Green Gratto to wait for Tom Fool Handicap in March

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Though Green Gratto is giving his connections signs that he will be ready to run again sooner rather than later, trainer Gaston Grant said Friday that he likely will wait to run the Grade 3 Toboggan winner until the Grade 3, $200,000 Tom Fool Handicap at Aqueduct on March 11.

That means Green Gratto will skip the Grade 3, $300,000 General George at Laurel on Feb. 18. Last year, Green Gratto ran in the General George just two weeks after getting beat three-quarters of a length in the Toboggan. Grant called the General George “a disaster” for his horse as the race was run under extremely cold conditions.

“Plus, it’s seven-eighths,” Grant said. “I don’t want to stress him too much. We’ll probably wait and bide our time.”

Grant’s main objective with Green Gratto is the Grade 1 Carter at Aqueduct on April 8. While the Carter is also at seven-eighths, it is run on the main track, over which Green Gratto has had success. In 2015, Green Gratto was beaten 1 1/2 lengths when second to Dads Caps in the Carter.

Green Gratto has not returned to the track, said Grant, who usually gives the New Jersey-bred horse a week off between starts. Still, Grant could tell that Green Gratto is his typical self.

“He’s trying to bite everybody that passes him,” Grant said.

Green Gratto ran six furlongs in 1:10.74 and earned a 100 Beyer Speed Figure in winning the Toboggan.

Meanwhile, trainer David Jacobson said Friday that third-place Toboggan finisher Stallwalkin’ Dude went back to the track and appears to have come out of the race in good shape. He is planning to send Stallwalkin’ Dude to California for the Palos Verdes on Feb. 4.