Cutback stands to benefit Noonzio
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Split divisions of a first-level New York-bred allowance for males top Sunday’s eight-race card at Aqueduct.
The pair of seven-furlong sprints are carded as races 6 and 7, with the latter seemingly the stronger of the two divisions.
Noonzio, a debut winner going seven furlongs at Saratoga in July, is cutting back to that distance in race 7 after making his last four starts at either a mile or 1 1/8 miles. Trainer Michelle Giangiulio said the cutback should play to Noonzio’s favor, as it should allow him to come from off the pace. Giangiulio felt the horse had been too close in his most recent races.
“When he is close to the pace, he doesn’t finish as well,” Giangiulio said. “I’m excited about the cutback. We’re trying to teach the horse to close. We’ve put him behind horses in the mornings and he’s done really well taking dirt.”
Giangiulio said that following his win at Saratoga, Noonzio became too aggressive in his training. Two starts back, she put blinkers on the horse and it seemed to help settle him down.
“He tends to pay attention to everything around him and not the rider,” Giangiulio said. “The cutback to seven-eighths will hopefully set up well. There will be some more speed, he’ll settle off the pace, take some dirt, and make a big run like he did first time.”
There does appear to be ample speed in this field, with Clancy Fancy and Humstinger both coming off maiden wins and expected to vie for the lead.
Clancy Fancy, trained by Chris Englehart, came off a three-month layoff to win a seven-furlong maiden race on the front end Nov. 2. He earned a career-best 80 Beyer Speed Figure for the effort.
After getting beaten by a head in a $30,000 maiden-claiming race, Humstinger won a Dec. 29 maiden special weight, albeit in the slop, on the front end for Melanie Giddings.
Prince of Truth returns from a nine-month layoff for trainer Linda Rice, who is adding blinkers to the gelding’s equipment. Tomacon, trained by David Duggan, is getting blinkers after finishing 7 1/4 lengths behind Noonzio when both were beaten by Rock the Weekend on Dec. 28.
In race 6, Trust Fund returns from a 15-month layoff for Todd Pletcher in a very winnable spot. The 4-year-old son of Practical Joke was a debut victor at Saratoga in August 2023 and has run in nothing but stakes since, with the last two coming at Finger Lakes in the fall of 2023.
Trust Fund is a new gelding and gets Lasix for the first time. He hardly meets any killers in this spot.
Iron Man Ira, a last-out winner for Rick Dutrow, had a best of 165 half-mile work of 47.20 seconds last weekend.
Sir Palace Prince, after losing his first 14 starts (finishing second seven times), has won his last two in lower-level open races at Parx.
Willintoriskitall finished second in a $25,000 claiming race on Dec. 14 and has a second, third, and fourth in his last New York tries in the statebred first-level allowance condition.
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