Iron Honor determinedly stays perfect in Gotham

Feb 28, 2026 James Scully

Iron Honor wins the Gotham Stakes at Aqueduct. (Photo by Coglianese Photo / Credit to Joe Labozzetta)

Iron Honor put his name prominently on the Kentucky Derby Leaderboard when recording a hard-fought victory in Saturday’s $300,000 Gotham (G3) at Aqueduct, edging away late to earn 50 points toward a Kentucky Derby berth. Now 2-for-2 for owners St. Elias Stable, William Lawrence, and Glassman Racing, Iron Honor is trained by Chad Brown.

An odds-on favorite with jockey Manny Franco, Iron Honor showed speed from the start, dueling for the lead until gaining the upper hand in deep stretch, and the bay three-year-old colt completed the one-turn in 1:37.94.

'I think he's going to get a lot out of it,” Brown said. “He was in-between horses the whole way which is always hard for a horse to settle. He was taking pressure inside and outside, so I thought he showed a lot of determination to shake the outside horse away and wear down the one on the inside. I like the fact that it was far back to third -- those races typically come back fast figure-wise.”

It was a stretch battle in the Gotham and IRON HONOR had no problem stretching out to a mile, picking up 50 points towards the @kentuckyderby! 🌹@jockeyfranco was aboard the 3YO colt and Chad Brown trains. pic.twitter.com/38HBbR0pdl

— TwinSpires Racing 🏇 (@TwinSpires) February 28, 2026

By Nyquist, Iron Honor broke his maiden by a 1 1/2-length margin in mid-December.

The Gotham offered qualifying points on a 50-25-15-10-5 scale to the top five finishers as part of the Road to the Kentucky Derby Challenge Series.

Crown the Buckeye, who finished third in the Gun Runner S. at Fair Grounds two starts previously, easily held second after battling with Iron Honor, finishing 6 1/2 lengths better than Right to Party in third. Exhibition Party and Balboa came next in fourth and fifth, and Hammond, Dirty Rich, and Fourth and One completed the order of finish.

Brown said Iron Honor will be pointed to the $750,000 Wood Memorial (G2) at Aqueduct on April 4, a major qualifier awarding points on a 100-50-25-15-10 basis.