Zulu Kingdom headlines Manila, Wide open field in Harvey Pack
Zulu Kingdom is set to return in the Grade 3 Manila after inclement weather altered a series of plans for the ridgling. He was last seen winning the Grade 1 American Turf Stakes at Churchill Downs on Kentucky Derby day.
The Irish bred son of Ten Sovereigns was entered in the Grade 3 Pennine Ridge on June 7, though Mother Nature had different plans. Excessive rain forced several races off the turf during the Belmont Stakes Racing Festival in Saratoga while the Grade 1 Jaipur and Grade 1 Manhattan were moved to the following day.
Trainer Chad Brown then pivoted to the Grade 3 Penn Mile after it was postponed from May 30 to June 20 due to rain. The Penn National race was postponed again to June 27. While the race eventually took place, Zulu Kingdom was scratched from the Penn Mile and entered in the Manila. He was installed as the 6/5 favorite. Flavien Prat will ride.
Reagan’s Wit, the second choice on the morning line at 7/2 looks to turn the table on Zulu Kingdom after finishing second in the Columbia Stakes at Tampa Bay Downs on March 8. The Cherie DeVaux trainee was entered in the American Derby at Churchill Downs last weekend but scratched. Reagan’s Wit won the James W. Murphy stakes on the Preakness undercard last out.
The Harvey Pack Stakes, a race sprinting five and one half furlongs on the turf, looks to be a wide open field for any older turf sprinters to take a step forward. Works for Me, a four-year-old colt trained by Joseph Lee is the lukewarm morning line favorite at 4-1.
Witty, a Pennsylvania bred and half sister to multiple graded stakes winner Caravel, is also entered in the Harvey Pack. The six-year-old gelding notched his first win of 2025 in the Jim McKay Turf Sprint Stakes on May 17 at Pimlico Race Course.
Prat rode both Works for Me and Witty to victory in their last starts. Prat elected to ride Works for Me in the Harvey Pack. Dylan Davis gets the call on Witty.
More Horse Racing News
Mary Rufo is a Saratoga Springs-based contributing writer in horse racing. When not at the races, she is likely watching races on her phone, refreshing the tote board on her wagering app, or scribbling down trip notes.