Iron Honor battled Crown the Buckeye through the stretch before gaining the advantage nearing the wire to win the G3 Gotham Stakes by a determined length at Aqueduct on Saturday, Feb. 28.
The three-year-old son of Nyquist kept his perfect record intact with the victory and became a Graded Stakes winner in just his second start. Iron Honor also earned 50 points towards a start in the G1 Kentucky Derby with the win.
Favored at 4-5 off the strength of a sharp win earned sprinting in his debut Dec. 13, Iron Honor battled with Crown the Buckeye through fractions of :23.09 and :46.30. Still locking horns a quarter of a mile from home, Iron Honor finally hit the front in deep stretch and edged clear late to win by a length.
Bred in Kentucky by Mike and Pat Freeny, Iron Honor is out of Orencia, a winning daughter of Blame. Iron Honor was purchased by his connections for $475,000 out of the 2024 Keeneland September yearling sale, and hails from the family of Graded Stakes winners Pratella and Satans Quick Chick.
Iron Honor was the second Graded Stakes winner of the afternoon for his sire, Nyquist, after Knightsbridge took the G3 Gulfstream Park Mile earlier. Nyquist is also the sire of 2026 Stakes winners David of Athens (G3 Jebel Ali Mile), Taj Mahal (Miracle Wood Stakes), and Coffee Connection (Borderplex Stakes).
Nyquist is standing the 2026 season at Jonabell Farm for $175,000, stands and nurses.
