Cellist

Cellist earned his first career victory in his second start, pressing the pace in a 1 1/16-mile maiden special weight race Feb. 28, 2021, at Gulfstream Park. Two starts later, he won the Audabon Stakes at Churchill Downs before running third in the Grade 1 Belmont Derby Invitational Stakes in July.

Cellist was unplaced in the Grade 1 Saratoga Derby Invitational before closing out his 3-year-old season with a third-place finish in the Big Ass Fans Dueling Grounds Derby in September 2021 at Kentucky Downs.

The Big Blue Kitten gelding opened his 4-year-old campaign with a seventh in the Grade 3 Tampa Bay Stakes in February 2022. Trainer Rusty Arnold used a runner-up finish in an allowance race at Keeneland to help build foundation and confidence and it paid dividends 3 ½ weeks later when he seized command with a sweeping bid off the final turn in the 1 ½-mile, Grade 3 Louisville Stakes and held off Reigning Spirit for his first graded stakes win.

Cellist was winless in five races in the 2023 calendar year but was stakes placed three times during that season. Cellist came back for his 6-year-old season in 2024 and returned to the winner's circle with a victory in the Grade 3 $300,000 Kentucky Cup Classic Stakes going 1 1/8 miles on the all-weather track at Turfway Park on March 23