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Classy Veterans Pete’s Play Call, Stan The Man Get Rematch In Toboggan

Graded stakes action kicks off at Aqueduct Racetrack for 2021 with a field of five assembling for Saturday's 128th running of the Grade 3, $150,000 Toboggan for 4-year-olds and upward going seven furlongs over the main track.

Trained by Rudy Rodriguez for owner Michael Dubb, the 8-year-old Pete's Play Call was claimed for $62,500 out of a winning effort in an optional-claiming sprint on Nov. 27 at the Big A. He made first start for new connections a winning one when capturing the 6 1/2-furlong Gravesend last out on Jan. 2 at Aqueduct.

Pete's Play Call was hustled out of the gate in the Gravesend by Jorge A. Vargas, Jr. and sat to the outside of pacesetter Happy Farm. After establishing clear command approaching the quarter pole, Pete's Play Call held off a late charge from fellow Toboggan aspirant Stan the Man to win by 2 ½ lengths over the muddy and sealed track.

Pete's Play Call, who has gone 4-1-0 in his last six starts, worked five-eighths in 1:01.58 on January 22 on the Belmont Park dirt training track.

“In his last four or five races, it looks like he's improving a little,” said Rodriguez, who saddled Head Heart Hoof (2013) and Sassicaia (2016) to Toboggan scores. “He's been doing great. We're just trying to keep him happy and keep him fit. He really looks like he's been coming along well and I hope that he stays the way he's been doing. He worked very well the other day. He's full of himself right now.”

The seasoned son of Munnings boasts the most victories in the Toboggan field with a 46-14-9-6 lifetime record and earnings of $648,421.

Bred in Maryland by Mr. and Mrs. Charles McGinnes, Pete's Play Call is out of the 2019 Maryland Broodmare of the Year Taft Lil Queen, who also produced graded stakes winner Kiss to Remember. He comes from the same family as dual Grade 1-winner Spun Sugar.

Vargas, Jr. will return to the saddle from the inside post.

Long Lake Stable's Stan the Man will attempt to turn the tables on Pete's Play Call in search of a third stakes victory and first graded score for trainer John Terranova, who won the 2010 Toboggan with Wall Street Wonder.

The four-times graded stakes-placed Stan the Man arrives at Saturday's event with consistent form, having finished in the money in his last five starts, all of which were at stakes level.

Prior to finishing a late-closing second in the Gravesend, the 7-year-old Broken Vow chestnut was a close second to Toboggan-rival Share the Ride in the Grade 3 Fall Highweight on Nov. 27 at the Big A.

Stan the Man enjoyed a prosperous campaign in 2020, which included a triumph in the seven-furlong Tale of the Cat at Saratoga and three placings against graded stakes company. At the tail end of 2019, Stan the Man notched his first stakes victory when taking the Queens County at Aqueduct going nine furlongs.

“He's been a good horse and a fun horse for us, very consistent. Especially lately, since the summer,” Terranova said. “We're proud of him. He's happy and healthy and this looks like the right spot for him.”

Jockey Eric Cancel will be aboard from post 4.

Silvino Ramirez's Share the Ride vies for his second graded stakes victory for trainer Antonio Arriaga.

The dark bay or brown son of Candy Ride won the Grade 3 Fall Highweight at the Big A two starts back and arrives at the Toboggan off a close runner-up finish to Wendell Fong in the Fire Plug on Jan. 16 at Laurel Park.

Jockey Manny Franco will be aboard from post 3.

Misty Hollow Farm's 7-year-old Drafted will seek to get back to his winning form for trainer David Duggan. After a 2-year-old season with trainer Eoin Harty, the son of Field Commission raced for the barn of Middle East-based Doug Watson, for whom he won two Group 3 events at Meydan Racecourse in the winter of 2019. In his last effort, he finished third beaten 5 ¾ lengths in the Gravesend.

Jockey Dylan Davis rides from post 2.

Rounding out the field is American Power, who attempts a third consecutive victory after besting stakes winner Mihos and next out-winning stable mate Lil Commissioner in a Dec. 11 optional claiming tilt going seven furlongs.

Trained by Rob Atras and owned by Sanford J. Goldfarb and Irwin Goldfarb, the 6-year-old son of Power Broker won three races in a row during his 2019 campaign for trainer Linda Rice.

Big A winter meet leading rider Kendrick Carmouche has the mount from post 5.

The Toboggan is slated as Race 4 on Saturday's nine-race program, which has a first post of 12:20 p.m. Eastern.

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

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Pete’s Play Call Hits Paydirt In Gravesend After Recent Claim By Rudy Rodriguez

Michael Dubb's Pete's Play Call started his 8-year-old campaign the same way he concluded 2020, saving his best for the stretch in registering a victory in Saturday's 62nd running of the $100,000 Gravesend for 4-year-olds and up at Aqueduct Racetrack in Ozone Park, N.Y.

Pete's Play Call outkicked Stan the Man by 2 1/2 lengths to win his first start since being claimed for $62,500 out of a win on November 27 at the Big A. Now trained by Rudy Rodriguez, the gelded son of Munnings was forwardly placed in second position behind Happy Farm, who led the five-horse field through the opening quarter-mile in 23.09 seconds on the muddy and sealed main track.

Under jockey Jorge Vargas, Jr., Pete's Play Call overtook Happy Farm, with the half-clocked in 46.99, and held the advantage out of the turn, taking position near the center of the track. Stan the Man, the runner-up of the Grade 3 Fall Highweight Handicap last out on November 29 on the same track, made a late bid under rider Eric Cancel. But Pete's Play Call pressed to the wire, completing 6 ½ furlongs in a final time of 1:17.63.

“Rudy told me he was going to run big today and he did. All credit to him, he had him ready off the claim,” said Vargas, Jr., who won two races on the card. “I was pretty happy where I was and when I asked him, he took off. He's quick. I was just trying to keep him happy and where he was comfortable.”

Off at 4-1, Pete's Play Call [bred in Maryland by Mr. and Mrs. Charles McGinnes] returned $10.20 on a $2 win bet. He improved his career earnings to $648,421. It was his first stakes win since the Bonapaw in December 2019 at Fair Grounds.

“He was training very good. He's a hard-knocking horse,” Rodriguez said. “He's been doing very well since we claimed him. I thought we paid top dollar for him, but seeing him working in the morning, it looked like he was worth every penny.”

Stan the Man, owned by Long Lake Stable and trained by John Terranova, finished 3 ¼ lengths the best of Drafted for second. My Boy Tate, the 7-5 favorite, and Happy Farm completed the order of finish.

“He handled the track good,” Cancel said. “He's a good horse and goes with everything. He doesn't have any excuse. He just got beat by a horse that was ready to run and never gave up.

“I was comfortable with where I was and I made the move when I had to,” he added. “The horse reacted quick with it, but the horse that beat us never gave up.”

Live racing resumes Sunday at Aqueduct with a nine-race card headlined by the $100,000 La Verdad for New York-bred fillies and mares 4-year-olds and up in Race 8. First post is 12:20 p.m. Eastern.

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Terranova: ‘A Lot More Voices Have Been Heard’ Regarding Equine Safety

Just one live day – the New Year's Eve card at Aqueduct Racetrack – remains in 2020 to complete a remarkable year of racing action on the New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) circuit. The NYRA Press Office checked in with a selection of New York-based racing personalities to get their reflections on the memorable year.

John Terranova took out his trainer's license in 1992 and conditioned his first winner in April of the following year. A native and resident of Syosset, Terranova was introduced to racing by his father, who owned Thoroughbreds.

He got his big break in 2000 when becoming the trainer of Gatsas Thoroughbreds' Gander, who went on to be a multiple New York-bred champion and made over $2 million in lifetime earnings. Additionally, he has conditioned Grade 1 winners Negligee, Franny Freud, Laragh and Lilacs and Lace. Terranova's 2020 highlights include winning three stakes races with New York-bred Funny Guy and capturing Saratoga's Tale of the Cat with Stan the Man.

In terms of training horses, what was the most challenging part of this year given the COVID-19 pandemic?

Terranova: For a while, it was just dealing with the uncertainty of when racing would come back. In this game, as things go, we're only as good as our last group of horses that have run. We just had to keep going and waiting for the next meet to happen and hope we do well and keep moving forward. Also, there was uncertainty as far as the owners not knowing what to do with their horses; should we give them a break? Turn them out? Rest them? How long is it going to be? It was hard to train horses with no races, targets to point for or any races in mind. That was challenging – not knowing when or if racing was going to start back. Thankfully, looking back, it was only a short period of time, but it felt like an eternity. Two days felt like two weeks, two weeks is like two months in this game. A lot can happen in a short amount of time.

It was a lot of wanting everyone to stay healthy, too. That was really the most important thing. The uncertainty of whether or not your family, workers, or yourself would get sick and how bad it would be. Even now, it continues to be something that's on our minds. When it comes down to it, that's [staying healthy] the most important thing.

What was your favorite on-track moment this year?

Terranova: Funny Guy winning the Commentator [June 12 at Belmont Park]. We had just started back racing after being shut down because of the pandemic and he had been ready for quite a while. We didn't know where to go, what to do or what would be the right spot to get him back. We hoped for an allowance type race to start, but we knew we had a solid New York-bred that was a barn favorite. Everybody loves him. After all that time off, we were just trying to do right by him and make the right call for him and the owners. He was doing really well and he really exceeded our expectations that day. It's not like he was the favorite. He went off at double-digit [11-1] odds. We were beyond thrilled with the way he ran, and it was a nice way to kick off the resumption of racing in New York for us and our team.

What was the best ride on a horse of yours?

Terranova: Joel Rosario on Funny Guy in the Commentator was a hell of a ride. He had never breezed him, never rode him in a race or anything [prior]. He's obviously a world-class rider, so guys like him are able to adapt to all types of horses in all types of situations. He went in with a lot of confidence riding him that day. He had a bit of trouble in the race where he had to check a couple times. Rosario certainly gave a beautiful ride on him and I'm grateful he had the horse to do it with. That would certainly stick out. All around, it was the biggest thrill of this unprecedented season.

Who would you say has been your most improved horse?

Terranova: Stan the Man rebounded very well for us this year. He started off early in the winter with a couple of disappointing efforts and it had us scratching our heads. We knew he had done well at Aqueduct previously and he didn't give us any real indication of what was going on. The shutdown gave us even more time to get him back going. We changed some things up with him and it sort of did a turnaround from the way he started off. Certain horses needed the time, but obviously at the time, we didn't know. It changed things up for him. What was interesting with him was that generally, his time off was over the summer. He was a horse we used strong and hard through the winter and into the spring and the summer would be his downtime and he'd come back in the late fall. This year, with all that went on, we had to switch things up with him and we had to space his races out. He got to run at Saratoga and that was something different for him.

What was the best improvement at a NYRA track in 2020?

Terranova: The new track at Saratoga is right up there. I know they're remodeling and expanding the Oklahoma [training] track which is a necessity given how many horses train up there during the offseason and how many horses train on that one track during the meet. The barns also have been a big improvement, but that's gone on for several years.

I know there was much more focus and a whole lot more attention to the overall safety of the horses and that's always an important move forward. You can't get anywhere without trying. Obviously, there are steps being made in the right directions. The main track at Saratoga is one of them. Anywhere a horse steps needs to be maintained to the best it can possibly be on a regular basis. Whether it's the surface, the horse paths, anything. Obviously, weather plays a part in it. I know there are a lot of efforts made and they listen to people. A lot more voices have been heard.

As you look ahead to a 2021 campaign what are you looking most forward to?

Terranova: We're going to take and do the best with what we have, and we're hopeful that we have one or a few of them rise to that occasion where we can have some fun and compete to the graded stakes level. Maybe a horse or two can take us to a place we've never been. We're just grateful to be racing and that we have fantastic owners and great people that are supporting us. We're hoping we can do that best we can with each one of them and that good fortune comes our way.

The 2020-21 winter meet at Aqueduct returns to action on Thursday, December 31 and continues through Sunday, March 28.

For additional information, and the complete winter meet stakes schedule, please visit https://www.nyra.com/aqueduct/racing/stakes-schedule.

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Share The Ride Wins Fall Highweight Handicap After Quick Turnaround

A quick turnaround was no issue for Share the Ride, who outdueled Tribecca down the lane before kicking clear to a three-quarter length win in Sunday's Grade 3, $100,000 Fall Highweight Handicap going six furlongs at Aqueduct Racetrack in Ozone Park, N.Y.

Trained by Antonio Arriaga for owner Silvino Ramirez, the son of Candy Ride ran just 11 days ago, where he bested six others in a seven-furlong allowance at Parx by 7 ½ lengths, garnering a 101 Beyer Speed Figure.

Breaking from post 5 in the seven-horse field, jockey Jose Ortiz hustled Share the Ride through the first few strides out of the gate and secured his mount a path to the outside as Tribecca dictated terms on the front end through an opening quarter-mile in 23.03 seconds over the fast main track.

Around the far turn, Share the Ride inched his way closer to Tribecca under no urging from Ortiz, who looked over both shoulders as they approached the quarter-pole through a half in 46.14.

Ortiz gave Share the Ride his cue just outside the three-sixteenths pole, but a stubborn Tribecca did not retreat and dug in toward the rail as multiple stakes-winner Stan the Man and five-time winner Absentee made late bids in tandem to the outside.

Share the Ride edged clear of Tribecca just inside the eighth-pole to hit the wire a three-quarter length winner in a final time of 1:10.62.

Late closers Stan the Man and Absentee finished a respective second and third. Tribecca, Drafted, Arch Cat and Majestic Dunhill, who was compromised by an unfavorable beak, rounded out the order of finish.

Share the Ride has been a model of consistency through his 5-year-old campaign, winning 4-of-9 starts, including a triumph in the Mr. Prospector on September 12 at Monmouth Park. He also was third to Firenze Fire in the Grade 2 Vosburgh on September 26 at Belmont Park and was a game runner-up to Majestic Dunhill in the Grade 3 Bold Ruler on October 31 at Belmont.

Returning $5.20 as the favorite, while carrying 133 pounds as the co-highweight, Share the Ride upped his lifetime earnings to $369,860 and record to 20-8-3-4.

“Everybody had a little extra weight today, but my horse was very game,” Ortiz said. “It was a great training job. This horse was 100 percent ready. He broke well and sat second and relaxed. I asked him to go passing the three-eighths pole to engage Tribecca. I wanted to be close to him at the quarter-pole because he's hard to beat on the lead and he digs in. I was in good range to win the race and they battled down the lane; two good horses in a match race and then the other horses were coming too, at the end, but he dug in.”

Bred in Kentucky by Dixiana Farms, Share the Ride is the second progeny out of the multiple stakes-winning and Grade 1-placed Graeme Hall mare Belle of the Hall.

Live racing resumes Thursday at the Big A with a nine-race card. First post is 12:20 p.m. Eastern.

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