If you liked Chowda, you'll love Lobsta in Gander Stakes

As a restauranteur, Eddie Fazzone knows the importance of repeat customers. As a horse owner, Fazzone is hoping to pull off a rare repeat in Sunday’s $100,000 Gander Stakes at Aqueduct.

Last year, Fazzone won the Gander with Chowda, a 15-1 shot, in a six-horse field. Sunday, Fazzone will seek to win the Gander again with Lobsta, a full brother to Chowda, one of several contenders in a seven-horse field. Both Lobsta and Chowda are trained by Gary Sciacca.

“That’s pretty amazing,” Fazzone said Friday. “I can’t think of any full brothers or full sisters that ever won the same stakes the following year. The odds are stacked against you to get there.”

Fazzone is the owner of Eddie F’s, a seafood restaurant in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. Growing up in Schenectady, a few miles from Saratoga Race Course, Fazzone became a fan of horse racing, running around the trees in the backyard and seeking autographs and goggles from jockeys.

Fazzone spent several years in Florida before returning to Saratoga where he opened Eddie F’s in 2016. In 2018, Fazzone put together a small racing partnership – named Eddie F’s Racing – and claimed the horse Wicked Macho, who won a couple of races before getting hurt and being retired.

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Later in 2018, it was brought to Fazzone’s attention that there was a New York-bred by Emcee bred by John Jayko’s Fedwell Farm in Saratoga who was showing promise at a training center in Virginia. Fazzone bought the horse, whom he named Chowda. In his third career start, Chowda won a maiden race at odds of 13-1. Following a sixth-place finish in the $500,000 Great White Way division of the New York Stallion Series in December 2019, Chowda rebounded with an allowance win in January 2020 followed by his upset score in the Gander.

“For me, being a small owner and having a small partnership that I started, to win that race last year was a great feeling,” Fazzone said.

Last March, Chowda was scratched from the Damon Runyon Stakes after he was discovered to have a knee chip. After a subpar race against open company in his second start back from surgery last October, Chowda was given 90 days off. He was recently put back into training.

Prior to Chowda making his first start, which came at Saratoga in 2019, Fazzone bought the colt’s full brother from Jayko.

“Chowda hadn’t run yet. There was the chance that if I didn’t take this guy the price was going to go up or if Chowda ran well there would be a bunch of people running over there trying to get this guy,” Fazzone said. “I’m a little bit of a gambling type, so I took a shot.”

On Dec. 31, Lobsta finished fifth at Aqueduct in the slop in his debut before coming back to win his maiden by 5 3/4 lengths going a mile on Jan. 16.

Fazzone plans to be at Aqueduct on Sunday. He will then hustle back to Saratoga where on Wednesday he plans to reopen Eddie F’s after an annual winter shutdown. Fazzone said his restaurant did a healthy take-out business during the COVID pandemic. He does plan to open the restaurant for dine-in business beginning Wednesday.

“For people that want to come in and eat and feel comfortable, we’re doing everything we can so we’re going to let them come in and eat,” Fazzone said.

In 2017, Fazzone and his wife, Lisa, suffered a tragic loss when their son Eddie Jr. died due to an overdose of Fentanyl. They have held an annual fundraiser where proceeds have gone to the Healing Springs Recovery Community Center, an addiction and recovery support center in Saratoga. Last year, in spite of the pandemic, they raised $14,000, Fazzone said. This summer, they hope to raise more money and contribute to additional charities.