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Trombetta Inches Closer To Milestone With Win In Glen Cove

Trainer Michael Trombetta secured his 1,996th career win Friday when Aug Lutes rallied from tenth – nearly 10 lengths off the pace – to secure a 1 1/4-length score in the inaugural $100,000 Glen Cove, a seven-furlong Widener turf sprint for sophomore fillies at Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y.

Trombetta, a 54-year-old Maryland native, saddled his first winner in 1986 and rose to national prominence when his 2006 Illinois Derby winner Sweetnorthernsaint exited the Kentucky Derby starting gate as the mutuel favorite, finishing seventh.

In addition to his Grade 1 winners Next Question and Wet Your Whistle, Trombetta captured a memorable edition of the Grade 1 Forego with Win Win Win in August 2020, contested over a sloppy and sealed Saratoga main track under stormy conditions at the Saratoga Springs, N.Y., track.

With Hall of Famer Javier Castellano up, Win Win Win was last of 11 early on before making a remarkable nine-wide move at the top of the lane to swoop past five rivals and collar Complexity for a half-length win.

Trombetta was still in a state of disbelief following the race.

“I honestly don't know what to say; he dropped so far back and his chicklet and number actually went off the screen and I couldn't even see across the track,” Trombetta said at the time. “I thought he was absolutely out of the race and might not have had a chance to even finish. But then turning for home, he came back on the screen. It's just unbelievable.”

Trombetta, who oversees 70-100 horses across divisions at Fair Hill Training Center in Elkton, Md., Laurel Park in Laurel, Md., and Delaware Park in Wilmington, Del., said he's humbled to be approaching the 2,000 career win milestone.

“I've always enjoyed what I've done here,” Trombetta said. “It's went quickly and over the years it makes you appreciate all the effort that everyone puts into it to help get you to these points.”

Trombetta was quick to tip his cap to the backstretch staff that he works alongside each day.

“They're unbelievably dedicated individuals – and that's not just in my barn – that's in the other trainer's barns as well,” Trombetta said. “The lifestyle these employees live is truly all about the horses. It really means a lot.”

While the 19-1 score by Aug Lutes on Friday was no match in stature to Win Win Win's Grade 1 coup, Trombetta was just as appreciative of the rallying effort from the dark bay daughter of Midnight Lute in her turf debut which garnered a career-best 92 Beyer.

“She ran really nicely. We were hoping she could handle the turf and run well, but that was beyond what we could have hoped for,” Trombetta said.

A winner of 4-of-5 starts, Commonwealth New Era Racing's Aug Lutes made her first four starts on synthetic, including a runner-up effort in the seven-furlong Duchess at Woodbine Race Track in Toronto, Ontario on September 25.

Aug Lutes, with Jose Lezcano up, endured a troubled start in the Glen Cove which saw Caldee set swift splits of :22.53 and :44.50 over firm going. Aug Lutes was one of many chances at the top of the lane and the filly finished with aplomb to notch her first career stakes win.

“She got bumped leaving the gate and it may have been to her favor after the fact, but it sure didn't seem that way early on,” Trombetta said.

Trombetta said the $150,000 Autumn Days going six furlongs at Aqueduct Racetrack in Ozone Park, N.Y., on November 28 is one of a number of options going forward for Aug Lutes.

Live Oak Plantation's homebred Biz Biz Buzz also endured a troubled trip when third in last Sunday's Grade 3 Futurity, a six-furlong turf sprint for juveniles won by Slipstream.

“It was a peculiar situation. When I read the chart it said, 'hit by gate,'” Trombetta said. “I went back and watched and sure enough the left side of the gate opened but it didn't latch and it swung back and bounced off of him. I don't think it had anything to do with where he placed. It would probably have been more an impact for the jockey than the horse, but everything was fine.”

By Fed Biz and out of the Candy Ride mare Candy Striper, Biz Biz Buzz graduated at first asking on the Laurel Park turf ahead of his stakes debut.

While Slipstream and Futurity runner-up Run Curtis Run are likely to enter the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint, Trombetta said he has made no plans yet for Biz Biz Buzz.

“He's a talented guy. I'm not sure whether he's ready for the next big challenge like that but I'll watch him and see how he's doing and figure out a plan,” Trombetta said.

Trombetta will continue his quest for 2,000 career wins next week at Belmont when he sends out Arzak in Friday's inaugural running of the $100,000 Carle Place, a seven-furlong Widener turf sprint for sophomores.

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Slipstream Slips Through To Win Futurity, Earn BC Juvenile Turf Sprint Spot

Last early, Joel Rosario found room on the rail for Slipstream to slide past Run Curtis Run and win the Grade 3 Futurity Stakes at Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y. With this victory, Slipstream earns a spot in the starting gate for the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint Nov. 5 at Del Mar.

Breaking from post four, Rosario settled Slipstream at the back of the field of eight in the race's opening strides, as longshots Ready to March and Run Curtis Run lead down the backstretch. Entering the final turn, Slipstream was still toward the back of the pack on the rail as Run Curtis Run took over the lead going into the stretch.

Over the firm Belmont turf, Run Curtis Run was a length to the good as Slipstream squeezed by Midnight Worker, finding just enough room to get to the outside of the leader. Once clear, the 2-year-old son of More Than Ready accelerated and pulled clear of Run Curtis Run in the race's final yards. Biz Biz Buzz was third and Midnight Worker fourth.

The final time for the six furlongs was 1:08.36. Find this race's chart here.

Slipstream paid $6.60, $3.90, and $3.30. Run Curtis Run paid $13.00 and $7.80. Biz Biz Buzz paid $4.80.

The G3 Futurity is part of the Breeders' Cup Challenge Series. Winners of Challenge Series races receive a fees-paid, guaranteed spot in the starting gate for the corresponding event at the Breeders' Cup World Championships Nov. 5-6 at Del Mar Thoroughbred Club in Del Mar, Calif.

Bred in Kentucky by Burleson Farm and McKenzie Bloodstock, Slipstream is out of the Stormy Atlantic mare Cake Baby. Owned by Jump Sucker Stable and trained by Christophe Clement, the 2-year-old colt has two wins in four starts for career earnings of $147,600. He was consigned by Burleson Farms at the 2020 Keeneland September Yearling Sale and purchased by Northshore Bloodstock for $170,000.

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Run Curtis Run Leads All The Way To Win Rick Violette Stakes

Michael Dubb and Michael Caruso's Run Curtis Run edged the competition by a neck in his debut win earlier this month at Belmont Park. Stepping up to stakes company for his second start, the Summer Front colt had an easier go of it, breaking sharp from the inside post and leading gate-to-wire in a 3 3/4-length score in Wednesday's $100,000 Rick Violette for New York-bred 2-year-olds sprinting six furlongs on the Saratoga Race Course main track.

After defeating Rick Violette contender Surprise Boss in a five-furlong off-the-turf contest over a sloppy and sealed Belmont track on July 2, Run Curtis Run paced the four-horse field under jockey Jose Ortiz, leading Ready A.P. through an opening quarter-mile in 22.77 seconds and the half in 46.12 on a track labeled fast.

Ready A.P., a Christophe Clement-trained filly competing against males, challenged Run Curtis Run from the outside out of the turn, but Ortiz kept the pacesetter to task and opened up the lead when straightened for home, powering to the wire ahead of Ready A.P. in a final time of 1:12.48 to improve to 2-for-2.

Trained by Mike Maker and bred by Larry Goichman, Run Curtis Run, off at 3-1, paid $8 on a $2 win wager.

“He has some natural speed and with him drawing the inside post, it wasn't that hard to figure out in a small field,” said Maker, who said Run Curtis Run will likely target the $200,000 Funny Cide presented by Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital on August 27.

Ortiz, who was riding Run Curtis Run for the first time, said he was pleased with the trip.

“I broke quite well and he was fast out of there, so I didn't have to ask him for a lot,” Ortiz said. “He put me on the lead and I was very happy with that. I had the rail and I wanted the lead.

“He was going nice and relaxed in the first part of the race and when I asked him to go, he was there for me,” he added. “All credit goes to Mike, who had him ready and the guys at the barn.”

Ready A.P., owned by West Point Thoroughbreds and Jimmy Kahig, was also a first-out winner, posting an 8 1/4-length victory on July 1 at Belmont. Making her stakes bow, the More Than Ready filly bested Coinage by a neck for second. Surprise Boss ran fourth and Barese scratched.

“My filly was pretty tired in the end,” said Ready A.P. jockey Luis Saez. “The horse on the lead was pretty comfortable up there. I thought we were going to get him, but when I asked, she was tired.”

The seventh edition of the Rick Violette, previously run as the Rockville Centre, was renamed for the longtime NYRA-based trainer and former president of the New York Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association who passed away in October 2018. Violette served more than 25 years on the NYTHA board, including nine as president from 2008-17, and trained 2018 Grade 1 Whitney-winner and New York-bred Diversify.

“He was tough on me, but he just wanted me to get better,” Ortiz said on riding for Violette. “He wanted to ride me so he wanted to teach me the right way and how he liked it. I learned a lot of good things with him and I'm very happy to win this race. I'm sad he's not here.

“He was cranky sometimes, but it was always about looking out for the best for his guys and I respect that,” he added. “He was a great guy. He helped me a lot and he believed in me at a very young age.”

Violette gave Ortiz his first two Kentucky Derby mounts, with Samraat [fifth in 2014] and Upstart [18th in 2015].

“I walked in today with him on my mind and I wanted to win it,” Ortiz said. “I knew I had a shot. My horse ran very good first time out. It was great for me to win the race named after him, especially with his family here. I have a lot of good memories with him. I rode my first Kentucky Derby for him with Samraat and I rode my second Kentucky Derby for him on Upstart. He gave me great opportunities at a very young age. He believed in me. He knew I was up and coming and that meant a lot to me that he believed in me at that point in my career.”

Live racing at Saratoga resumes Thursday with a 10-race card and a 1:05 p.m. Eastern first post. The day's feature will be the Grade 1, $150,000 A.P. Smithwick in the opener, with the 2 1/16-mile steeplechase contest featuring a six-horse field.

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