Commonwealth key to Nutella Fella's comeback
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LEXINGTON, Ky. – It’s been a long road for Nutella Fella since winning his first two starts, including the Grade 1 Hopeful Stakes, in 2023. The colt’s career has been interrupted by two long layoffs, limiting him to one start in 2024.
Now sound, Nutella Fella is steadily climbing the ladder in 2025. The Grade 3, $350,000 Commonwealth Stakes on Tuesday at Keeneland marks his return to graded stakes company and could serve as a bridge to bigger things.
“We’ve let him get there in increments,” said Gary Contessa, who trains Nutella Fella for Bella Gable Stable.
A strong effort in the Commonwealth could lead to a start in the Grade 1, $1 million Churchill Downs on the Kentucky Derby undercard.
Nutella Fella announced himself in the Hopeful at seven furlongs, the same distance as the Commonwealth. Ninth of 10 with three furlongs remaining, he worked his way through to surge by favored Timberlake – a next-out Grade 1 winner – for a $111 upset. But he was shelved by an incomplete fracture to his left hind ankle, which required surgery.
Nutella Fella returned nine months later and was a good third, beaten less than two lengths by Book’em Danno, in the Grade 1 Woody Stephens at Saratoga, also going seven furlongs. But bone bruising in the same ankle derailed him again.
“You just don’t know when a horse gets an issue. Is he going to come back the same horse?” Contessa said. “But so far, he’s come back the same horse, and he’s doing his thing.”
After getting this campaign started with a runner-up effort in an allowance/optional claiming race, Nutella Fella won the Pelican Stakes by a neck over Caramel Chip, a next-out winner also entered in the Commonwealth. Nutella Fella rallied from fifth in the stretch to win the Pelican.
“With his style of racing, he’s always going to give you a heart attack,” Contessa said. “He comes from behind, and with sprinters, they only have point A to point B. He makes a move to the outside, they shut off the hole, he ducks back in, and he wins. He certainly tests your heart, training a horse like him. He’s the coolest dude during the course of a race. If you try and get through a little hole, he’ll do it. He’s very push-button.”
One place where Nutella Fella is not push-button is in the starting gate. In the Commonwealth, the colt drew post 5, in the middle of the field of 12, under Luis Saez, who picks up the mount from injured Junior Alvarado.
“His Achilles’ heel is the time he spends inside the starting gate,” Contessa said. “He does not like being inside. It’s my opinion that horses like him are somewhat claustrophobic.”
Contessa brought Nutella Fella in early enough to get a good feel for Keeneland – he blew out three furlongs Wednesday – and to get in plenty of gate and paddock schooling.
There should be plenty of pace for Nutella Fella to run at, with or without morning-line favorite Montalcino. Trainer Cherie DeVaux said Montalcino would not run if the track is still wet.
“Galloped him one time on a sealed track – he pinned his ears back and would not go,” DeVaux explained.
Rail-drawn Best Actor, making his first start in 11 months and first for a new barn, set the pace in decent efforts in longer graded stakes last year. Other potential pace factors are Epic Ride, stakes-placed at Keeneland last year and coming off a front-running win at Turfway, his favorite track, and Prince of Power, who set the pace in the Dust Commander at Turfway before finishing third.
Hoist the Gold, Extra Anejo, and Whatchatalkinabout prefer to run on or just off the pace, ensuring the tempo will be honest. Hoist the Gold’s biggest wins came in the Grade 2 Phoenix at the 2023 Keeneland fall meet and the Grade 2 Cigar Mile – crucially, on a muddy track. Whatchatalkinabout is a New York-bred stakes winner on a sloppy track.
Here Mi Song was a late-running winner of the 2023 Commonwealth.
– additional reporting by Marcus Hersh
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