Tag: gary contessa

Nutella Fella Another Stakes Upsetter For Contessa In Hopeful

Trainer Gary Contessa, who sprang a 21-1 upset in the opening-day GIII Schuylerville S., brought the curtain down on the 2023 Saratoga season with another shocker when 54-1 outsider Nutella Fella (Runhappy) ran down the field late to take the GI Hopeful S. Monday in upstate New York. Fractious behind the gate and away slowly, Nutella Fella was well back in last as a four-way speed battle developed up front. After tacking onto the rest of the field approaching the three-eighths pole, Nutella Fella was committed to an inside run into the stretch before swinging out in search of running room. Favored 'TDN Rising Star' Timberlake (Into Mischief), who had raced keenly up on the heels of the pacesetters through fractions of :22.19 and :44.89, and was mired in traffic down the lane, was finally muscling his way to the lead inside the final furlong, but Nutella Fella was making eye-catching progress on the far outside to edge past the favorite late while racing on his incorrect lead. 'TDN Rising Star' Pirate (Omaha Beach) covered ground and ran on bravely for third.

“We kind of figured he was going to break slow from the gate because he's a moron in the gate, and I just was hoping there'd be plenty of speed, which there was,” Contessa said. “When they said :22 flat, I was thinking, 'This is great.' Then Junior [Alvarado] went from the inside to the outside and I thought he rode him masterfully. He saved ground when he could and then ultimately went outside and got the money.”

Nutella Fella, owned by Nick and Delora Beaver's Bell Gable Stable, was a first-out winner going 5 1/2 furlongs at Delaware July 26 for the couple's trainer Richard Sillaman. Contessa had been serving as the Bell Gable private trainer since 2021, but gave up day-to-day operations earlier this year and now serves as the operation's general manager. Bell Gable was the leading owner at Delaware Park in 2022 and 2023.

Despite his 2 1/4-length victory, it was not all smooth sailing for Nutella Fella in his debut.

“That [his gate issues today] was a minor incident today compared to what he did at Delaware, so it's a work in progress, but it's a big improvement over the last time,” Contessa said. “When I looked at the field I said, 'This is a salty field, but if you look at his workouts, they've been phenomenal.' So, it's kind of like [Schuylerville winner] Becky's Joker. He had the workouts and the question was, is he good enough? Sure enough, he is.”

As for next targets for Nutella Fella, Contessa said, “[Oct. 7 GI] Champagne to [Nov. 3] Breeders' Cup, unless he throws us a curve. He's going to stay up here the next six weeks with me and we'll be racing in the Champagne from here. I think [he'll get two turns]. It looked like it today.”

The Hopeful lost a potential headliner when 'TDN Rising Star' Muth (Good Magic), the 5-2 morning-line favorite, was scratched by trainer Bob Baffert Monday morning.

The $2-million OBS March topper romped by 8 3/4 lengths in his June 18 debut at Santa Anita and was coming off a runner-up effort behind stablemate Prince of Monaco (Speightstown) in the Aug. 13 GIII Best Pal S.

“I was coming back a little quick and I looked at that field and it's pretty salty,” Baffert told Daily Racing Form's Dave Grening, adding the colt will be re-routed to the Oct. 7 GI American Pharoah S. at Santa Anita.

Pedigree Notes:

Nutella Fella is the fourth graded winner for champion sprinter Runhappy, who had been the title sponsor of the Hopeful for the last four years. He is the eighth Grade I winner for broodmare sire Candy Ride (Arg).

Krissy's Candy, a half-sister to graded-placed Meal Penalty (Tale of the Cat) and Danny Boy (Harlan's Holiday), has a yearling colt by War of Will–who is catalogued as hip 2588 at next week's Keeneland September sale–and a weanling colt by Yaupon. She was bred back to Uncle Mo.

The mare was bred by the Lyster family's Ashview Farm and Colts Neck Stables and was purchased by Mike Ryan on behalf of e Five Racing for $210,000 at the 2015 Keeneland September sale. She made two starts in the e Five colors before being claimed by Stephen Lyster for $50,000 at Churchill in the fall of 2017. She made one start for Lyster and was bred to Street Sense in 2019. Nutella Fella is her second foal.

Ashview purchased Nutella Fella's second dam, 2003 GII Adirondack S. runner-up Unbridled Beauty, for $135,000 at the 2011 Keeneland November sale. The winner's third dam, Dreamscape, produced Sophia's Song (Bellamy Road), the dam of Saturday's GI Jockey Club Gold Cup winner Bright Future (Curlin).

Monday, Saratoga
HOPEFUL S.-GI, $300,000, Saratoga, 9-4, 2yo, 7f, 1:24.41, ft.
1–NUTELLA FELLA, 120, c, 2, by Runhappy
                1st Dam: Krissy's Candy, by Candy Ride (Arg)
                2nd Dam: Unbridled Beauty, by Unbridled's Song
                3rd Dam: Dreamscape, by Mt. Livermore
1ST BLACK TYPE WIN, 1ST GRADED STAKES WIN, 1ST GRADE
I WIN. ($12,000 Ylg '22 KEESEP). O-Bell Gable Stable LLC;
B-Ashview Farm (KY); T-Gary C. Contessa; J-Junior Alvarado.
$165,000. Lifetime Record: 2-2-0-0, $187,800.
Werk Nick Rating: B.
Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
Click for the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Timberlake, 120, c, 2, Into Mischief–Pin Up (Ire), by Lookin At
Lucky. 1ST BLACK TYPE, 1ST GRADED BLACK TYPE,
1ST G1 BLACK TYPE. 'TDN Rising Star'. ($350,000 Ylg '22
KEESEP). O-Siena Farm LLC and WinStar Farm LLC; B-St. Elias
Stables, LLC (KY); T-Brad H. Cox. $60,000.
3–Pirate, 120, c, 2, Omaha Beach–Treasure, by Medaglia d'Oro.
1ST BLACK TYPE, 1ST GRADED BLACK TYPE, 1ST G1 BLACK
TYPE. 'TDN Rising Star'. ($350,000 Ylg '22 KEESEP). O-Harrell
Ventures, LLC and Starlight Racing; B-Peter E. Blum
Thoroughbreds, LLC (KY); T-Todd A. Pletcher. $36,000.
Margins: 1HF, NK, 2HF. Odds: 54.50, 2.15, 10.10.
Also Ran: Be You, Mission Beach, Gold Sweep, Just Steel, Baytown Chatterbox, Valentine Candy, Yo Yo Candy. Scratched: Muth.
Click for the Equibase.com chart and the TJCIS.com PPs. VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV.

 

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Becky’s Joker Continues to Defy Odds with Unconventional Spa Schedule

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y.–Trainer Gary Contessa believes in Becky's Joker (Practical Joke) and is not going to waver from his against-the-grain approach with the massive 2-year-old filly.

On the opening day of the Saratoga season, July 13, Contessa had her make her career debut in the GIII Schuylerville. She won for fun by 3 1/4 lengths at 21-1. According to Equibase, she is just the fifth horse since 1991 to start its career with a graded-stakes victory.

After she worked four furlongs in :48.40 seconds on July 26, Contessa said she was a probable starter in the GIII Adirondack S. on Sunday. Following her :48.77 half-mile work on Tuesday, Contessa said Wednesday he definitely would enter her in the Adirondack rather than wait for the GI Spinaway S. on Sept. 3.

The last time a Schuylerville winner ran back in the Adirondack was in 1999 when Magicalmysterycat (Storm Cat) ended up fourth in the second leg of Saratoga's juvenile fillies series.

Contessa is a veteran horseman who is not bound by current norms.

“I'm kind of old school. I race a horse if they're ready to run,” he said. “I don't say, 'Oh my, God, I ran a 2-year-old. I have to give it six weeks to the next.' Nah. I'm old-school.”

Contessa touted Becky's Joker to everyone before the Schuylerville and was not surprised when she won. He said after the race that he and owner Lee Pokoik would look to the Spinaway for her next start.

“I didn't want to run her three times at the meet. But if you really do the math, this is 23 days to this race. Not bad,” Contessa said. “And she's training great and she's a happy horse. Then it's 28 days to the Spinaway. It's not like we're not getting

some time in between.”

Contessa said that if she runs well in the Adirondack, she will go on to the seven-furlong Spinaway. The last Schuylerville winner to run in all three races was Turnback the Alarm (Darn That Alarm) trained by Red Terrill in 1991. She was third in the Adirondack and second in the Spinaway.

The last horse to complete the rare sweep was Over All (Mr. Prospector) in 1989.

Contessa bought Becky's Joker, already an above-average sized filly, as a weanling at Keeneland November 2021 for $130,000. She didn't reach her reserve when offered as a yearling or as a 2-year-old. Contessa had her shipped to his stable at Saratoga in early May and began getting her ready to run in Pokoik's colors. Her size, once considered a negative, has turned out to be an asset. Contessa said she stands about 16.3 hands and estimates that she weighs 1,250 pounds. He figures she will be 17 hands.

When he purchased her, Contessa acknowledged that he wondered whether she would be able to get to the races because big, young horses are prone to injuries.

“But you never know how precocious a horse might be,” he said. “She has defied the odds. There's an exception to every rule. Sometimes there's many exceptions to every rule and this filly is the exception to every rule.

“I'm sure, there are a lot of people that looked at her at the 2-year-old sales and said, 'I like her a lot, but she's too big.' And to me, she was never really too big. I always liked her.

Contessa said the Becky's Joker has made a believer out of some doubters.

“The day that I bought her as a weaning at six months and sent her to Taylor Made, Frank Taylor picked up the phone and said, “As a yearling, Frank called me and said 'Gary, she's kind of big.' Then as a 2-year-old in training, he said, 'Gary, she's kind of big.' Then, after she won the stake, he called me and he said, 'I guess she's not too big.'”

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Forte Works Towards Jim Dandy; Becky’s Joker To Spinaway

Reigning Champion 2-Year-Old colt Forte (Violence) logged his first breeze of the summer at Saratoga Race Course when covering a half-mile in :48.90 seconds over the Oklahoma dirt training track Friday with regular jockey Irad Ortiz, Jr. up for Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher.

The colt worked in company with graded stakes-winner Grand Sonata (Medaglia d'Oro) in preparation for the GII Jim Dandy July 29 at the Spa.

“He jumped on the bridle a little early, so I kind of took a little hold away from the horse,” said Ortiz, Jr. “I allowed him to see the company and go after him. He did.”

Pletcher said he was pleased with the work, which he moved to the training track after heavy rains overnight led to the main track being sealed this morning.

“We fortunately had the option of coming over here on a harrowed track,” said Pletcher. “I thought he worked well. He's a pretty straightforward horse and he does what you ask him to do. I thought he was moving really well and he seemed happy. He usually sits a little off [his workmate] to keep him focused.”

Ortiz, Jr., who regularly works the colt, said Forte was as professional as usual.

“We went 48 and change. On this kind of track, it is really good,” Ortiz, Jr. said. “He is doing good. He looked good, he looked happy, so let's see what happens. The way he does things [excites me]. He knows where the wire is. He loves to win. You can see in the Belmont Stakes, I kept trying with him and he kept coming. He's a fighter.”

“He's obviously a very fit horse and he just ran a mile and a half, so we don't feel like we have to do a lot with him leading up to this race,” continued Pletcher. “We'll probably come back with another maintenance work next week.”

“I think you can see he's a little more laid back. He's an intelligent colt and takes everything in stride, and you can see he's matured that way,” said Pletcher. “Obviously it was a frustrating spring and he ran terrific in the Belmont considering what he was up against. To me, he's a deserving divisional leader, but like everyone else, he's got to continue to win to hold that spot.”

Pletcher also provided an update on 2-year-old filly Wine On Tap (Tapit), who finished an even fourth in Thursday's GIII Schuylerville S. as the post-time favorite.

“She looks good. She was just kind of one-paced down the lane and I thought she recovered and galloped out really well,” said Pletcher. “She is a filly that we've always thought would be better going longer. It was just a little disappointing that she didn't finish up a little better than she did yesterday, but she came back well and looked good this morning.”

Speaking of the Schuylerville, trainer Gary Contessa was still watching replays on Friday morning of Lee Pokoik's Becky's Joker (Practical Joke), who launched what appears to be a promising career with a debut victory in the opening-day feature.

The sizable bay stands 16.3 hands high and, “towers over everybody” in the barn according to Contessa, who confirmed the filly for the seven-furlong GI Spinaway S. September 3 at the Spa.

“She came back sound and they tell me she looked great this morning,” said Contessa, who was catching a flight to Nashville to watch his son's baseball tournament. “She honestly can only get better. She's got a lot more left in the tank, so we're looking forward to seeing what she can come up with next. As big as she is, and as big as her stride is, she's going to get better as the distances stretch out. I think seven-eighths is going to hit her right between the eyeballs in the Spinaway.”

Contessa commented on the soundness and the good mind of his newly minted graded stakes winner.

“Knock on wood, she's been very, very sound and very healthy. Everything has gone our way so far, so we're keeping our fingers crossed that it continues,” Contessa said. “She's trained as well as any horse I've ever had as a 2-year-old. No matter what you ask her to do, she's push button and picks it up to another gear. Her mind is so good. She had it figured out and she's really a smart filly.”

One can expect Contessa, who has 10 stalls on Saratoga's Oklahoma backstretch, to unleash more promising young talent throughout the meet.

“All these babies are ready to run, so we're going to have a real presence,” Contessa said. “This was a great win to start with and we have even more pretty nice horses awaiting their turn.”

 

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Smiles Abound on Saratoga’s Opening Day

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Smiles, hugs and handshakes–especially the smiles–were the currency Thursday for opening day, the annual lovefest at Saratoga Race Course.

While the New York Racing Association (NYRA) served up 10 races on the first of the 40 days of the 155th season at the Spa, the crowd of 29,102 celebrated the past, greeting old friends, as well as the present at the historic track. With a line of thunderstorms approaching from the west on a hot, humid and windy afternoon, NYRA sped up post times and was able to complete the program before the heavy rain arrived.

In a perfectly Saratoga performance at the track that was dubbed the “Graveyard of Favorites” 90 years ago, the first-time starter Becky's Joker (Practical Joke) won the 105th running of the GIII Schuylerville Stakes at 21-1. The big bay filly won by 3 1/4 lengths under Hall of Famer Javier Castellano.

Gary Contessa had trained a public stable on the NYRA circuit for decades, but was absent–except for a single start in 2021–from Saratoga for three seasons because of COVID-19 in 2020 and while working as a private trainer in Delaware. His small stable has been based at Saratoga since May and Becky's Joker delivered him his first victory of 2023. It was a memorable comeback for Contessa, who has been training since 1985. Contessa said he told owner Lee Pokoik that Becky's Joker would definitely win a maiden special weight race and probably would win the stake, and Pokoik opted for the Schuylerville with its $175,000 purse and black type.

Larry Sigler, who operates as Winning Move Stable, smiled and nodded when it was pointed out that for the moment he was the leading owner at Saratoga when his Linda Rice-trained Bustin Bay (Bustin Stones) won the first race of the day under Jose Ortiz.

“I actually never concepted that thought,” Sigler said. “You revel in the win. They're rare up here. They're incredibly special and so you don't really reflect on it, on anything. You just enjoy that moment, especially to be able to share it with my wife and my grandson. That's what makes the moment more special.”

Sigler has raced as Winning Move since 2005, has been part of many partnerships and knows his way to the winner's circle at America's oldest race track.

“There's nothing like Saratoga,” he said. “I'm not the first one to tell you that. I'm echoing what hundreds of people have told you. There's just something special here. If we invite friends of ours to spend a weekend with us, when that weekend's over, they get it. They understand what a great racing experience is. It's the heritage, the tradition. The best trainers. The best jockeys. The best racing. That combination makes everything so special.”

First race of the meet | Sarah Andrew

Apprentice jockey Jason Huayas was no stranger to Saratoga when he rode Honey Money (Central Banker) in the first race. Huayas, 30, said he worked as a groom for Ralph Nicks at Saratoga in 2015 and later was an exercise rider for Robert Ribaudo. He started his apprenticeship in 2022, is based at Monmouth Park and had a pair of mounts on Thursday.

“I never imagined to ride here,” he said.

Huayas was thankful for the mounts, both of which finished off the board.

“It's the best place to be,” he said. “You get to ride with the top dogs in the world. And hopefully I can learn from that and get more opportunities.”

New track announcer Frank Mirahmadi said he first visited Saratoga in 1997 when he was the announcer at the Great Barrington Fair, part of the Massachusetts fair circuit. He called a total of five days at Saratoga as a fill-in during the past three summers. As the horses left the for the first race he led the crowd through what has become a Saratoga tradition: “….and they're off at Saratoga.”

“It's been an incredible adrenaline rush,” he said. “Thankfully, I'm still rolling. It's been a long day. I was here early this morning talking to a lot of news stations and just sharing the passion that everyone has for Saratoga Race Course.”

Trainer Chad Brown, who is bidding for his third-straight Saratoga title, has a perfect understanding of what the start of the Saratoga season is all about. He grew up in Mechanicville, about 17 miles from the front gate of the track.

“On opening day we were in the picnic area every year,” he said, “so I really fell in love with horse racing and that's why I chose this career path.”

Brown noted that opening days at Keeneland and Del Mar are fun, too, but that Saratoga is distinctive.

“It's very special. It's very unique,” he said. “I think the vast picnic area here makes this track and the history associated with the track makes it in a group of its own. I've said before, one of the most special things about this meet and about Saratoga, really, for the fans is not only getting up close with some of the greatest horsemen and jockeys in the world, is using this facility as a meeting place for friends and family where you have your annual checkup on each other. Your annual time spent together. That's what's most important about Saratoga, I can tell you that having grown up in the community.

“If there is anything that may have changed over the years with racing schedules, some added features, like the 1863 Club, the one thing that's never changed is that this is a meeting place. In the picnic area in particular, people have their same trees, their same spots, their same routine of where they stay and that is the most special thing about it.”

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