BY MARY EDDY, NYRA PRESS OFFICE

QUEENS, NY—Grade 3 Tampa Bay Derby-winner Domestic Product and Grade 3 Holy Bull-victor Hades are set for a rematch in Saturday’s $200,000 Dwyer (Grade 3), a one-mile test for sophomores at Belmont at the Big A.

D.J. Stable and Robert Cotran’s Florida-bred Hades enters from his third last out in the $150,000 NYRA Bets Pegasus won by Tuscan Sky at Monmouth Park on June 15 and is looking for his first trip to the winner’s circle since his 9-1 upset of the Holy Bull in February. Domestic Product was second in the Pegasus.

Trainer Joe Orseno said he had not expected such a forward battle in the Pegasus.

“I may have over-instructed Paco that day, and we talked about it since,” Orseno said. “I thought the four horse [Willy D’s] would go, but I never expected Chad’s horse to be up there gunning for the lead either. Paco said he wanted to take him out of there really bad, but he wanted to listen to instructions.”

The son of Ocala Stud stallion Awesome Slew won his first three outings when graduating on debut in December and followed with an eight-length romp of a Florida-bred allowance on New Year’s Eve en route to his Holy Bull win. He then finished off-the-board in both the Grade 1 Curlin Florida Derby presented by Hill ‘n’ Dale Farms at Xalapa won by Fierceness and behind winner Encino in Grade 3 Lexington at Keeneland on April 13.

Orseno added blinkers for Hades’ last two outings, but said he will remove them for the Dwyer.

“Paco will have free rein to ride it how it comes up. The horse is a good horse that we maybe have overthought a lot of things with,” Orseno said. “He’ll come from off the pace if it plays out that way. We know now to leave him alone and let him run. In a short field, someone can get away from you, but we’ll ride it the way it comes up.”

Hades has earned $271,650 from three wins in six lifetime starts with one third. He is out of The Shady Lady, by Awesome Again and was bred in Florida by Ocala Stud, Joseph M. O’Farrell III, David O’Farrell, et. al.

D J Stable bought him for $130,000 out of last year’s Ocala Breeders’ Sales Spring Sale where he was consigned by Ocala Stud.

Paco Lopez has the return mount on Hades and he will break from post two. He is 7-2 on the morning line.

Klaravich Stables’ Kentucky homebred Domestic Product finished second to Hades in the mile-and-a-sixteenth Holy Bull in February at Gulfstream Park ahead of his first graded stakes triumph in the Grade 3 Tampa Bay Derby when pouncing from off the pace to win by a neck over No More Time in March. He went on to post a troubled off-the-board finish in the Grade 1 Kentucky Derby presented by Woodford Reserve won by Mystick Dan where he was pinched at the start and lost a shoe.

Trained by four-time Eclipse Award-winner Chad Brown, the Practical Joke dark bay rebounded last out with a runner-up in the Pegasus with a prominent trip on June 15 at Monmouth Park.

Out of the unraced Paynter mare Goods and Services, Domestic Product is from the family of multiple turf stakes-winner Cherokee Queen.

He has won two of seven starts with two seconds with revenues of $344,200.

Domestic Product is the 6-5 morning line favorite and will be ridden by Flavien Prat from post three.

Billal with jockey Junior Alvarado and Save the Trees and rider Irad Ortiz Jr. are also set for the Dwyer.

Previous Florida-bred winners of the Dwyer include Firenze Fire (2018), Holy Bull (1994), Cherokee Run (1993), Conquistador Cielo (1982), Amber Pass (1980), Junction (1978) and Valid Appeal (1975).

— Brock Sheridan contributed to the article

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