OZONE PARK, N.Y. – The in-form St Anthony will seek his third consecutive victory when he meets seven rivals in a seemingly wide open running of the Grade 3, $150,000 Knickerbocker Stakes at Aqueduct. Originally scheduled for last Sunday, the Knickerbocker was not carded due to forecasted rain that ultimately forced all but one of eight scheduled turf races to the main track last weekend at Aqueduct. Following a busy 3-year-old campaign in which he went 3 for 13, St Anthony is 2 for 4 this year. He is coming off wins at Monmouth Park in a third-level allowance and the $106,000 Red Bank Stakes. In his allowance win on July 28, St Anthony beat Offaly Cool, who on Tuesday won the $75,000 M.P. Ballezzi Appreciation Mile on dirt at Parx. Based on speed figures, St Anthony has seemed to improve from 3 to 4. “He’s developed. He’s a stronger horse now than he was,” trainer Neil Drysdale said. Though St Anthony is 0 for 4 at the Knickerbocker distance of 1 1/8 miles, Drysdale is somewhat hopeful that, now at 4, he can see out the distance. :: Bet the races with a $200 First Deposit Match + FREE All Access PPs! Join DRF Bets. “My feeling is he’s a miler, but he’s by Noble Mission, who [produces] stayers and was a stayer himself,” Drysdale said. “Hopefully, he’ll go farther.” Drysdale is concerned by the seeming lack of pace in this field. Paco Lopez rode St Anthony in both of his wins at Monmouth, but he is on suspension. Javier Castellano has picked up the mount. Siege of Boston, one of two horses entered by trainer Jimmy Toner, has in the past been effective from a forward position. However, his maiden win, which came at Aqueduct, was from well off the pace. Three starts back, Siege of Boston won a second-level allowance from off the pace at the Knickerbocker distance and two back he was third, beaten one length, in the Kentucky Downs Prevue Turf Cup going 1 1/4 miles at Ellis Park. “He hung a little bit the last part of it,” Toner said. “I don’t know if he wants to go that far, but he will go a mile and an eighth.” Toner also sends out Commandeer, who finished fourth in the Cape Henlopen at Delaware Park last month. Commandeer ran in a bar shoe in the Cape Henlopen but will have that removed for the Knickerbocker. Before the Knickerbocker, Commandeer finished in a dead heat for win in a 1 1/8-mile allowance at Colonial Downs, though he was disqualified from purse money after he tested positive for the therapeutic medication phenylbutazone. Rockemperor, who won the Grade 1 Joe Hirsch Turf Classic in 2021, comes off a runner-up finish in the Singspiel at Woodbine on Sept. 9, his best finish since he won the Grade 2 Bowling Green at Saratoga in 2022. “He looked better. He looks like he’s trying to get back into form,” trainer Chad Brown said. “Disappointed he got beat there. It was a solid effort. He’s probably lost a step from his better days, nevertheless he should fit in this field.” Last year, King Cause pulled off a front-running, 15-1 upset in the Knickerbocker, his second win in as many starts at the distance at Aqueduct. Two years earlier, King Cause nearly died from a rare infection. King Cause, trained by Mike Maker, is only 1 for 6 this year, but with Kendrick Carmouche aboard, it’s likely he will be on or close to the lead in a field devoid of early speed. Pioneering Spirit, trained by Linda Rice, has won five of his last seven starts, including the listed Bernard Baruch at Saratoga. He is wheeling back 13 days after finishing seventh in the Joe Hirsh Turf Classic at 1 1/2 miles. Master Piece, trained by Rick Dutrow Jr., comes out of a 10th-place finish in the Grade 1 Arlington Million. Wicked Finn finished second to St Anthony in the Red Bank. The Knickerbocker goes as race 6 on a nine-race card that begins at 12:35 p.m. ◗ Due to forecasted rain, the racing office did not card turf races for Saturday. The $150,000 Athenia Stakes, a 1 1/8-mile turf race for females, will be rescheduled for Oct. 27. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.