Blusiewicz back in spotlight with pair of stakes runners

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Trainer Leon Blusiewicz turned 86 last month. Blusiewicz acknowledges that he’s not as strong as he used to be despite swimming and riding a stationary bicycle every day, but he’s still as ambitious.

“I’m prehistoric,” Blusiewicz said. “I’d never thought I’d last this long. I’ve had a good life, had a lot of fun, met a lot of nice people. The game’s been good to me.”

Blusiewicz has trained horses on and off for more than four decades, including Grade 1 winners Snow Plow and Willa On the Move. He currently has a two-horse stable, and both horses – Spartiatis and Admiral Blue – will be competing in stakes races at Aqueduct this weekend.

Spartiatis drew post 1 in an eight-horse field entered for Saturday’s Grade 3, $200,000 Tom Fool Handicap. Blusiewicz plans to run Admiral Blue in Sunday’s $125,000 Stymie Stakes.

“I’m hoping to get a piece of both of them,” Blusiewicz said.

From a speed-figure standpoint, both horses are coming off career-best efforts. Spartiatis, a 7-year-old gelding by Scat Daddy, won a second-level/optional $62,500 claiming race by a length on Jan. 21 in his 30th start. He ran six furlongs in 1:10.67 and earned a 99 Beyer Speed Figure.

Last year, Spartiatis finished sixth in the Tom Fool after winning a first-level allowance race over the inner track. Blusiewicz then ran him on the turf twice with no success. Spartiatis won again when put back on the dirt at Saratoga last July 28.

“You got to take a nice hold of him, and he likes to finish,” Blusiewicz said. “I always thought he’d be a better horse on the grass. Apparently not.”

Spartiatis benefits if there is a fast pace in front of him, and he should get that with Green Gratto, Chief Lion, and The Great War in the Tom Fool field. The others entered are Sassicaia, All Star Red, King Kranz, and Sir Rockport.

On Sunday, Admiral Blue will be coming off a Beyer of 96 earned for running second as a 46-1 shot behind Diversify, who improved his record to 4 for 4 and will be one of Admiral Blue’s rivals in the Stymie. That allowance race came 16 days after Admiral Blue won a maiden race on Dec. 29 in his eighth start.

“That’s why I gave him a lot of time,” Blusiewicz said of Admiral Blue, a 4-year-old son of Admiral Alex.

“He’s been working very good,” he said. “This horse is doing some kind of good.”

With both of his horses competing in stakes, the trainer is doing some kind of good, too.