Balboa back in the ring for the G3 Gotham
At 0h03, on February 27, 2026 • By Aqueduct
Grade 2-placed Balboa has finished second and third in his two previous local starts, and will look to take one more step forward for the top prize in Saturday’s Grade 3, $300,000 Gotham at Aqueduct Racetrack. The one-turn mile for sophomores awards the top-five finishers with 50-25-15-10-5 Kentucky Derby qualifying points.
The Gotham will close out the 10-race card, which also features the Grade 3, $175,000 Tom Fool in Race 4, the Listed $200,000 Busher – a 50-25-15-10-5 Kentucky Oaks qualifier – in Race 2 and the Listed $150,000 Stymie in Race 8. First post is 12:40 p.m. Eastern.
The Brittany Russell-trained Balboa looks to improve off a prominent two-length second to My World in the Jerome over course and distance on January 3. There, he tracked close to the early foot of Freedom’s Echo and was roused in the turn by Manny Franco. Balboa responded and took a 1 1/2-length lead at the stretch call, but was collared near the sixteenth marker. The effort was awarded a career-best 81 Beyer Speed Figure. My World exited that race to finish 11th in the Group 3 Saudi Derby on February 14.
The bay son of Not This Time entered the Jerome from a 3 1/2-length third in the nine-furlong Remsen on December 6, which saw its winner Paladin exit to win the Grade 2 Risen Star at Fair Grounds Race Course and runner-up Renegade follow with a win in Tampa Bay Downs’ Listed Sam F. Davis. The Remsen was Balboa’s first effort around two turns since a distant fifth in the Grade 1 American Pharoah in October at Santa Anita Park.
Russell said she is pleased with the way Balboa has developed through his two races at the Big A, which raised his total Kentucky Derby points to nine.
“As disappointed as you are to lose, you still have to appreciate the effort,” Russell said of the Jerome. “The race before I thought was a good effort, too, and he got beat by good horses that day, so he’s keeping good company and hopefully he continues to progress.
“He’s a big, good-looking, classy individual,” Russell continued. “He’s a big horse, but at this stage I’d say he’s matured a bit. He’s a cool horse mentally, so that gives you confidence with these better races. You want a horse that does things right and has class; they just take things in, and that’s him.”
Balboa has made three starts for Russell – including a 5 1/4-length trouncing of the six-furlong James F. Lewis III in November in his barn debut – after making his first four outings for Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert in California. Each of those three starts since shipping east have come about four weeks apart, but Balboa enters the Gotham with about eight weeks of rest.
Russell said she is hopeful the extra time will aid Balboa on Saturday.
