Blackmail delivers late kick in Woodhaven stakes debut at Aqueduct

Blackmail did not just win his stakes debut at Aqueduct. He showed he may be ready for a much bigger stage.

The 3-year-old Not This Time gelding saved ground, waited for room and unleashed a late run down the rail to edge Instability by a neck in Saturday’s $150,000 Woodhaven at one mile on firm turf. Under Javier Castellano, Blackmail covered the distance in 1:40.21 and returned $23.14 to win as the 10-1 outsider in a race that was reduced to five runners after scratches by Blinging It Back, Casa Cielo and Growth Equity.

What stood out was the way Blackmail handled the trip. He tracked from third, stayed tucked inside, and finished with enough purpose to get first jump at the top of the stretch before holding off the 4-5 favorite. The pace was measured rather than collapsing, with Longshoreman opening in 25.24, the half in 51.55 and six furlongs in 1:16.51, yet Blackmail still had to produce the kind of acceleration that separates a useful colt from one that is still learning how to win. That mattered because he came in with some rough edges, including a Feb. 14 optional claiming race at Tampa Bay Downs in which he was disqualified from third to seventh for first-turn interference.

For Mark Casse and assistant Shane Tripp, the Woodhaven was a clear step forward. Blackmail had scratched from a Friday allowance to take this stakes chance, and he delivered in a way that suggested the barn’s patience is paying off. He had already broken his maiden on Gulfstream Park Tapeta in November, but this was his first turf win and his first stakes success, and both came in the same race.

The profile is starting to look more intriguing. Equibase lists Blackmail as a Kentucky-bred gelding by Not This Time out of Waving by Street Cry, with a lifetime line of six starts, two wins and one second. Gary Barber was the winning owner, Don Alberto Corporation the breeder, and the winner’s share was $94,500. Taylor Made Stallions said the Woodhaven made Blackmail Not This Time’s 10th stakes winner of 2026, a sire note that only adds to the sense that this colt is climbing into a higher class.

If Blackmail keeps settling and finishing like this, the next logical targets are more one-turn turf spots where position and timing matter as much as raw ability. After the Woodhaven, he looks less like a horse with promise and more like one ready to test how far that promise can travel.