Sea Foam Will Try To Rebound In Friday’s Alex M. Robb Stakes

Ten Strike Racing, Four Corners Racing Stable, Broadview Stables, and Cory Moelis Racing's Sea Foam will vie for his second stakes win this year in Friday's $100,000 Alex M. Robb, a nine-furlong test for New York-breds 3-years-old and up, at Aqueduct Racetrack.

A 6-year-old son of Medaglia d'Oro, Sea Foam provided conditioner Michelle Giangiulio with her first win as a trainer when he took down the Evan Shipman at Saratoga Race Course first off the claim on Aug. 11. Leading at every point of call, Sea Foam was a dominant five-length winner in a final time of 1:50.91 for the nine furlongs.

Eighth in the Grade 3 Greenwood Cup in his next outing, Sea Foam once again set the pace in the 1½ -mile race, but lost position approaching the turn and faded to the back of the field.

“It was kind of an unfortunate race,” said Giangiulio. “We had a perfect lead and then [eventual winner Magic Michael] moved really early so we had to push him a little sooner than we needed to going a mile and a half. He didn't have enough in the tank going down the stretch and I kind of put a line through that race for him.”

Sea Foam rebounded from the Greenwood Cup with a third-place finish in the Empire Classic at Belmont last time out on Oct. 30, pushed by Mr. Buff to set a hot pace for the nine furlongs before eventual Grade 1 Cigar Mile winner Americanrevolution overtook the lead and bounded away to an open-length victory.

Sea Foam was nosed out of place-honors by longshot Wild Banker, who he will face again in the Alex M. Robb. Giangiulio said she was proud of the dark bay's determination to hit the board.

“They went 45 seconds for the half-mile and he was rocking and rolling on the lead there,” Giangiulio said. “I was surprised he even held on for third. I thought he ran a monster race that day getting pushed on the lead and then kept going. I think he ran harder in that race than in the Evan Shipman. I couldn't have asked for a better run out of him.”

A win with Sea Foam would provide Giangiulio with her fourth victory at Aqueduct this year, her current Big A record standing at 6-3-0-2. In his final prep for the Alex M. Robb, Sea Foam worked five-eighths in 1:02.45 over the dirt training track at Belmont on Friday, showing Giangiulio that he is eager to get back to the races.

“He's doing great and he's ready to run,” Giangiulio said. “He needs to get a run in him at this point. He's very fresh. He's been working five furlongs, nice and easy, nothing crazy. We just let him do his thing. He loves his job and tries his heart out when he runs. He's such a cool horse. He'll be tough to beat on Friday.”

Kendrick Carmouche will pilot Sea Foam from post 4.

Trainer Rudy Rodriguez will have two chances to secure his second Alex M. Robb victory when he sends out stakes winner Tiergan and veteran runner Danny California.

Tiergan enters the Alex M. Robb hoping to continue improving off a career-best 95 Beyer Speed Figure earned last time out when he steps back up to stakes company for the third time this year.

Co-owned by Rodriguez with Michael Imperio and Andrew Gurdon, Tiergan was last seen finishing third in a one-turn mile optional claimer on November 28 at the Big A. The grey gelding was game in defeat, finishing three-quarter lengths behind the winner and losing place honors by just a head with jockey Raul Mena up.

“He ran a very good race and Raul rode him well,” said Rodriguez. “Raul had to be aggressive with him but we are very pleased with the way he ran. It's why we are taking a chance here in this race.”

Rodriguez said the stretch out in distance will benefit Tiergan, who boasts a record of 4-2-1-0 at nine furlongs.

“The competition is coming up pretty tough, but I think he deserves a chance, especially at a mile and an eighth,” Rodriguez said. “I think that's what he wants to do. He wants a steady pace and I think he's going to be competitive.”

Tiergan's best win to date is an off-the-turf score in the nine-furlong Ashely T. Cole at Belmont in September, battling down to the wire with Three Jokers to win by a head as the biggest price in the field of three. Rodriguez said despite the short field, Tiergan gave a convincing performance.

“It was an encouraging race,” said Rodriguez. “We are always looking for good spots to run as main track only because we don't have many grass horses, so we got lucky and it worked well for us.”

Tiergan has been a consistent member of Rodriguez's barn, finishing off the board just once in his nine starts since he was claimed for $16,000 from Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott in January.

“He's a solid horse. He's a little aggressive but he's a beautiful, strong, nice looking horse. If you're not careful, he'll bite you with no regard,” Rodriguez said with a laugh.

Tiergan posted a bullet five-furlong work over Belmont's dirt training track on December 20, breezing in 1:01.80 with Mena up.

“He's been training very well since we claimed him and we're happy to have him around,” Rodriguez said. “Raul has been riding him in the mornings and I think he's a good rider. He's hungry and he tries. He doesn't get many opportunities, but I like the way he's been riding.”

Mena gets the call again from the outermost post 9.

Rodriguez will also send out stakes winning gelding Danny California in search of his second win of the year.

A 6-year-old son of Afleet Alex, Danny California enters the Alex M. Robb as the most seasoned runner in the field of nine with 43 lifetime starts and eight wins. Danny California has a pair of stakes placings and one win from 12 starts this year, his best stakes effort coming in the Commentator when he ran second to runaway winner Bankit in the one-mile test at Belmont in May.

The chestnut gelding was initially trained by Tom Morley for his first 12 starts, dabbling in the claiming ranks before being transferred to the barn of Jorge Abreu for owners West Point Thoroughbreds and Chris Larsen. Claimed by Orlando Noda just five starts later, Danny California began his journey to stakes competition, steadily making progress through allowance conditions for Noda.

With three wins and four on-the-board efforts at the allowance level, Noda decided to give Danny California his first try at stakes company, contesting the Miner's Mark at Belmont last year. With Manny Franco up, Danny California went wire-to-wire to earn his lone stakes victory by 1 3/4 lengths over graded stakes winner You're To Blame.

After off-the-board finishes in the Grade 2 Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance at Keeneland and in last year's running of the Alex M. Robb, Danny California moved back to allowance company and was claimed by Rodriguez for $40,000 out of a fourth-place effort in an optional claimer on April 16.

Now owned by Michael Dubb and Karen Murphy, Danny California has earned one win for his connections, scoring an optional claimer at Saratoga on August 7 with a stalking trip under Luis Saez.

Third next time out in the Evan Shipman at Saratoga behind Sea Foam, Danny California was most recently seen finishing seventh in the same optional claimer as Tiergan on November 28.

“I was considering a non-winners of two allowance but I let the owners decide where to go with him,” Rodriguez said. “I think he'll run well in the stakes. His best distance is a mile and an eighth and they don't have that many races at that distance for older horses. So, I think this is a good race for him.”

Danny California will break from post 2 with Jose Ortiz aboard.

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Eddie F's Racing's Chowda will attempt to close out his 4-year-old campaign with his first victory since taking the Gander at Aqueduct last year for trainer Gary Sciacca.

The New York-bred son of Emcee finished fourth behind his full-brother, Lobsta, in the Thunder Rumble division of the New York Stallion Stakes Series last time out on December 5, going seven furlongs for the first time since his 2-year-old season.

Ridden by Eric Cancel in the Thunder Rumble, Chowda was held in third after breaking sixth and tracked behind Lobsta through an opening quarter-mile in 23.10 seconds. Racing two paths from the rail down the backstretch, Chowda briefly caught up to Lobsta rounding the turn and kept to the inside before backtracking and staying on well to finish fourth.

Chowda breezed a half-mile in 49.52 over Belmont Park's dirt training track on Friday in his last drill for the Alex M. Robb. The dark bay gelding's best performance this year came in the Genesee Valley Breeders' at Finger Lakes Racetrack where he was beaten just a half-length going 1 1/16 miles.

Cancel will ride again from post 7.

Completing a salty Alex M. Robb field are three-time winner Kaz's Beach [post 1, Trevor McCarthy], Grade 2 Remsen winner Brooklyn Strong [post 3, Abner Adorno], Say Florida Sandy winner Our Last Buck [post 5, Manny Franco], Empire Classic runner-up Wild Banker [post 6, Dylan Davis], and multiple stakes winner Captain Bombastic [post 8, Jose Lezcano].

The Alex M. Robb is named for the Executive Secretary of Thoroughbred Racing in 1946 who served as the General Manager of Belmont Park in 1946 and the Director of the Thoroughbred Breeders Service Bureau in 1962. Slated as Race 7 on Friday's eight race card, post time for the Alex M. Robb will be at 3:36 p.m. Eastern with first post set for 12:50 p.m.

America's Day at the Races will present daily coverage and analysis of the winter meet at Aqueduct Racetrack on the networks of FOX Sports. For the complete broadcast schedule, visit https://www.nyra.com/aqueduct/racing/tv-schedule.

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Clement Saddles City Man, Therapist In Friday’s Ashley T. Cole At Belmont

Trainer Christophe Clement will saddle City Man and Therapist – the one-two finishers last out in the West Point presented by Trustco Bank – in Friday's $125,000 Ashley T. Cole at Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y.

Clement has won the nine-furlong inner turf test for New York-bred 3-year-olds and up on two occasions, with Lubash scoring in 2012 and 2014.

Reeves Thoroughbred Racing, Peter Searles, and Patty Searles' City Man, a 4-year-old graded-stakes placed son of Mucho Macho Man, posted a game nose victory in the 1 1/16-mile West Point over the inner turf as part of New York Showcase Day on August 28 at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, N.Y.

City Man, bred by Moonstar Farm, made the lead at the stretch call under returning rider Joel Rosario and outdueled Therapist for the narrow win.

City Man, who sprinted to victory in the 2019 Funny Cide at 6 1/2-furlongs on the Saratoga main track, also secured stakes success in the 1 1/16-mile Gio Ponti in November on the turf at Aqueduct Racetrack in Ozone Park, N.Y.

Clement said the West Point will set the versatile City Man up for a return to dirt in the $300,000 Empire Classic, a nine-furlong test for state-breds on October 30.

“He's a good horse. I'm going to run him here and then get him ready for the Empire Classic back on dirt,” Clement said. “He's always trained like a good horse.”

Oak Bluff Stables' Therapist, a 6-year-old graded-stakes placed son of Freud, boasts a record of 26-9-3-6 with purse earnings of $707,865.

Clement said he's concerned about Therapist's ability to handle the distance and the prospect of inclement weather on Friday.

“There a question mark on the mile and an eighth, especially on soft turf. He's more suited for a mile and a sixteenth, he's that kind of horse,” said Clement, who co-bred Therapist with Oak Bluff Stable. “He is doing very well at the moment. I thought he ran very well last time out. I'm a little concerned about the weather, but there's not much I can do about that.”

The popular chestnut has thrived on the Belmont turf with five wins from 12 starts, including stakes scores in each of the last four years in the 2017 Awad, 2018 NYSSS Spectacular Bid, 2019 Elusive Quality, and last year's First Defence.

“He's been a fun horse to have in the barn the past few years,” Clement said. “He's a lovely horse and I'm lucky to train him.”

City Man will exit post 2 under Rosario, while Therapist will emerge from the inside post under Irad Ortiz, Jr.

Edward Messina and William Butler's Sanctuary City, a 4-year-old Temple City bay, rallied from last-of-7 to complete the trifecta in the West Point.

Trained by James Ferraro, Sanctuary City enjoyed a three-race win streak beginning with a half-length score in a state-bred turf allowance in November at Aqueduct and followed with a state-bred optional claiming score on the Big A turf in April sprinting six furlongs in his seasonal debut. He completed the set with a last-to-first rush to win an open one-mile optional-claiming event on the Belmont turf in May.

Sanctuary City entered the West Point from off-the-board finishes in the Grade 3 Poker [4th] in June at Belmont and the Grade 3 Forbidden Apple [8th] in July at the Spa.

Kendrick Carmouche has the call from the outermost post.

Rounding out the field are Graded On a Curve [post 3, Javier Castellano], who was fourth last out in the West Point for trainer Chad Brown; and maiden winner Lord Flintshire [post 4, Jose Ortiz] for conditioner Jorge Abreu.

Three Jokers and Tiergan are entered for the main-track only.

Slated as Race 3, the event pays tribute to the late Ashley T. Cole, who served as chairman of the New York State Racing Commission and played a critical role in the formation of the New York Racing Association.

Also featured in Race 8 on the nine-race card is the $150,000 Joseph A. Gimma at seven furlongs on the main track for state-bred juvenile fillies. First post is 1 p.m. Eastern.

America's Day at the Races will present daily coverage and analysis of the fall meet at Belmont Park on the networks of FOX Sports. For the complete broadcast schedule, visit https://www.nyra.com/belmont/racing/tv-schedule.

NYRA Bets is the official wagering platform of Belmont Park, 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 www.NYRABets.com.

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