six-year-old daughter of accomplished flat star Bolt D’Oro won for the third time in a row — and first over hurdles — in the $30,000 maiden special weights event for fillies and mares.
Trained by Todd McKenna and ridden by Stephen Mulqueen, Claramente patiently moved up from fifth to first and was still second to Green Valley Construction and the Willis’ Diamond Approach (Jamie Bargary) heading to the final fence. But she had all the momentum and eventually powered past the determined longtime leader to prevail by a length. Wendy Hendriks’ Articuno (Conor Tierney) was far back in third.
Prior to her start at Aiken, Claramente had won two straight races at Presque Isle Downs, in the claiming and allowance ranks.
I’m A Rocket Man is another NSA newcomer who breaks his maiden at first asking
It’s been decades since Hudson River Farms’ owner made the trip to Aiken, but it was definitely worth the wait as his latest acquisition, I’m A Rocket Man, made an impressive debut for jockey Freddie Procter and trainer Arch Kingsley.
The five-year-old Irish-bred son of millionaire G1 winner Jukebox Jury was content to lay off the pace set by Joe Fowler’s Coal Boss (Bernie Dalton), drew even with the leader two fences out, and got up in the final strides to score by 1 3/4 lengths. Del Rio Racing’s Rotterdam, who had been second, dropped back to third under Conor Tierney.
The victory in the $40,000 maiden special weights contest was the first in six career starts for I’m A Rocket Man, whose best previous finish was a pair of thirds in weight-for-age hunt contests back home in Ireland.
St. James The Great lives up to his name in $40,000 Imperial Cup handicap
In the months since St. James The Great broke his maiden at the Virginia Fall Races at Middleburg in 2024, the Keri Brion-trained son of Catholic Boy had started seven times without a win, though he did finish second in allowance company on several occasions.
That he was highly regarded was evident by his appearances in the Raymond G. Woolfe Memorial, Harry Harris, and G1 Jonathan Sheppard stakes. He finally found his best stride on Saturday with a declarative tally in the $40,000 Imperial Cup, a high-end handicap for horses rated at 120 or less.
Racing second in the field of four for most of the going, St. James The Great, under Stephen Mulqueen, took a narrow lead over Sharon Sheppard’s Rucker Road (Graham Watters) at the final fence and extended his advantage to 4 1/2 lengths under mild urging. Richard Colton’s Bee Well (Freddie Procter) was third.
Owned by Serio Racing Stables, USA Steeplechase, R and K Racing, and Paul and Molly Willis, St. James The Great is likely to make his next start in the novice stakes at Nashville in May.