Teddy’s Rocket looks to bounce back in Listed Saranac
C. Steven Duncker, St. Elias Stable, Susan Karches and Vicarage Stable’s Teddy’s Rocket will vie for a breakthrough performance in Friday’s Listed $150,000 Saranac, a 1 1/16-mile Mellon turf route for sophomores which have not won a stake, on Friday’s Opening Day card at Saratoga Race Course.
The Saranac is slated as Race 10 on Friday’s 11-race card to kick off the 46-day meet at Saratoga Race Course, and is part of a program that also includes the Listed $200,000 Schuylerville in Race 9 and the restricted Listed $150,000 Wild Applause in Race 8. First post is 1:10 p.m. Eastern.
Trained by Miguel Clement, Teddy’s Rocket stretches out to 1 1/16 miles after going one mile in each of his other three starts, and enters from a troubled fourth-place finish when making his seasonal bow in the Woodhaven on April 25 at Belmont at the Big A. There, he stumbled at the start, trailed in last-of-5, and was empty when asked for his best.
“It was soft turf, so draw a line through it,” Clement said of the firm-labeled course that received rain. “He never traveled as well as he should have and his works were a lot better than that. I’m convinced that you’ll see a different version of him as long as it runs true to form. That was not a reflection of his true ability.”
The son of Liam’s Map flashed his talents as a juvenile, graduating on debut by a half-length over next-out winner and subsequent stakes-placed Noble Dynasty in August at the Spa. He followed with a game fourth when stepping up to Grade 1 company in September in Woodbine Racetrack’s Summer, enduring a bumpy beginning and an eight-wide run into the lane to rally from eighth-of-10 and land just 1 1/2 lengths back of the victorious Argos.
“He was a bit unlucky there and with a little more racing luck, I think he would have been right there,” Clement said.
Teddy’s Rocket was entered in the Grade 3 Penn Mile on May 29, but scratched and has worked over the Belmont Park training track twice since, including a five-furlong breeze in 1:01.21 on Thursday with returning rider Manny Franco up.
“He’s doing very well,” Clement said. “He was not able to run in the Penn Mile due to a foot issue, but he’s over it and has had two very good works since then. We’ve always thought highly of him and it’s time to get back to it. He’s got a great turn-of-foot and tactical speed, and I’m very high on him.”
Bred in Kentucky by Stoneriggs Farm, Teddy’s Rocket was a $120,000 purchase at the 2024 Keeneland September Yearling Sale and is out of the stakes-placed Quality Road mare Autonomous. His second dam, Circumspect, is a half-sister to Grade 1-winner Monba.
Franco has the call from post 4.
Peter Brant’s Kentucky homebred Arizona Territory [post 11, Flavien Prat] is 2-for-3 lifetime with each start coming at 1 1/16 miles for five-time Eclipse Award-winning trainer Chad Brown.
The son of Tapit enters off a pair of off-the-pace victories by 3 1/4 lengths, most recently taking a first-level optional claimer on May 9 at Belmont at the Big A. The win came on the back of a similar score to graduate at second asking in a March maiden tilt at Tampa Bay Downs. He improved his Beyer Speed Figure from a 79 in his maiden win to an 80 in his last start.
Arizona Territory found the winner’s circle last out under a well-timed ride from dual Eclipse Award-winning rider Flavien Prat, who sat patiently atop the colt in fifth-of-6 through the first three-quarters before angling him seven-wide into upper stretch to take a narrow lead and draw off strongly to victory in a final time of 1:43.93.
Arizona Territory has worked five times over the Belmont Park training track since his May victory, including a half-mile breeze in 49.44 seconds on Friday.
The gray colt is out of the graded stakes-winning Medaglia d’Oro mare Cafe Americano, making him a half-brother to Lavender Disaster, a stakes-placed filly for these same connections. His second dam is Roxy Gap, Canada’s Champion Female Sprinter and Older Female in 2012.
LNJ Foxwoods’ French homebred Siyouincanada [post 1, Jose Ortiz] enters off an impressive debut graduation facing elders on May 25 at Churchill Downs, setting a pressured pace under Jaime Torres in the 1 1/16-mile turf route and kicking clear at the top of the stretch to reach the wire 2 1/2-lengths in front.
Trained by Joe Sharp, the son of Siyouni utilized his rail position from post 1-of-11 to set splits of 22.61 seconds, 47.74 and 1:12.73 over the firm footing under pressure from Your Wildest Dream. Siyouincanada found another gear at the top of the lane to separate from the field and complete the course in a final time of 1:41.71. The effort earned an 85 Beyer.
“He’s an improving horse and we really have a lot of confidence,” Sharp said. “He was scheduled to breeze [Saturday] but we got washed out at Churchill, so we’ll put a light breeze in him Sunday and ship on Monday. We’ve got Jose Ortiz lined up to ride him and there’s obviously a lot of confidence with him. He’s an exciting horse to have in the barn and he’s making the right steps forward.”
And while the colt’s win came in pacesetting fashion, Sharp said he believes Siyouincanada can adapt to a variety of scenarios in the afternoons.
“He’s been ultra-consistent in the morning, and first-time out to duplicate it in a race like he did really impressed us,” Sharp said. “His biggest advantage is that he’s a push-button horse. He isn’t a need-the-lead kind of horse, he was just able to get out there and seemed effortless about it. He’s a horse that has been pliable in the mornings and comfortable wherever you ask him to be. I think as he continues to take steps up the ladder, that will be advantageous.”
Siyouincanada is out of the winning LNJ Foxwoods homebred Kitten’s Joy mare Polished, a half-sister to their multiple graded stakes-placed filly Dogtag. His second dam, the stakes-placed Diamond Necklace, is a half-sister to multiple Group 1-winner and 2004 Cartier Champion 2-Year-Old Colt Shamardal, who went on to become an influential sire in Ireland and Australia.
Sharp said there was one particular sign early on that hinted the well-bred colt had talent.
“His ability to always have another gear – he was kind of inconspicuous as far as his engagement, but the more you’d ask him to quicken, he just gives another gear and continues to accelerate on the gallop-out,” he said.
LNJ Foxwoods will also be represented by multiple stakes-placed Zeppelin [post 10, Jose Lezcano, blinkers ON], who enters off a third in the Listed Audubon on May 30 at Churchill for trainer Rusty Arnold.
A Kentucky homebred son of Munnings, Zeppelin graduated with a deep-closing trip on debut in November going this distance at Churchill and cut back to one mile to land third in a pair of Listed stakes at Gulfstream in the Dania Beach in January and the Colonel Liam in February. He was then an even eighth in the Grade 3 Transylvania in April at Keeneland ahead of his off-the-pace effort in the nine-furlong Audubon.
Zeppelin is closely related to Siyouincanada, with his dam, the stakes-placed Tapit mare Hemmerle, being a half-sister to Polished.
Gary Barber and Peter Deutsch’s Blinging It Back [post 9, Edgard Zayas] gets class relief after a pair of off-the-board graded efforts in the Grade 1 American Turf on May 2 at Churchill [fifth] and the Grade 3 Pennine Ridge last out on June 4 here [seventh].
Trained by dual Hall of Famer Mark Casse, the gelded son of Volatile earned a graded placing over the Spa main track as a juvenile when second to Obliteration in last year’s Grade 3 Sanford as a maiden. He went on to graduate at fifth asking in his turf debut sprinting 6 1/2 furlongs in September at Kentucky Downs.
Blinging It Back, who began his campaign with a neck third in the 7 1/2-furlong Cutler Bay in March at Gulfstream Park, was an $80,000 purchase at the Keeneland September Yearling Sale purchase. He is a half-brother to multiple stakes-winner Ima Discreet Lady [51-15-11-9, $700,670], out of the multiple stakes-placed Too Much Bling mare Ima Three Blinger.
Completing the field are Grade 2-placed maiden Heeere’s Johnny [post 2, Dylan Davis] for trainer Ray Handal; multiple stakes-placed My Favorite Bird [post 6, Tyler Gaffalione] for trainer Kent Sweezey; allowance-level winners A Little At First [post 12, Javier Castellano] for trainer Horacio De Paz and the Michael Trombetta-trained Go Grey [post 3, Paco Lopez]; and maiden-winners Print [post 8, Ricardo Santana, Jr.] for conditioner Bobby Ribaudo, Glavine [post 7, John Velazquez] for trainer Tom Morley and Tiz Trouble [post 5, Junior Alvarado] for trainer Lisa Lewis.
Gulfy has been entered for the main track only.
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