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Evvie Jets makes emotional return for Amendola family in Sunday’s Plenty of Grace

by Keith McCalmont

Evvie Jets returns off a nearly five-month layoff in Sunday’s $100,000 Plenty of Grace, a one-mile inner turf test for older fillies and mares, at Aqueduct Racetrack. 

The 5-year-old Twirling Candy mare is trained by Mertkan Kantarmaci for the Estate of Robert J. Amendola, who passed away in November at the age of 79.

"He was the first owner I trained for outside of my own family in this country," said Kantarmaci, who emigrated from his native Turkey in 2016. "These last years he gave his trust to us and that meant a lot to us. He knew we would take care of his horses like they were our own horses. It was a good relationship and a big loss.”

The talented bay, haltered for $80,000 out of a narrow runner-up effort in September 2021 at Belmont Park, has posted a record of 3-5-0 in 10 starts since led by a prominent score in the Grade 3 Noble Damsel here in October.

Kantarmaci recalled the late Amendola, who operated Amendola’s Fence Co., reaching out about potentially claiming the Kentucky-bred after she had graduated on the Saratoga Race Course turf at sixth asking in a $75,000 maiden claimer.

"Mr. Bob wanted me to look at this filly. I watched her replays and decided to go and take a look the day we claimed her, and he came with me to the paddock," said Kantarmaci. "We looked and decided to drop a slip on her. She wasn't a big horse, but she had a really muscled, wide body. She wasn’t too tall, but I liked the way she was built and she was young. The main reason we liked her is she was young and she tried in every single maiden start.

“He really loved her,” added Kantarmaci. “It was the right decision for us and we were the only one in for her, probably because of the price.”

While Kantarmaci laments the absence of the late owner, he said he has enjoyed the time spent with Amendola’s son, Michael, who, like his father, also appreciates visiting the barn and has a keen interest in racing.

Michael Amendola said the Noble Damsel score was a meaningful one for his father, who took a decade-long break from ownership between 2008-17.

"That win was validation for the team he put together on returning to the game after being out of it for 10 years," Amendola said. "It meant a lot to him to know he still had an eye for the game and that he could still compete in the realm we competed in - the claiming game. That win was the cherry on top of a long career."

Evvie Jets has finished first or second in each of her last six starts, including her Noble Damsel score over graded-stakes winner Plum Ali which was sandwiched between runner-up efforts here in the Grade 3 Athenia in September and the Forever Together last out on November 20.

Piloted by Eric Cancel through her last eight starts, the Noble Damsel score provided Kantarmaci his first graded stakes win in North America.

Evvie Jets will carry a field-high 123 pounds when she exits post 2 Sunday under Cancel, and Kantarmaci credited the rider for his patient handling of the sometimes fussy mare, who has scored wins from on-and-off the pace since the claim.

"We don't want to upset her on the bit. She breaks how she wants to break, but we don't want to upset her in the race by playing with her mouth," Kantarmaci said. "That's why, when she's comfortable, she can set the pace, but she can also be a good closer if there is pace in the race and she is not following too close. It depends on her mood after the break."

To secure an emotional victory for the Amendola family on Sunday, Evvie Jets will have to topple a talented field that includes Malavath [post 1, Jose Ortiz, 118 pounds], who captured the 2021 Group 2 Criterium de Maisons-Laffitte at Chantilly and last year’s Group 3 Prix Imprudence at Deauville ahead of a fifth-place finish against the boys in the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Mile at Keeneland for conditioner Francis-Henri Graffard.

The 4-year-old Mehmas chestnut was purchased in December for €3.2m by Moyglare Stud Farm at Arqana's Breeding Stock Sale and is now in the care of Christophe Clement. She has trained extensively at Payson Park for her New York debut.

"She also finished second to a famous filly as a 2-year-old at the Breeders' Cup," said the conditioner, with a laugh, noting Malavath’s half-length defeat to Piazza Bianca in the 2021 Grade 1 Juvenile Fillies Turf that provided Clement his first Breeders’ Cup win.

Clement said Malavath has impressed since shipping up to New York.

“She's trained well. Her last work was Saturday at Payson Park and I've been delighted with the way she's adapted to Belmont this week,” Clement said. “We've been going to the main track and she's trained like she has been there her whole life.”

An internationally influenced field also includes the North American debut of Juddmonte Farms’ British-homebred Whitebeam [post 6, Manny Franco, 118 pounds], a 4-year-old stakes-placed daughter of Caravaggio. Trained by Chad Brown, Whitebeam is out of the Oasis Dream mare Sleep Walk, who is a half-sibling to Group 1-winner Logician and multiple graded-stakes winner Suffused.

Also entered are multiple graded-stakes placed Runaway Rumour [post 4, Javier Castellano, 118 pounds] for trainer Jorge Abreu; stakes-winner Spirit And Glory [post 3, Trevor McCarthy, 120 pounds] for trainer Robert Falcone, Jr; and the Amira Chichakly-conditioned four-time winner Toned Up [post 5, Dylan Davis, 118 pounds]. Impazible Donna entered for the main-track only.

Evvie Jets, who enjoyed a freshening at Michael Schrader’s In Front Training Center in Ghent, New York, has breezed five times over the Belmont dirt training track in preparation for her return.

"She's doing very good. Let's see how she does coming back after a short break," Kantarmaci said. "I think she maybe needs one race to get the top performance we saw from her last year."

Evvie Jets finished a close fourth in her seasonal debut last year at Belmont, but was never worse than second thereafter.

"She needed one last year, but she was real competitive in that start and rode a bit more tactically than the typical speed she's shown,” Amendola said. “So, she might need one, but it's a campaign and not one event. Certainly the stable is leaning on her to carry on the tradition and hopefully she can get lucky a couple of times this year and continue to make a name for herself."

Kantarmaci was keen to highlight another popular Amendola claim in Jump for Joy, a now 10-year-old Jump Start mare, who they haltered for $14,000 in March 2019 and went on to post a record of 7-4-3 in 20 starts thereafter until her retirement in the spring of 2021.

“She made more than $300,000 and had seven wins and many seconds, too,” recalled Kantarmaci. “He doesn't keep broodmares but he decided to keep her and she had a baby by Central Banker. He wasn't in that business anymore, but with her he wanted to see her babies. He wanted to make a New York-sired, New York-bred baby and that’s good for us here racing in New York. She was a hard-knocking horse for us."

Jump for Joy recently produced a filly at McMahon of Saratoga Thoroughbreds. The foal is owned by the estate, which is comprised of Amendola's wife, Sheila, and his children, Michael and Jennifer.

Amendola said his father loved his time at the track, spanning from his first win on October 18, 1973 with Wind Somer at Atlantic City Racetrack through to his final score with Evvie Jets in the Nobel Damsel. Among the many favorite horses campaigned by Amendola along the way were Grade 2-winner Bank Audit and stakes-winner Jarf.

"My dad's career as an owner extended for almost 50 years. He had hundreds of wins and the track was a big part of his life,” Amendola said.

Amendola noted his father was also a keen handicapper and made many friends in his racing journey, including an old business partner by the name of Herman.

While reviewing his father’s albums of win photos and racing memorabilia after his passing, he came across the 1973 win photo from Atlantic City. Seeing the photo spurred Amendola to reach out to his father’s former associate.

“I called Herman and he's now 89, but he said, ‘Do I have a story for you,’” recalled Amendola. “Herman said to me, ‘Your dad and I went down to Atlantic City and we won the race.’ I asked Herman if he cashed and he said he had a trifecta and it paid out $200.

“Now, my dad was known to bet on his own horses,” continued Amendola. “And it turns out he had a win ticket for $20,000. By inflation, $20,000 in 1973 is equivalent to $149,000 in today's dollars.”

But the story gets better and Amendola could hardly believe his ears as Herman regaled the pair’s treacherous journey home.

“On their way back from Atlantic City, they pulled over into a gas station and my dad had the cash in a money belt,” said Amendola. “As he got out of the car, he caught the money belt in the door and the $20,000 got blown all around the gas station parking lot.

“The station attendant came running out - he must have thought they'd robbed a bank,” continued Amendola, with a laugh. “The attendant went back inside and had three or four of his buddies come out and help pick up all these $100 bills that were floating around the parking lot.”

That victory was one of just many scores at the track for the late Amendola, who was also an advocate for thoroughbred aftercare and took joy in seeing his stock find a forever home when their racing career was complete.

In tribute, Michael Amendola set up a donation page [https://www.trfinc.org/trf-bob-amendola/] in support of the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation (TRF), an equine retirement facility accredited by the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance (TAA).

"He always respected the horses and the effort they put forth," Amendola said. "He loved the horses and wanted to makes sure they had the best home possible and he really respected what the team up there at the TRF is doing."

The Plenty of Grace is slated as Race 3 on Sunday’s nine-race card. First post is 1:20 p.m. Eastern.

America's Day at the Races will present live coverage and analysis of the Aqueduct spring meet on the networks of FOX Sports. For the broadcast schedule and channel finder, visit https://www.nyra.com/aqueduct/racing/tv-schedule.

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