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Central Banker can cap off a big year at stud with NYSSS Fifth Avenue participants

by NYRA Press Office

• Central Banker can cap off a big year at stud with NYSSS Fifth Avenue participants
• Forewarned part of seasoned field for Queens County
• Sea Foam works in preparation for Alex M. Robb

Leading New York sire Central Banker can round out a successful season when represented by a trio of fillies in Saturday’s $500,000 Fifth Avenue division of the New York Stallion Stakes Series for eligible New York-sired juvenile fillies at Aqueduct Racetrack. 

Campaigned by Seth Klarman’s Klaravich Stable and William H. Lawrence and trained by Al Stall, Jr., Central Banker registered triple digit Beyer Speed Figures at ages three and four, including a 107 Beyer when capturing the 2014 Grade 2 Churchill Downs Handicap. 

Central Banker retired to McMahon of Saratoga Farms, owned by Joe and Anne McMahon, in 2015. Now a hot commodity on the New York stallion market, Central Banker has passed on his speed and brilliance to his progeny, which include NYSSS Fifth Avenue 8-5 morning line favorite Morning Matchaas well as fellow aspirants Bank On Anna and Mrs. Banks. 

Trained by Butch Reid, Jr., Morning Matcha enters off two sharp victories at Parx Racing, while maiden Bank On Anna and first-time starter Mrs. Banks, who is part owned by Joe and Anne McMahon, seek their first career win. 

Central Banker, a son of Speightstown, hit the ground running in the Empire State, becoming New York’s leading freshman stallion in 2018 which included multiple maiden winners at Saratoga. On a national scale, he trailed only Goldencents, Cross Traffic and Cairo Prince in leading freshman sires on a commercial level. 

Central Banker subsequently became New York’s leading second and third crop sire before becoming the 2021 leading sire in the Empire State. In addition to Morning Matcha, Central Banker enjoyed success this year with state-bred stakes-winners Bank On Shea, Bank Sting and Bankit - his most successful offspring to date and first to achieve millionaire status. 

The rocket start to his stallion career was noticed by New York breeders as Central Banker’s book of mares was in the hundreds in 2019-20. This past breeding season he covered 98 mares. 

Joe McMahon said the positive reception is due to Central Banker’s ability to pair well with a variety of different mares. 

“His balance is so good that he compliments almost any kind of mare you breed to him,” McMahon said. “He does well with big mares and small mares. He produces the same physical almost all the time, and we noticed that right from his first crop.”

McMahon said he has a certain model when it comes to searching for stallion prospects.

“Central Banker won on the turf and won going one turn, and he’s from a sprinting line. He’s by Speightstown and his profile as a racehorse was the same,” McMahon said. “That was certainly one of the main attractions to him when we bought him. 

“Horses that are extremely well-balanced like this horse can go with a lot of different types of mares,” McMahon added. “They can overcome a lot of different types of problems if they give their offspring that balance. That’s what he did and that’s what we hoped he would do when we bought him.”

Central Banker’s yearlings proved popular at the 2017 Saratoga New York-bred Preferred Sale with his offspring averaging just over $58,000.

“His first crop was well received at the weaning sales in Kentucky, Florida and here in New York,” McMahon recalled. “Lots of people were able to see them after the first crop was born. That fueled the interest for future crops. It showed people what good foals he was getting and he was always supported by good syndications of breeders. After the yearling sales, the next year, they were well received. There were a lot of them in the preferred sale at Saratoga.”

Central Banker could round out a great year at stud with another stakes winner on Saturday and McMahon said he is hopeful dual stakes-winner Bank Sting will launch a successful 2022 when she contests the $100,000 La Verdad on January 2 at the Big A.

“We had Bank Sting win [the NYSSS Staten Island] a couple weeks ago and that was extremely impressive,” said McMahon, who owns Bank Sting with Hidden Brook Farm. “She’s only had seven starts and won five. We had some bad luck with her at Monmouth to run in a graded race and she got excited moving away from New York going down there, so she was scratched at the gate. She seems to like Aqueduct and so we’ll give her another try there.” 

The Fifth Avenue, set for Race 8, is one of two New York Stallion Stakes Series races on Saturday’s nine-race card, with the Great White Way division slated for Race 6. With each division offering a purse of $500,000, the New York Stallion Stakes Series rewards owners and breeders for their efforts to breed mares to stallions in the Empire State. First post on Saturday’s card is 12:20 p.m. Eastern.

***

Forewarned part of seasoned field for Queens County

Sunday’s co-featured $125,000 Queens County will showcase a field of nine veteran runners with a combined 233 starts, 46 wins, and over $4.3 million in earnings. A total of 44 of those starts belong to 6-year-old Forewarned, who ships in from Parx to take on the 1 1/8 mile test for 3-year-olds and up at Aqueduct. 

A son of Flat Out, Forewarned is seeking the 10th win of his career and enters the Queens County off a fourth in the Richard W. Small at Laurel Park on November 27 for trainer and owner Uriah St. Lewis. 

The Ohio-bred was trained by Pavel Matejka for his first two seasons of racing, breaking his maiden at second asking going 5 ½ furlongs at Belterra Park in 2017. He successfully stretched out beyond a mile in his 3-year-old campaign, winning the Daniel Stearns Cleveland Gold Cup at Thistledown and was runner-up in the Green Carpet at Belterra. 

Forewarned was offered at the Fasig-Tipton Midlantic mixed sale in December 2018 and was purchased by St. Lewis’ Trin-Brook Stable for $40,000. The hard-knocking gelding now boasts $693,633 in purse earnings.

St. Lewis, who conditioned 2018 Grade 1 Jockey Club Gold Cup winner Discreet Lover and graded stakes winners Informative and Adventist, said Forewarned is another beloved member of his stable. 

“He was a nice one to get after Discreet Lover,” St. Lewis said. “He’s a cocky horse. He likes to bite you left and right, but when you put that bridle in his mouth, he’s ready to go. He’s easy to train and easy to be around while he’s working, just not while he’s in the stall.”

Forewarned earned his lone victory of the year two starts back in the Best of Ohio Endurance at Mahoning Valley Race Course going 1 ¼ miles, capturing the restricted event for the third year in a row. 

St. Lewis said he prefers to run Forewarned at longer distances to accommodate his last-to-first running style. 

“He’s doing great,” St. Lewis said. “I do wish it was a mile and a quarter because the longer they the run, the longer he can run. We were looking at a race going a mile and seventy yards at Parx but we decided to come to New York. It’s not as far as we’d like to go, but it will work.” 

Besides his win in the Best of Ohio Endurance, Forewarned’s best performance this year came when he was defeated by a head in the Best of Ohio Governor’s Buckeye Cup at Thistledown in August. He finished sixth in the Grade 1 Jockey Club Gold Cup at Saratoga and ninth in the Grade 3 Greenwood Cup at Parx in his next two outings.

St. Lewis said Forewarned returned to form in his Ohio score.

“He’s getting better now after it looked like he was slowing down a few months ago,” St. Lewis said. “We took it kind of easy with him and took him back to Ohio and he won that race again. It made him start feeling good again and everything is good again.” 

Forewarned showed no signs of age in his final prep breezing a bullet half-mile in 47.58 seconds at Parx on December 11. St. Lewis said he was pleased with the work. 

“We know going the mile and an eighth that he’s going to have to stay close to the field and he usually does,” said St. Lewis. “I think he has a good shot to come flying at the end.” 

The soon to be 7-year-old Forewarned will break from post 9 in the Queens County with Dexter Haddock in the irons. 

“Right now, he’s feeling good,” St. Lewis said. “The post position isn’t great, but if they run fast enough early, he’ll be coming late.”

***

Sea Foam works in preparation for Alex M. Robb

Ten Strike Racing, Four Corners Racing Stable, Broadview Stables and Cory Moelis Racing’s multiple stakes winner Sea Foam worked five-eighths Thursday in 1:01.55 over the Belmont dirt training track in preparation for the $100,000 Alex M. Robb, a nine-furlong test for New York-breds 3-years-old and up on New Year’s Eve at the Big A.

“He's doing great,” trainer Michelle Giangiulio said. “He went by himself with Kendrick Carmouche on him. It was a nice, easy five-eighths and he went really smooth in 1:01 and 2 and out in 1:15 and change. He came out of it great.”

The 6-year-old son of Medaglia d’Oro lost a place battle by a nose to Wild Banker last out in the nine-furlong Empire Classic on October 30 at Belmont, which was won by Americanrevolution, who exited that effort to capture the Grade 1 Cigar Mile presented by NYRA Bets.

Sea Foam, with Carmouche up for the first time in the Empire Classic, dueled with millionaire multiple stakes winner Mr. Buff through a quarter-mile in 22.85 and a half-mile in 45.84 over a sloppy and sealed main track. Although Americanrevolution pulled away down the lane, Sea Foam dug in gamely and was only collared in the final stride by Wild Banker, who had rallied from last-of-8.

“He had such a hot pace battling with Mr. Buff,” Giangiulio said. “He ran so well and just got beat at the wire for second. I was so proud of him to hang on after the pace he had to run. It looks even better now after getting beat by the Cigar Mile winner.”

Claimed for $45,000 out of a winning effort in July at Saratoga for former conditioner Christophe Clement, Sea Foam came back on short rest to win the nine-furlong Evan Shipman against fellow state-breds at first asking for new connections in August at the Spa. 

“Running him back in 11 days and winning the Evan Shipman, he paid for himself for the owners,” Giangiulio said. “He’s just a beast.”

Sea Foam exited that effort to finish off-the-board after setting the pace in the 12-furlong Grade 3 Greenwood Cup on September 25 at Parx ahead of the Empire Classic.

“We had to move early in the Greenwood Cup and going a mile and a half, you don't really want to move early but those were the circumstances that day with others moving early. It just didn't work out for us that day,” Giangiulio said.

Sea Foam, who faded to fourth in last year’s Alex M. Robb, boasts a record of 25-9-3-3 with purse earnings of $719,745. Bred in the Empire State by Waterville Lake Stables, Sea Foam is out of the graded-stakes winning Unbridled’s Song mare Strike It Rich.

Giangiulio is a perfect 2-for-2 at the Big A winter meet with wins from Baba, who was claimed away for $14,000 out of a three-length score on December 9; and with Eucharist, also owned by Ten Strike Racing and Four Corners Racing Stable, who sprinted to a 2 1/2-length score Thursday at odds of 18-1 under apprentice rider Christian Ramos.

Giangiulio, who was pleased not to lose the horse at the claim box, said Eucharist benefited from racing second time off the claim.

“I figured he wouldn't get claimed because his last race wasn't much,” said Giangiulio. “I did win a four-way shake when I claimed him but I wasn't expecting him to get claimed yesterday.

“He trained good into the race and I knew he'd run well, but it was a bit of a shocker for all of us. The horse has been so unpredictable if you look at his form,” added Giangiulio. “It was a very rewarding win. The bug boy has been breezing him for me in the mornings and he did a fantastic job on him. It was a team effort.”

Giangiulio will send out Alpine Queen, owned by Ten Strike Racing and Cory Moelis Racing, in Race 4 Sunday at the Big A – a one-turn mile $25,000 claimer for fillies and mares 3-years-old and up.

The sophomore daughter of Reload was claimed for $25,000 out of a fourth-place finish in July at Saratoga and has made two starts at claiming level over Big Sandy for Giangiulio, finishing fourth in a 6 1/2-furlong sprint on September 19 and second traveling one-mile over a sloppy and sealed track October 31.

“She came out of her last race really well and I’m expecting a good effort on Sunday. Hopefully, we can keep the ball rolling,” Giangiulio said. 

Giangiulio said Alpine Queen has proven to be effective on both fast and off tracks.

“She's pretty versatile. She broke her maiden on a wet track and she ran well last time when the track was sealed,” Giangiulio said. “I'm not too worried, if the track is fast it's fast - she's got as good on that as she is in the slop.”

Alpine Queen will exit post 7 under Jorge Vargas, Jr.

Giangiulio’s four-horse stable is completed by Halpert, a 3-year-old New York-bred son of More Than Ready, who was claimed for $30,000 for Four Corners Racing Stable on November 18 from a close fifth in a 1 1/16-mile turf tilt at the Big A.

“He's doing well. He broke his maiden off-the-turf and maybe he'll be a versatile type that we can run him on the dirt this winter and then in the spring go back to turf,” Giangiulio said.

Out of the Mizzen Mast mare Dance Craze, Halpert graduated at second asking in an off-the-turf sprint in November 2020 at Aqueduct.

Giangiulio, who went out on her own as a conditioner earlier this year after previously working as an assistant for a number of trainers, boasts a record of 17-3-4-5 for purse earnings of $205,998. She said she is hopeful she can finish the year on a strong note and perhaps add a few more horses to her emerging stable.

“I do most of the work myself and I’m pretty hands on. Obviously, that's been working out pretty well,” Giangiulio said. “But if I can stay at this size or get a couple more horses through the winter and build up the stable for the spring time I'd be pretty happy.”