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Toffey hopeful G1 Cigar Mile presented by NYRA Bets can take Following Sea one step closer to stallion material

by NYRA Press Office

• Toffey hopeful G1 Cigar Mile presented by NYRA Bets can take Following Sea one step closer to stallion material
• Truth Hurts training well into G3 Go for Wand; Full Count Felicia upset minded in G2 Demoiselle
• Eloquist looks to provide Reid, Cash Is King and LC Racing with second G2 Remsen score
•  Aqueduct winter meet Week 1 stakes probables

Spendthrift Farm’s Following Sea, a Kentucky homebred, will look to bolden his potential stallion credentials in Saturday’s Grade 1, $750,000 Cigar Mile Handicap presented by NYRA Bets at Aqueduct Racetrack.

Trained by Hall of Famer Todd Pletcher, Following Sea defeated multiple graded stakes-winner Firenze Fire in the Grade 2 Vosburgh on October 9 at Belmont Park en route to a troubled third in the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Sprint on November 6 at Del Mar.

Following Sea had to steady in upper stretch of the Breeders’ Cup when a seam along the rail was closed off by pacesetting favorite Jackie’s Warrior, forcing Hall of Famer John Velazquez to angle the horse several paths wide. He made up enough ground to round out the trifecta at 20-1 odds, finishing 1 ½ lengths to Aloha West and Dr. Schivel.

“Take nothing away from the first and second horses because they obviously finished beautifully,” said Spendthrift Farm general manager Ned Toffey. “But if that hole stays open, he would have had to have his running shoes on. It would have been nice to see what would have happened. He looked poised to roll through there. He’s a horse who has shown us a lot of talent and shown he can run with the very best in the country. We always need a little luck in this game and with that, he’s more than capable of coming away with a win.”

After an open-length maiden score at Oaklawn Park for Hall of Famer Bob Baffert, Following Sea was transferred to Pletcher and made his debut for the stable a winning one, defeating winners going 6 ½ furlongs on June 3 over the Belmont main track.

Following Sea made his graded stakes debut in the Grade 1 Haskell Invitational six weeks later at Monmouth Park, where he was elevated to second via disqualification after finishing a distant third. He then rounded out the trifecta in the Grade 1 H. Allen Jerkens Memorial in August at Saratoga behind talented sophomores Jackie’s Warrior and Life Is Good.

As one of the more prominent racing and breeding operations in North America, Spendthrift Farm’s racing program is centered around making colts under their tutelage into stallion prospects.

Toffey said the Grade 1 Metropolitan Handicap at Belmont Park could be one of the major goals for Following Sea’s 4-year-old season.

“Our goal is always hoping that any colt in our program can earn his way into our stallion barn. I think that’s what we’re looking to do with Following Sea, so his campaign will be shaped around that.” Toffey said. “Certainly, the subject of ‘stallion-making races’ is an interesting one. If you ask stud farms and breeders, the Met Mile would be very high on that list. That would be one goal we would have in mind. Obviously, there’s the Breeders’ Cup as well. But as always, we’re going to listen to Todd, and Todd will listen to the horse.

“This game is a little tricky to look too far ahead in, but we just have to see how things unfold,” Toffey continued. “He’s a fun horse to have in the barn. He’s given Todd every indication that he’s ready to run a good race.”

A win would also provide Following Sea’s second-crop sire Runhappy with his first Grade 1 victory as a sire. The medication-free stallion, who stands at Claiborne Farm, was voted 2015 Champion Sprinter and has seen his offspring garner much success in their second year of racing age.

“Following Sea has gone a long way to keep Runhappy in the forefront. He’s shown that he’s a horse that doesn’t take a backseat to too many,” Toffey said.

Following Sea is out of the Speightstown mare Quick Flip, a stakes-winner during her juvenile season who also produced Gimmick, an Into Mischief filly, who broke her maiden this summer at Saratoga. Quick Flip is scheduled to be bred back to Into Mischief, who has been the leading sire for three years running.

Into Mischief stands at Spendthrift Farm for a $250,000 stud fee and has been the pride and joy of the Lexington, Kentucky farm.

“He’s a remarkable horse, that’s for sure,” Toffey said of Into Mischief. “We’ve been very fortunate to have him in our barn. What I see the most is that they’re really good-minded horses. They tend to enjoy their job. They like going to the track and train and are very workmanlike and at the same time very talented.”

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Truth Hurts training well into G3 Go for Wand; Full Count Felicia upset minded in G2 Demoiselle

Trainer Chad Summers will send out a pair of talented fillies in search of graded-stakes glory on Saturday at the Big A with stakes winner Truth Hurts in the Grade 3 Go for Wand and maiden Full Count Felicia in the Grade 2 Demoiselle.

Truth Hurts, owned by Summers in partnership with J Stables, enters from a two-length score in a division of the seven-furlong Pumpkin Pie, which was contested over a sloppy and sealed main track on October 31 at Belmont. The 4-year-old Tonalist bay has breezed back just once out of that effort, which Summers said is by design.

"We've figured out what she likes and doesn't like. We don't over breeze her - just a lot of two-minute licking between the races and try to keep her happy," Summers said. "She's had a good second half of the year and the goal now is to try and get her some graded black type and this race is the perfect opportunity to do that. She's in good form and I thought last time was as good of a race as she's ever run."

Bred in Ontario by William D. Graham, Truth Hurts was purchased for $35,000 at the 2018 Keeneland September Yearling Sale and has already banked $262,075 through a record of 13-4-1-1. She launched her career with a pair of wins at the Big A, winning on debut in December 2019 and following up one month later with an optional-claiming score traveling a one-turn mile.

Truth Hurts ended a seven-race losing streak with a 5 3/4-length score in an off-the-turf edition of the Perfect Sting, traveling a one-turn mile over a sloppy and sealed Belmont main track on July 3 ahead of a fourth-place finish in the six-furlong Grade 2 Honorable Miss Handicap three weeks later at Saratoga.

Summers said there should be enough pace for Truth Hurts [post 6, Tyler Gaffalione] to chase in the one-turn mile Go for Wand, which features the stretch-out speed of graded-stakes placed Lady Rocket and defending race champion Sharp Starr.

"I think it sets up perfect. Lady Rocket has a lot of speed, but there's questions about her going a mile," Summers said. "With our draw we'll be able to survey the scene and see what happens. To me, the horse to beat is Sharp Starr on the outside."

Gold Square's Full Count Felicia has made a trio of starts on the turf, with her results improving in each effort as the distance increased. On Saturday, she will switch to dirt and stretch her talent around two turns in the nine-furlong Grade 2 Demoiselle for juvenile fillies, which offers 10-4-2-1 Kentucky Oaks qualifying points to the top-four finishers.

A $200,000 purchase at the Fasig-Tipton Midlantic 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale, the War Front bay, out of the Galileo mare Claire De Lune, attended a rapid pace in her August debut before fading to tenth while sprinting 5 1/2-furlongs at the Spa. She followed with a good third in a seven-furlong turf maiden in October at Belmont won by Mischievous Kiss, who exited that effort to win the Chelsey Flower.

Last out, Full Count Felicia set the pace en route to finishing second in a one-mile maiden tilt on October 29 at Belmont where she was collared in the final jumps by Anador, who went on to finish a close fifth last out in the Tepin.

Summers said the filly has shown talent from Day One on both surfaces.

"She's trained well on the dirt from the beginning but with her pedigree we went the grass route," Summers said. "I've always thought she could run on the dirt and the big equalizer for us is the mile and an eighth. I have no doubt she'll see out the distance."

Summers said he initially campaigned Full Count Felicia with an eye towards a start at the Breeders' Cup last month at Del Mar.

"I thought she was talented enough to make the Breeders' Cup and the first race was supposed to be the stepping stone to that and everything went wrong. She went too fast early and then went the wrong way," Summers said. "We had to hit the reset button with her. Two starts back we took her off the pace and she really ran well that day and got beat by Mischievous Kiss, who came back and won the stake at Belmont.

"She came back and ran a good race last out," Summers added. "The filly that nosed her out came back and had a tough trip the other day in the Tepin. She's been formful on the turf."

Despite being listed at 30-1 on the morning line, Summers said he expects Full Count Felicia to give a good account of herself.

"We're out to prove them wrong and every indication is she'll run a giant race on Saturday," Summers said.

Tyler Gaffalione, who teamed up with Summers to win the 2018 Grade 3 Lukas Classic at Churchill Downs with Mind Your Biscuits, will have the call on both fillies.

“I wanted a jock who could ride both horses," Summers said. "I have a lot of history with him and he rode Mind Your Biscuits for me in the past. I know he'll give me his best effort.”

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Eloquist looks to provide Reid, Cash Is King and LC Racing with second G2 Remsen score

Trainer Butch Reid, Jr. and owners Cash Is King Racing and LC Racing earned a collaborative triumph with Maximus Mischief in the 2018 Grade 2 Remsen. This year, the trainer-owner combination will seek another victory in the nine-furlong test for juvenile colts with last out maiden winner Eloquist.

Third time was the charm for the son of second-crop sire Nyquist, who broke his maiden going one mile at Parx following two distant sixth-place finishes. Reid, Jr. said stretching out in distance has been the most important ingredient to his recipe for success.

“He’s a bit of a slow learner so we took our time with him,” Reid, Jr. said. “The distance has helped more than anything. As the distances get longer, he’ll be stepping up to the forefront. He has a great disposition and a good head on his shoulders. I really like his demeanor, it should come in handy going longer.”

Reid, Jr. said Eloquist displays a much different demeanor than that of Maximus Mischief, adding that the colt is more similar to Afleet Again, who won the Grade 2 Breeders’ Cup Dirt Marathon in 2011.

“Two very different personalities,” Reid, Jr. said. “From a size standpoint, they’re similar. They’re big and strong horses. Maximus Mischief was more on his toes and could be difficult to handle. This one is much more laid back. He actually reminds me more of Afleet Again, my Breeders’ Cup winner. He can get the job done.”

Eloquist, who will be ridden by Dylan Davis from post 6, is out of the Tapit mare Our Gal El, whose two other progeny of racing age are both winners.

The Remsen offers 10-4-2-1 Kentucky Derby qualifying points to the top-four finishers.

Beren, a multiple stakes-winning Pennsylvania-bred son of Weigelia, captured two stakes at Belmont Park in May. Beren was second in the Steel Valley Sprint last Monday at Mahoning Valley Race Course and Reid, Jr. said he will get an extended rest at Dr. Barry Eisaman’s Eisaman Equine in Williston, Florida to freshen up for a 4-year-old campaign.

“He’s getting a break. He’ll spend a couple of months in Florida to eat some grass and soak up some rays on the farm,” Reid, Jr. said. “He’s run 12 times this year, so he’s earned it.”

Beren is out of the Maryland-bred millionaire Silmaril, who was a 12-time stakes-winner on the Mid-Atlantic circuit.

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Aqueduct winter meet week 1 stakes probables

Saturday, December 11

$100,000 Garland of Roses

Probable: Glass Ceiling (Charlton Baker), Sadie Lady (Rob Atras)

Possible: Aunt Kat (Bill Mott), Call On Mischief (Kelly Breen), Ever Wonder (Robert Gorham), Song River (Cherie DeVaux)