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​My Boy Tate looks to utilize veteran know-how in attempt to capture second NYSSS Thunder Rumble

by Brian Bohl

My Boy Tate will look to cap a consistent 7-year-old campaign by extending his winning streak to three when he competes as part of a 12-horse field in Sunday’s $150,000 New York Stallion Stakes Series Thunder Rumble for eligible state-sired 3-year-olds and up on Closing Day of the fall meet at Aqueduct Racetrack.

The 15th running of the Thunder Rumble, contested at seven furlongs on the main track, is one of two NYSSS contests on the day along with the $150,000 Staten Island for fillies and mares 3-years-old and up also going seven furlongs. 

My Boy Tate, co-owned by Little Red Feather Racing and trainer Michelle Nevin, is one of two entries for the conditioner along with J and N Stables’ Our Last Buck.

My Boy Tate has gone 4-2-0 in his last seven starts that has encompassed three stakes victories. The gelded son of Boys At Tosconova, bred in the Empire State by Nevin, bested allowance company at the Thunder Rumble Division distance on October 4 at Parx before dominating a seven-horse field to win the six-furlong Leon Reed Memorial by six lengths just one week later at Finger Lakes. 

In 28 career starts, My Boy Tate has amassed an 11-7-2 record with earnings of $687,788.

“He’s been doing very good,” Nevin said. “He’s just always been a tough, hard-knocking horse. For a horse his age, he hasn’t had a ton of starts. His whole career has been very spread out, and it’s worked out well for him.

“He’s just a tough fellow to be around,” Nevin added. “He’s not a very laid-back kind of horse. He’s quite aggressive and rough but that’s just his personality and it shows up in his races.”

My Boy Tate, the winner of the 2019 Thunder Rumble edition, has enjoyed success both in this particular race and at the Big A itself, going 7-2-1 in 13 starts in Ozone Park.

“He’s always really liked Aqueduct and we’re happy to get back there with him,” Nevin said. 

Our Last Buck, a 7-year-old son of Courageous Cat, boasts a ledger of 21-6-4-3 led by a score in the seven-furlong Say Florida Sandy in January at the Big A. Bred in New York by Gerardus S. Jameson, Our Last Buck enters from a distant sixth last out in the 6 1/2-furlong Hudson Handicap contested over a sloppy and sealed main track on October 30 at Belmont.

Manny Franco will have the call aboard My Boy Tate from post 4, while Our Last Buck will exit post 9 under Kendrick Carmouche.

Team Hanley’s Captain Bombastic followed a win in the one-mile Polynesian in September at Laurel Park with a fifth-place finish in the Empire Classic on October 30 at Belmont Park going 1 1/8 miles on a sloppy and sealed track.

Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen will cut the 4-year-old Forty Tales colt back in distance for just his second start at the Big A. Bred in New York by Chester and Mary Broman, Captain Bombastic earned a 97 Beyer Speed Figure for his Polynesian score and will be sprinting for the first time since running fifth in the 6 1/2-furlong John Morrissey on July 29 at Saratoga Race Course. 

Jose Lezcano will be in the irons from post 12.

Trainer Gary Sciacca will saddle a pair of full brothers in Chowda and Lobsta for owner Eddie F’s Racing – both horses were bred in the Empire State by Fedwell Farm and are by Emcee and out of the Chief Seattle mare Salty Little Sis.

The 4-year-old Chowda has won 3-of-4 starts at the Big A, including a score in the one-mile Gander in February 2020. He has raced just three times this season, but enters off a strong third in an open 1 1/16-mile allowance tilt on October 24 at Belmont that was won by Miles D, who exited that effort to win the Discovery last weekend at Aqueduct.

Lobsta has posted six starts in his sophomore campaign for a record of 2-1-2, including a runner-up effort in this year’s edition of the Gander in February. The dark bay won a one-mile state-bred optional-claimer in March at the Big A and enters from third-place finishes in the seven-furlong Mike Lee in May at Belmont and the 1 1/16-mile New York Derby in July at Finger Lakes.

Eric Cancel will guide Chowda from post 5, while Lobsta will emerge from post 11 under Hall of Famer Javier Castellano.

Hold the Salsa, owned, trained and bred in New York by Richard Lugovich, will be making his 11th start overall and 10th consecutive stakes appearance. The sophomore Hold Me Back colt has not shied away from tough competition, compiling a pair of seven-furlong stakes wins as a juvenile, including the Bertram F. Bongard at Belmont and the NYSSS Great White Way at the Big A. 

After running sixth in the Leon Reed Memorial in his first start since running fifth in the New York Derby in July at Finger Lakes, Hold the Salsa will rematch My Boy Tate, drawing post 8 with Benjamin Hernandez aboard.

Windylea Farm’s Jemography, bred in New York by Golden Goose Enterprise, followed a seventh-place effort in the John Morrissey at the Spa by edging Flying Emperor by a neck in the six-furlong George W. Barker in August at Finger Lakes. He returned to the NYRA circuit to run third against state breds in the Hudson Handicap on October 30 at Belmont for trainer Mark Hennig.

Jemography will be returning to Aqueduct, where the 5-year-old gelded son of Big Brown is 3-2-1 in six starts, and will have Dylan Davis in the irons from the inside post.

Bond Racing Stable’s Rinaldi has crafted an impressive career on the grass, going 5-2-1 with earnings nearing a half-million dollars with all 13 starts on turf for trainer H. James Bond. But the 5-year-old gelded son of Posse, who won the Grade 3 Forbidden Apple in July over Saratoga’s firm turf, will be competing on the main track for the first time in his career.

Jockey Trevor McCarthy will pilot Rinaldi – bred in New York by Barry Ostrager – for the surface change, departing from post 6. 

Rounding out the field are Market Alert [post 2, Jorge Vargas, Jr.], Straight Skinny [post 3, Raul Mena], Wild Banker [post 7, Joel Rosario], and first-time gelding Devious Mo [post 10, Luis Rodriguez Castro].

The NYSSS Thunder Rumble is slated as the final race on the 10-race card. First post is 11:50 a.m. Eastern.

America’s Day at the Races will present daily coverage and analysis of the fall meet at Aqueduct Racetrack on the networks of FOX Sports. For the complete broadcast schedule, visit https://www.nyra.com/aqueduct/racing/tv-schedule.

NYRA Bets is the official wagering platform of Aqueduct Racetrack, and the best way to bet every race of the fall meet. Available to horseplayers nationwide, the NYRA Bets app is available for download today on iOS and Android at www.NYRABets.com.