It's been more than a year since 2025 two-year-old champion and 'TDN Rising Star' presented by Hagyard Ted Noffey (Into Mischief) has been in the starting gate, so it will be hard to know what to expect from him when he makes his 3-year-old debut in Saturday's $200,000 Dwyer Stakes at Belmont, but his connections are hopeful that he is ready to pick up where he left off.“I'm really pleased with him,” said Ned Toffey, Spendthrift Farm's chief operating officer and general manager. “He's been breezing well, especially his last two breezes. He's doing everything right. Obviously, he's been off a while, so who knows if he may well need a race, but we're very pleased with how he's doing. So right now, I'm looking forward to Saturday.”Ted Noffey was spectacular last year, winning all four of his starts, including the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile at Del Mar. He went into the winter as almost everyone's No. 1 contender for the GI Kentucky Derby. But in late January, Spendthrift Farm announced that their star was off the Derby trail due to bone bruising. At the time, trainer Todd Pletcher said the hope was that Ted Noffey would resume training in early May. That didn't happen.He was turned out at Ian Brennan's farm in Ocala before returning to Pletcher's stable at Saratoga. He had his first official post-injury workout on Aug. 10.“It's never quite as smooth when you have a horse that gets turned out and you have to bring him from there into training,” Toffey said. “There are always little hiccups along the way.”The Into Mischief colt has had 12 drills since his return, including a four-furlong breeze in 48.41 at Belmont on Oct. 31.“He's put in three solid works here (at Belmont),” said Pletcher assistant Stu Hampson. “He worked with a kind of war horse we have. He gave us what we wanted in his last works at Saratoga and in the subsequent works since he's been at Belmont, he has disposed of his company pretty easily, and they were both generous work horses. We're happy with what we've seen. We've got him as fit as we can get him without running him.”The connections considered a few different options for Ted Noffey's return, including the GIII Perryville Stakes at Keeneland, but Toffey said it was decided that staying in New York for a race at Belmont made the most sense.“We decided to go with the Dwyer, but I don't think that race will be a gimme either,” Toffey said.It probably won't. Ten horses have been entered in the one-mile race, including fellow 'Rising Star' Sea Strike (Midshipman). An 8 1/4-length winner of the Curlin Stakes, he hasn't run since finishing sixth in the GI Travers, where he was sent off at 7-2.“We're eager to see what we can do, but I wish I could tell you exactly what to expect,” Toffey said. “But like I said, at a certain point, we're just spectators like everyone else.”The tentative plan is for Ted Noffey to return next year and point for the major dirt races for older horses. The GI Pegasus World Cup Invitational would be a possible option. But Toffey doesn't want to formalize any plans until seeing how the colt, who will be ridden by John Velazquez, fares Saturday.“We don't want to look past Saturday,” he said. “If we think he can be the same kind of horse as last year, we'll go on with him. There are a handful of races that any top 4-year-old would be pointing to throughout the year. Those will all be under consideration.”If Ted Noffey doesn't show the same form Saturday that he displayed as a 2-year-old, retirement is an option.“If we don't feel like he's going to be that same kind of horse, then there's still the outside chance he could go to stud,” Toffey said. “We'll see how things go Saturday and go from there. It's been a long journey, but it's very exciting. It's also a little nerve-wracking because you just don't know how they're going to do. But again, he's been working very well. So we're obviously very excited about him.”Toffey also gave an update on 'TDN Rising Star' presented by Hagyard Further Ado (Gun Runner), who won the GI Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile by a nose. It was originally announced that he would be sent to Spendthrift following the Breeders' Cup to stand at stud, but that may no longer be the case.“We're still sitting on the fence,” Toffey said. “To be honest with you, if you were at our Breeders' Cup party we announced that he's coming in to stand at stud. What's been tempting is that he's really thrived the latter part of this year and he's really not gotten a break yet. In the face of that, he's thrived. He's continued to put on muscle and is filling out. He's a different-looking animal than he was at the beginning of this year. And with the Gun Runners, you sort of expect them to continue to get better with time. So we are still keeping our options open. But we know that he'll be very popular with breeders. At the same time, the temptation is there to continue to run him and have some fun with him next year and enjoy him and, hopefully, be able to build on what he's done.”The post Ted Noffey Team Excited About Dwyer Return appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.