Green Gratto, Dads Caps meet again in Toboggan
RACE REPLAY IS NOT AVAILABLE
OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Green Gratto was 53-1 when he nearly stole the Grade 1 Carter Handicap last April, only to be run down by Dads Caps at 5-1. The prices on both horses will be considerably less when the two meet again in Monday’s Grade 3, $150,000 Toboggan Stakes on a special Martin Luther King Jr. holiday program at Aqueduct.
Based on his recent form, Green Gratto could be favored over Dads Caps, who is making his first start since June. Green Gratto enters the Toboggan, at six furlongs, off victories in the Grade 3 Fall Highweight on Thanksgiving and the Gravesend on Dec. 26. He earned a career-best 107 Beyer Speed Figure in the Gravesend.
“If he runs back to that race, I think they’re going to have to answer to him,” said Gaston Grant, the trainer and part-owner of Green Gratto. “I like what I’ve seen in the morning from him. I wouldn’t jeopardize it if I saw any signs of him slowing down.”
Green Gratto will break from post 2 under Kendrick Carmouche and the co-highweight of 123 pounds.
Dads Caps, who also will carry 123 pounds, has only won twice in the last two years, with both wins coming in the Carter. He has been off since June 5, when he finished third, four lengths behind Rock Fall, in the Grade 2 True North at Belmont. He has breezed nine times since Nov. 6, including a bullet five-furlong move in 1:00.07 on Jan. 9.
“I think he’s ready,” trainer Rudy Rodriguez said Saturday. “He’s been pretty steady. We just have to hope we’re ready for Green Gratto. He’s a pretty tough horse right now. He loves the inner track. I don’t think our best track is the inner track.”
Alex the Terror, third in the Gravesend, had won his previous two starts and could be a pace factor after drawing the rail. Sir Rockport, Heaven’s Runway, and Sam Sparkle complete the field.
The Toboggan goes as race 3.
KEY CONTENDERS
Green Gratto (Last 3 Beyers: 107-101-101)
* New Jersey-bred 6-year-old is in career form, with two stakes wins and a nose loss in an allowance race in his last three starts. This will be his fifth race in 80 days.
“He just looks like he thrives on racing at this point,” Grant said. “Until he shows us signs of fatigue or slowing down, we’ll probably just keep on going with him.”
* Two years ago on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Green Gratto won a maiden $50,000 claiming race over the inner track.
Dads Caps (Last 3 Beyers: 99-102-100)
* Makes his first start in 227 days and had a chip removed from a knee in the interim.
* Drew nicely in post 6 and could work out a nice stalking trip under Jose Ortiz.
“We got a good post to see what everybody’s going to do,” Rodriguez said. “Green Gratto is going to go, that’s his weapon. [Alex the Terror] wants to be on the lead, too. Hopefully, they can hook up, and we can sit behind them maybe in third.”
DRF FORMULATOR FACT: Over the last three years, Rodriguez is 11 for 41 with a $1.21 ROI with horses returning from a layoff of 180 days or more. He is 1 for 1 in graded stakes during that time, with Sage Valley winning the Grade 3 Maryland Sprint off a 190-day layoff.