Trainer Todd Pletcher has entered two 5-year-olds in the $150,000 Excelsior Stakes at Aqueduct on Saturday. Crupi will be stepping down in class while Classic Catch takes a sharp step up, but the trainer believes that both are ideally suited to run 1 1/4 miles. Since winning the Queens County at Aqueduct in December 2023, Crupi has competed in nine straight graded stakes, including a victory in the Grade 2 Suburban at 1 1/4 miles in June. This year, he has run in the Grade 1 Pegasus World Cup Invitational and Grade 3 Razorback, finishing 10 lengths behind the winner in both. “Crupi’s had some success at Aqueduct,” Pletcher said. “We shipped him to the Razorback. Unfortunately we didn’t get a favorable pace scenario there. He’s a horse that would benefit from a strongly run race early on and it looks like this race could have an honest pace on paper.” Classic Catch was a stakes contender throughout his 3-year-old campaign but has since raced in seven straight allowances. He was winless in 2024 and hasn’t done much better as a 5-year-old, but his last race at 1 1/4 miles was a runner-up performance in the Jockey Club Derby Invitational in 2023. Both horses have handled sloppy tracks, so murky forecasts in New York on Saturday will not deter Pletcher. The possibility of a deluge will be enough to keep Rick Dutrow away, however. The trainer has already said that he intends to scratch 4-year-old colt Masmak, who would have been making his stakes debut after winning four of his last five starts. :: Access the most trusted data and information in horse racing! DRF Past Performances and Picks are available now. “I just don’t see him doing any good on an off track,” Dutrow said. “I don’t know why. I don’t even want to try it until you have to. I’d rather be safe with him.” With Masmak bowing out, Batten Down could be the greatest danger to Pletcher’s runners in the remaining field of seven. He won his maiden at 1 1/4 miles before running fifth in the Grade 1 Travers last year. The 4-year-old colt finished fourth in the Grade 3 Mineshaft last time out with an uncharacteristic stalking trip, and trainer Bill Mott said that the front-runner will likely face faster horses again in the Excelsior. Under wet conditions, front-runner Phileas Fogg could have a distinct advantage. On a sloppy track in January, the 5-year-old gelding won the Queens County by eight lengths in wire-to-wire fashion. Trainer Gustavo Rodriguez is concerned about other pacesetters in the race, namely 5-year-old Mama’s Gold, but his runner only goes one way and he’s not changing the plan now. Distaff Three-time stakes winner Irish Maxima will ship to Aqueduct for the Grade 3 Distaff Stakes. Breaking from the rail in the seven-furlong race, the speedy 4-year-old filly trained by John Servis will be the horse to beat in an evenly matched field of seven. “We’re trying a little stiffer company,” Servis said. “She’s doing really great and she’s run very good this year. It’s time to step up and see how we can compete.” In December, Irish Maxima took a massive step forward when she won the $75,000 Mrs. Claus Stakes at Parx Racing by 13 3/4 lengths. She earned a 101 Beyer Speed Figure for the performance. In February, the talented filly shipped to Laurel Park and won the $198,000 Barbara Fritchie by two lengths in another wire-to-wire score. Winning five of her last six, Irish Maxima has demonstrated that she can handle wet surfaces, which could be useful on a potentially rainy day in New York. She has also won without the early lead, but Servis believes that she will need her speed more than ever while breaking from the inside. “With the one-hole, I don’t know if I have a choice,” Servis said. Irish Maxima is one of four compelling runners shipping to Aqueduct for the Distaff. Socially Selective, a 5-year-old mare trained by Bill Mott, was a beaten favorite in the Interborough in January and will return to New York after two months at the Payson Park training center in Florida. :: Subscribe to the DRF Post Time Email Newsletter: Get the news you need to play today's races!  Royal Spa, a 5-year-old mare trained by Rodolphe Brisset, finished second behind Irish Maxima in the Barbara Fritchie, her fifth career stakes finish in the money. Sea Dancer, a 4-year-old filly, left California in December and has since won two stakes races at Laurel Park for new trainer Brittany Russell. “It’s going to be different for us this time, shipping and cutting back,” Russell said. “But she’s the kind of filly where she’s just waiting for her next assignment.” If anyone can track Irish Maxima near the front early on, it will likely be tactical runner St. Benedicts Prep. One of two 5-year-old mares entered by trainer Linda Rice, she is still looking for her first stakes victory, having finished in the money in four straight tries this year. – additional reporting by David Grening :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.