Hullabaloo Ray Ray leads group prepping for potential Remsen start
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ELMONT, N.Y. – The Nashua Stakes, a one-mile race for 2-year-olds, is no longer on the stakes calendar, so a first-level allowance race offered on Sunday’s Belmont Park card will have to serve as a potential prep for the Grade 2, $250,000 Remsen Stakes to be run here Dec. 5.
The allowance/optional $110,000 claiming race, scheduled for one mile, drew a field of five, including one filly. It is carded as the opener on an eight-race card that begins at 12:40 p.m.
Hullabaloo Ray Ray, trained by Tom Proctor, looms the one beat. A son of Jackie’s Warrior, Hullabaloo Ray Ray was beaten 2 1/4 lengths by Dargham on debut, while finishing seven lengths clear of the third-place finisher.
Meanwhile, Hullabaloo Ray Ray came back to win his second start by 4 1/4 lengths, taking advantage of an outside draw that enabled him to keep a clean face under Jose Lezcano. In his first start, Hullabaloo Ray Ray was in behind horses, had to take dirt, and didn’t do his best running until he got in the clear in the lane.
“His first start was a good race, he got schooled well,” Proctor said. “I thought his second race was very good. When he breezes, he breezes like a good horse. Every day, he does not train like a good horse. When you throw a cross, he sure does. I’m a little guarded about him for that reason, but his two races look eye-catching.”
When asked about Hullabaloo Ray Ray going out to a mile, Proctor said, “We’re going to see. Just when you think you know something, you’re at your dumbest.”
Its Saturday Night, a son of Mandaloun trained by Chad Summers, was beaten 10 lengths by the New York-bred Covered Option in a maiden auction race going 6 1/2 furlongs on Aug. 27 at Saratoga. Its Saturday Night came back Oct. 4 to win his maiden by 4 1/4 lengths over First to Engage, who came back to win his maiden three weeks later.
Summers said his horse wasn’t fully ready when he debuted at Saratoga.
“He wasn’t fit enough really, got a little tired at the end, was brave between horses,” Summers said. “Definitely saw improvement from start one to start two, now looking for improvement from start two to start three. We’ve won that maiden auction race with great success before, hopefully he can parlay two good results.”
Napoleon Solo, this year’s Preakness winner, won a maiden auction race last year before winning the Grade 1 Champagne.
Rhythm Riot won a maiden auction race here Oct. 14 on the front end when breaking from the rail, the same spot he breaks from again on Sunday. Edgard Zayas rides.
Johnny Hockey won his maiden at Monmouth in his fifth start. He finished fifth in both the Skidmore on turf and the Grade 1 Champagne on dirt.
Bandmaster, a 2-year-old filly by Enticed, comes out of a fifth-place finish in the Grade 1 Spinaway on Sept. 5 at Saratoga.
Time to Win returns in allowance
The retirements of Sovereignty, Knightsbridge, Magnitude, and Baeza leave a void in the older dirt male division. One horse who could potentially help fill that void races Sunday at Belmont in a second-level allowance scheduled for one mile on dirt.
Time to Win, trained by Chad Brown for Spendthrift Farm and William Lawrence, had put together back-to-back wins at Aqueduct and Gulfstream last winter before running a decent third behind Hit Show in the Grade 3 Mineshaft at Fair Grounds on Feb. 14.
During subsequent training, Time to Win got injured.
“I quite like him, it was disappointing he was injured,” Brown said. “It’s been a long road back, but he’s back training well.”
Both of his wins last winter came from just off the pace in one-mile races. He starts back going a mile, but Brown said he’s not sure if that’s the distance at which he will continue running.
Kinetic and Secured Landing finished one-two in this same condition Sept. 23. Kinetic, a six-time winner, is being offered for the $80,000 claiming price, while Secured Landing, 10 for 24, is in for the allowance condition.
Secured Landing is trained by Linda Rice, who also sends out Dreamlike, who returns from a narrow defeat on Aug. 10, a race in which a $100,000 claim put in for the 6-year-old gelding was voided.
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