Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners and The Estate of Albert Frassetto’s The Grey Wizard tops the $200,000 Cape Henlopen Stakes at Delaware Park this Wednesday. The twenty-second renewal of the mile and a half turf affair for 3-year-olds and upward has attracted a field of six.

The Grey Wizard will be seeking his second win this year after posting a head victory in the Grade 2 Belmont Gold Cup at Saratoga in his most recent outing on June 6.  In his two other 2024 outings, the 5-year-old son of Caravaggio finished unplaced in the Grade II Elkhorn at Keeneland on April 20 and he followed with a third in the Grade III Louisville at Churchill Downs on May 18.  The Ireland-bred sports a career record of four wins, four seconds and a third from 15 starts with earnings of $573,531.  John Velazquez has been named to ride him.

The Cape Henlopen is the first part of a two-part plan by trainer H. Graham Motion which he is hoping will have The Grey Wizard ready for the two mile and a sixteenth $500,000 Nashville Gold Cup at Kentucky Downs on September 11.

“We are shortening him up,” said trainer H. Graham Motion, who won the Cape Henlopen in 2015.  “There are just not many two-mile races and there have not been any since he last ran, so we are going to use the Cape Henlopen to help get him ready for the two-mile race at Kentucky Downs in three weeks.  This is kind of what we did to get him ready for the Belmont Gold Cup (at Saratoga) when we ran him about three weeks before in the Louisville (at Churchill). Johnny (Velazquez) is going to come down and ride him, so we are hoping he runs well and it sets him up for the race in Kentucky.”

It’s not an easy spot, however. The Grey Wizard, 8-5 on the morning line, is one of three runners exiting the Belmont Gold Cup and will be joined by Limited Liability, who was just a neck behind the winner when third in that contest, and fourth-place finisher Really Good.

Trained by Shug McGaughey for Stuart Janney, III, Limited Liability (2-1) has placed in seven graded stakes in his career. He does not yet have a stakes win, however. Vincent Cheminaud has the mount.

Beaten 3 1/2 lengths in the Belmont Gold Cup, Really Good (6-1) does own a win over the Delaware lawn. Last July he visited DelPark to win the $150,000 Kent Stakes by three parts of a length. That was the Hard Spun colt’s first, and to date only, stakes win.

Really Good is trained by Mike Maker for Paradise Farms Corp., et. al. Ruben Silvera will ride.

Others in the field include Magic Michael (15-1), a 13-time winner on the dirt who is winless in three turf tries; April Fools Andy (10-1), a winner four times in eight turf starts, including twice at Delaware; and the multiple graded stakes-placed English Conqueror (3-1).

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