Antonio of Venice ready to come off the bench for Thunder Rumble

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Antonio of Venice, a three-time stakes winner last winter and spring, is set to return from a seven-month layoff in Saturday’s $125,000 Thunder Rumble division of the New York Stallion Series.

Antonio of Venice, a 3-year-old son of Laoban, won the $500,000 Great White Way last December. After getting upset at 4-5 in the Rego Park Stakes in January, Antonio of Venice won the Damon Runyon by 9 1/4 lengths and then the Times Square division of the NYSS by 2 1/4 lengths in April.

Antonio of Venice was preparing for a start in the Mike Lee Stakes at Saratoga in June, but developed a bruised foot that forced him to the sidelines.

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He returned to the work tab in late August and has been breezing on a regular basis leading up to his return. Trainer Rudy Rodriguez had thought about running in a first-level allowance on Saturday that was won by Toxic Gray, who earned a 95 Beyer Speed Figure for that effort.

“It was hard to skip because it was only six horses, but thank God I did because that horse ran like a freak,” Rodriguez said.

Among the horses Antonio of Venice will be taking on in the Thunder Rumble are Light Man, winner of the Hudson Stakes, and Doc Sullivan, the Mike Lee Stakes winner, who is coming out of a sixth-place finish behind Seize the Grey in the Grade 1 Pennsylvania Derby.

Also on Saturday, is the $125,000 Staten Island division of the NYSS for fillies and mares, a field that includes stakes winners Sunday Girl and My Shea D Lady and the in-form Brown Suga Babe,

Rodriguez said, at the very least, the Thunder Rumble should set up Antonio of Venice for a good winter campaign at Aqueduct.

“We’ll run him steady. He should be able to be competitive in the winter,” Rodriguez said. “Hopefully we can do some damage there.”

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