Ted Noffey dominates for Spendthrift Farm in G1 Spendthrift Farm Hopeful

His name was inspired by a misspelling of his owner's Spendthrift Farm’s general manager Ned Toffey, but Ted Noffey made a name for himself with an 8 1/2-length victory in Monday’s Grade 1, $300,000 Spendthrift Farm Hopeful, a seven-furlong sprint for juveniles, at Saratoga Race Course.

Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher sent out Spendthrift Farm’s homebred Into Mischief filly Tommy Jo to win by 6 1/2 lengths in Saturday’s Grade 1, $300,000 Spinaway here, and found more juvenile success with Ted Noffey, also by Spendthrift stallion Into Mischief.

"The Hopeful is such a prestigious and important race - to be able to win a Grade 1 with a son of Into Mischief and win it for Spendthrift, who sponsored the race, is phenomenal,” said Pletcher, whose previous Hopeful wins include Circular Quay [2006], Shanghai Bobby [2012], Competitive Edge [2014] and Forte [2022].

Pletcher had a monster Closing Week with 2-year-olds, capturing two local turf stakes with Final Score in the Grade 3 With Anticipation and Time to Dream in the Listed P.G. Johnson presented by Snap-On. 

Outside of the juvenile ranks this week, the legendary conditioner also won a pair of events that granted “Win and You’re In” berths to the Breeders’ Cup Classic, with Antiquarian upsetting Sunday’s Grade 1 Jockey Club Gold Cup here and Fierceness capturing the Grade 1 Pacific Classic less than one day earlier at Del Mar. 

“The 2-year-olds have run really well and we've had some big older horse wins, so we're super excited about it and very thankful,” Pletcher said. “[Ted Noffey] really trained well since his debut. He trained well going into that but came back and I thought his breezes were quite good. He gave us the feeling he was moving forward.”

Piloted by Hall of Famer John Velazquez, Ted Noffey broke very sharply from the outermost post 7, but settled into a stalking second position to the outside of Flyin Hawaiian as Soldier N Diplomat led through an opening quarter-mile in 23.16 seconds on the fast dirt. 

Ted Noffey maintained his second position from the four-path within close range of Soldier N Diplomat down the backside and into the turn, while the favored Buetane improved to his outside and Curtain Call traveled in striking distance of the frontrunners through the half-mile in 46.30.

Midway through the turn, Ted Noffey glided past Soldier N Diplomat with no urging from Velazquez, in contrast to jockey Flavien Prat asking Buetane to pick it up near the five-sixteenths. 

“I just showed him the whip and he got onto the bridle a little sooner than I wanted to, but you could tell once he got there, he was going to win it,” Velazquez said. “He’s learned from the race before to this one, he learned a lot – I see him waiting a little down the lane, so I kind of had to keep his mind on running, but other than that, very well done.”

When straightened for home, Ted Noffey marked three-quarters in 1:10.18 and with a few taps of the crop from Velazquez, he went clear and drew off to win impressively in a final time of 1:22.35. 

Buetane defended place honors from Curtain Call by a head, with Soldier N Diplomat completing the superfecta. The slow-starting Aye Eye, recent $1.7 million purchase Romeo and Flyin Hawaiian rounded out the order of finish. The Pletcher-trained Emphasis was scratched.

Ted Noffey validated a 1 1/2-length debut graduation sprinting six furlongs under Velazquez on August 2 here. 

Ned Toffey said to make no mistake about it, Ted Noffey showed he is a serious talent.

“My first goal was just let him be faster than me and he's definitely accomplished that. He's really a nice horse,” said Toffey. “That was really impressive today. I thought that was a really good bunch of horses and he left no doubt. That was really impressive."

Pletcher indicated a possible next start for Ted Noffey could come around two turns in the 1 1/16-mile Grade 1 Breeders' Futurity on October 4 at Keeneland.

"I would think Keeneland would be a likely spot,” Pletcher said. "He broke good, put himself in a great spot and it seemed like he was traveling well throughout. He finished up strong and galloped out great. It was everything you'd hope to see.”

Prat said the Hall of Famer Bob Baffert-trained Buetane, a Tiz the Law chestnut who shipped in from a winning debut at Del Mar, was game in defeat.

“I had a good trip. He ran his race and just got beat by better today,” Prat said.

“I thought I was in a good position outside in the clear and in a quiet spot, and then as the race picked it up, he made a run, just not as good as the winner.”

Bred in Kentucky by Aaron and Marie Jones, Ted Noffey is out of the dual graded stakes-placed Old Fashioned mare Streak of Luck. He was a $650,000 purchase at the 2024 Keeneland September Yearling Sale and banked $165,000 in victory while returning $9.62 for a $2 win bet. 

Live racing resumes Thursday, September 11 to open the Belmont at the Big A fall meet with an eight-race card. First post time is 1:10 p.m. Eastern. 

The 32-day meeting will feature 45 stakes worth $9.45 million and runs through Sunday, November 2. For the complete Belmont at the Big A stakes schedule, visit nyra.com/aqueduct/racing/stakes-schedule/.

America’s Day at the Races will present daily coverage and analysis of Belmont at the Big A on the networks of FOX Sports. For the complete broadcast schedule, visit nyra.com/aqueduct/racing/tv-schedule.

NYRA Bets is the official wagering platform of Belmont at the Big A, 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 NYRABets.com.