The Big Torpedo takes aim at Cab Calloway Stakes
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SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Though The Big Torpedo dominated the Spectacular Bid division of the New York Stallion Stakes as the favorite going six furlongs on turf last month at Aqueduct, trainer Tom Morley believes the son of Big Brown truly wants to run farther.
Thursday, The Big Torpedo stretches out to a mile and looks likely again to be the public choice when he takes on six rivals in the $150,000 Cab Calloway division of the NYSS at Saratoga.
The Big Torpedo, a son of Big Brown, won his maiden by 10 lengths going one mile on dirt in January. It wasn’t until April when he first got on turf and nearly pulled a 21-1 upset in the one-mile Woodhaven Stakes, getting beat a half-length by Good Lord Lorrie.
Morley said he only cut The Big Torpedo back to six furlongs at Aqueduct because it was a restricted race with a good purse.
“He was just a superior horse that day going six furlongs. I’m looking forward to seeing him go two turns,” Morley said. “He fits very nicely. If he repeats his Woodhaven he should be right there. He’s gotten better and better as the year’s gone on and he’s been a real stalwart in the barn. He didn’t miss a beat all winter.”
Eric Cancel rides The Big Torpedo from post 5.
Fidelightcayut finished fourth in the Spectacular Bid, but trainer Juan C. Avila didn’t like the distance of that race or the trip the son of Leofric got that day. He has already proven effective going a middle distance, winning two turf routes at Tampa Bay Downs and finishing third, beaten a head, in the one-mile Jersey Derby at Monmouth Park on June 1.
“This is a better distance for us,” Avila said. “Last race, he had a problem in the beginning, but this race is better for my horse.”
It is noteworthy that in the Spectacular Bid, Fidelightcayut was running back two weeks after a hard, pace-pressing effort in the Jersey Derby where he was involved from start to finish.
Irad Ortiz Jr. rides Fidelightcayut from post 4.
Courtly Banker, trained by Barclay Tagg for Sackatoga Stable, is a maiden, but he has run well in all three of his starts. He finished second to The Big Torpedo in the Spectacular Bid and before that was third, beaten 1 1/4 lengths in a one-mile maiden race at Aqueduct that has produced three next-out winners.
“His mother was a sprinter and he gives you every indication he’s a sprinter but when he ran long we were pleasantly surprised that he went almost the whole mile,” said Robin Smullen, assistant to Tagg. “He got tired after [running in] a quick five-furlong race.”
Smullen noted that Courtly Banker is “a very quirky horse” and she hopes there are no issues prior to the start.
With Katie Davis serving out a riding suspension through Thursday from an infraction at the 2023 Saratoga meet, John Velazquez has picked up the mount on Courtly Banker.
Six Fortyfive, Solo Empire, Cable Ready, and B D Saints complete the field for the Cab Calloway, which goes as race 4 on Thursday’s card that begins at 1:10 p.m.
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