Calling Card steals the show with maiden romp; plenty of options ahead

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – While New York-bred juvenile fillies Shoot It True and With the Angels were impressive winning stakes at Aqueduct over the weekend, it was the maiden New York-bred colt Calling Card who may have given the “wow” performance of the young fall meet with a 17 1/4-length score in a one-mile maiden race in Sunday’s last race.

Calling Card, a son of Complexity, was making his first start on dirt after losses sprinting and routing on turf. Sunday, under Joel Rosario, Calling Card broke inward, was bumped and turned sideways by a horse to his inside. When Rosario gathered him up, Calling Card was eighth of nine one furlong into the race.

From the 4 1/2-furlong pole to the three-eighths pole, Calling Card went from next-to-last to first without much prompting. He continued to widen his advantage through the stretch despite being geared down by Rosario, who had a hard time pulling him up on the gallop-out past the wire.

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Calling Card, owned by Three Diamonds Farm and trained by Mike Maker, covered the mile in 1:36.36 and earned an 87 Beyer Speed Figure.

Kirk Wycoff, the head of Three Diamonds Farm, said Maker typically likes to start his horses off on the grass, believing it’s less taxing, but there was always a feeling this horse could be successful on the dirt.

“I told my wife before he ran [Sunday] he’s either going to be very disappointing or very impressive, I didn’t think there was a middle,” Wycoff said Monday. “Anytime any horse wins any race by that margin, if you say you’re not surprised you’re not being honest.”

There figure to be options aplenty for Calling Card, including New York-bred stakes such as the Gander, a one-mile race, likely to be run in February. There is also the $150,000 Jerome, an open one-turn mile stakes likely to be run on Jan. 4 that offers qualifying points to the Kentucky Derby.

Wycoff was part-owner of Independence Hall who, after winning the 2020 Nashua Stakes by 12 1/4 lengths, came back to win the Jerome by four.

Wycoff said he wouldn’t totally rule out running Calling Card back in the Grade 2 Remsen, though that race, on Dec. 7, is run at 1 1/8 miles and is only 20 days from Sunday’s maiden score.

“Mike will probably tell me that’s too soon back, though it didn’t look like he had a real tough race, though he ran fast,” Wycoff said. “My guess is Mike will look at the Jerome.”

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