Gold for the King cruises in NYSS Thunder Rumble

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Gold for the King came out of his last race with such a sore foot that he couldn’t even put it on the ground.

“I never had a horse that bruised his foot that bad before,” trainer Charlton Baker said.

On Wednesday, five weeks after his eighth-place finish in the Hudson Handicap at Belmont Park, Gold for the King showed that he was well over that problem as he glided effortlessly under Joel Rosario to a 7 1/2-length victory in the $125,000 Thunder Rumble division of the New York Stallion Series at Aqueduct. Sudden Surprise finished second by a length over Fleet Irish. Loki’s Vengeance, who had won this race the previous two years, finished fourth. Cloud Control, Nobody Move, and Becker’s Galaxy completed the order of finish.

The Thunder Rumble was rescheduled from Nov. 19 when that day’s card was canceled due to high winds.

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It was the fifth win from 12 starts for Gold for the King, a 3-year-old gelding by Posse owned by Francis Paolangeli. It was his fourth stakes win and kept him perfect from three starts over Aqueduct’s main track.

“He’s a good horse and he was doing good, so he’s supposed to beat those horses,” Baker said. “The only thing was the inside post.”

Gold for the King broke from the rail under Rosario and got off a little slow. After racing fifth early on, Rosario had Gold for the King move up along the rail and he joined the pace-setting Loki’s Vengeance at the half-mile pole. Rosario barely asked Gold for the King to run yet he easily dispatched of Loki’s Vengeance, the 7-5 favorite, turning for home. Rosario never hit Gold for the King as he cruised under the wire, covering seven furlongs in 1:26.12 over a dull main track. Gold for the King returned $7.30 as the second choice.

“I thought Joel did what he had to do,” Baker said. “He kind of broke in a tangle; he lost his footing when he broke and it set him back off the pace. He didn’t want to get trapped down inside, so he figured he’d let him move. He wanted to be laying third form the start.”

The Thunder Rumble was the fifth leg of the pick six, which began the day with an $88,282 carryover. There was $572,451 of new money wagered into the pool. With one favorite, four second choices, and one third choice prevailing in the sequence, the pick six returned $10,690.

Jose Ortiz won the first three legs of the sequence aboard Tizzelle ($3.30), Curiousncuriouser ($7) and Tisbury ($10.40). Alex the Terror ($7.50), Gold for the King ($7.30) and Cirque ($12.40) completed the winning sequence.