After passing virtually every test that trainer John Kimmel has thrown at him in during his brief four-race career Protected has shown that he’s ready for a tougher challenge.

That challenge will come in Sunday’s New Jersey Breeders Handicap at Monmouth Park when the gelded 3-year-old son of Maximum Security makes his stakes debut.

The $100,000 New Jersey Breeders Handicap, at six furlongs, is one of three stakes races on the 12-race New Jersey Thoroughbred Festival card. Protected will face seven other state-breds, including Speaking, who won the race by four lengths last year. Speaking, trained by Eddie Owens, Jr., was last seen May 18 winning the John J. Reilly Handicap.

“I’ve been trying to keep his competition the easiest I can. He needs to work his way up the ladder,” Kimmel said of Protected. “The horse is doing really well. It will be interesting to see how he performs on Sunday.

“There are some horses in the race that have run some similar figures to him. He needs to pick up his game. If he can knock that out we’ll probably start searching for some races that are a little more competitive for him.”

Bred and owned by Dennis Drazin, the Chairman and CEO of Darby Development, the operators of Monmouth Park, Protected made just one start at 2. He was second in his debut to Showcase in maiden special weight company during the Belmont at Aqueduct meet on July 6, 2024.

Showcase won the Grade 2 Saratoga Special in his next start.

Protected has won all three starts at 3, breaking his maiden in open maiden special weight company at Aqueduct on April 25. He added two wins against state-breds after that.

“I’ve always liked the horse,” said Kimmel. “He ran well his first time out against a (graded) stakes winner in Showcase. He had moderate tendinitis last year and I didn’t want to take a chance on him getting hurt so I gave him the summer and fall off after that and we started getting him back over the winter.

“But you always want to see how these horses do as they face better competition. When he throws a number at me against quality horses then I’ll be able to make a better assessment of where he is at. He’s really lightly raced so you still don’t know.”

Kimmel added blinkers for Protected’s last race on the advice of Joe Bravo, who rode him prior to that.

“He’s a horse that tends to wait on horses,” said Kimmel. “When he’s around other horses he’s up in the bridle and when he passes and then clears he has a tendency to wait on horses. Hence the blinkers last race. When Joe Bravo rode him (two races back) he said he was waiting, waiting, waiting and then when he asked him he took off again.

“Hopefully he will be determined and use his ability this race.”