Harness: Tillio's Action looks to bring Grasso back into the NY spotlight

For years there has been talk about closing the stables at Yonkers Raceway and converting the property into a better use. As many trainers abandoned the property seeking alternatives some longtime loyalists have remained. John Grasso has been on the backstretch at Yonkers since 1974 and has operated a small stable. For years Grasso has tried to come up with a quality colt or filly to race on the New York Sire Stakes program, predominantly by breeding his own mares.

Grasso himself thought the end was near just a few years ago. "My mares were getting old and not producing," Grasso said on Monday (8/22). "I thought that was the end."

Grasso's homebreds had kept his family name alive in New York and put him on the map nationally back in the early 2000's, specifically with a homebred by the name of Approved Action.

"He was the fastest son of Sir Taurus," Grasso said. "He was the best horse I've ever had."

Approved Action earned $715K and finished second in the 2000 Yonkers Trot while capturing the New York Sire Stakes final during his sophomore season.

Dorothy Action, the dam of Approved Action, was also granddam to Affirmed Action (Conway Hall), a winner of 22 races and over $360K during his career.

Yetta's Angel, a full sister to Approved Action, produced three straight quality performers by Conway Hall, with Expressive Action finishing fourth behind Nuncio in the 2014 Yonkers Trot and accumulating lifetime earnings of $424K under Grasso's care.

The dream of coming up with another New York-bred trotter appeared to be over but Grasso found support from close family that didn't appear ready to let go.

"My kids and others in my family urged me to go to Harrisburg," Grasso said. Essentially it was the only way to go forward or otherwise close the business for good.

At Harrisburg last fall Grasso was able to find a pair of E L Titan's to his liking and credits his brother for pointing him in the direction of one colt.

"He just loved the pedigree on this one," Grasso said of the colt then named Curioso. "He liked that there was Garland Lobell on both sides. Maybe that's something others weren't interested in."

Curiouso was Hip number 302 and the first foal from a daughter of ABC Garland named Nothing But Nice.

"It was the mare's first foal," said Grasso. "I liked E L Titan because he was a fast son of Muscle Hill."

Grasso secured the colt for a high bid of $35,000. "I would have paid more for him if I had to."

Grasso also came away with a filly originally named Crimson Rose for $30,000 from the sale. She had a solid maternal line leading back to the New York Sire Stakes program. "Her dam is out of Miss Gibbons," said Grasso, recalling the New York Sire Stakes 3-year-old filly champion from 2003 trained and driven by Howard Gill.

Grasso would rechristen the yearling purchases, changing Curioso's name to Tillio's Action and rebranding Crimson Rose as Jean's Action in honor of past family members.

"My father's name was Atillio," said Grasso. "This is the first horse I've named after him since he passed away in 2005."

Tillio's Action could have an opportunity to fulfill a lifelong family dream if his early actions are an indicator of good things to come.

"When I took him to The Meadowlands to qualify [July 30] I told Dexter [Dunn] that I thought he was a nice horse, but I'd only trained him a mile in 2:07 at Yonkers and to take it easy with him," Grasso said.

Dunn kept Tillio's Action in the two-hole throughout the mile and finished second while never asking the colt to do much through a 1:57 4/5 performance, nearly 10 seconds better than the youngster had ever been before.

"The 2:07 mile at Yonkers was actually pretty good since you have to train in the middle of the track," said Grasso to put things in perspective.

Nevertheless, with the Sire Stakes season past its midpoint, time was of the essence to see not only how fast Tillio's Action could go, but whether he could measure up on the New York Sire Stakes circuit dominated by a host of Chapter Seven offspring.

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Two weeks later Tillio's Action made his long-awaited (for Grasso) debut in a $53,500 New York Sire Stakes division at Tioga Downs and made quite the impression. Racing from well off the pace against seasoned competition he rallied from fifth while first-over and scored by open lengths in a 1:56 3/5 mile. "I've never had a 2-year-old trotter win that fast," said Grasso, who will turn 70 next year. "It was something special."

Tillio's Action was unplaced on Tuesday night (8/23) when he started from post eight in one of two New York Sire Stakes divisions at Yonkers and took back at the outset.

"You have to start three times in the Sire Stakes to make the final," Grasso said, hoping that Tillio's Action can get enough starts and points to be eligible to the September 10 finals at Tioga Downs. He will likely need a win in the third leg on August 31 at Batavia (Race 6, Post 1) to find a way into the final.

The late start to the season for Tillio's Action was a result of a pair of quarter cracks along the way that needed time to heal. While Grasso has been the sole caretaker for both his 2-year-olds, when it came time to help Tillio's Action's feet to be repaired he called on the best farrier to work on the colt he could find. "I brought in Ian McKinlay, and he did a great job," said Grasso of the noted farrier.

Grasso has been a fixture at Yonkers Raceway since he first arrived there in 1974 and the very fact that he trained a pair of 2-year-olds over the half-mile track through the winter and onto the New York Sire Stakes is an accomplishment by itself.

"I broke them at home and then brought them to Yonkers in January," Grasso said. "You can't break a horse at Yonkers."

Unlike the more populated training centers of the south, Grasso had to rely on himself and just a few others around him to make decisions as to if or how to stake his horses for the coming year. In Florida, for example, trainers are surrounded by other would-be stakes horses and can assess what they have against potential competition. In Grasso's case it was mostly him sitting behind Tillio's Action and Jean's Action and comparing them against each other.

"I had Dennis Laterza sit behind Tillio's Action while I trained Jean's Action," said Grasso of a point over the winter. "After Dennis got off, he told me I should stake the colt because he thought he was pretty nice."

Grasso took the advice of his fellow trainer and nominated Tillio's Action for this year's Breeders Crown as well as Valley Victory Trot.

As for Jean's Action, who finished third in a New York Sire Stakes division at Vernon Downs on August 19 and again at Tioga on August 28, Grasso remains optimistic. "She's been improving a little bit with each start," Grasso said.