Matt King Coal ends long break in allowance route
OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Following an impressive 5 3/4-length maiden victory at Belmont Park last fall, it appeared as though Matt King Coal would develop into the major 3-year-old player on the New York circuit this winter.
But illness forced him to miss the Withers and Jerome stakes earlier this year. Trainer Linda Rice didn’t feel that running him off a four-month layoff in Saturday’s Grade 3 Gotham Stakes was the appropriate thing to do, so Matt King Coal makes his return to the races Sunday in a $67,000, first-level allowance race at Aqueduct.
Six horses were entered in the 1 1/16-mile race, including Mo Power, who was to scratch out of the Gotham, and My Man Sam, an impressive maiden winner here Jan. 31.
After Matt King Coal was forced to miss the Jerome in early January, Rice sent the horse to the farm for a month. He came back in the first week of February, and though he has three breezes of at least five furlongs, Rice said she hasn’t really cranked down on the colt.
“He’s a bit of a hard horse to read,” Rice said. “He was last year, and he still is this year. He’s breezed well. We’ve been pretty conservative on breezing him. We’ve been breezing him in hand. He has grown. He’s a big, leggy colt who covers a lot of ground.”
Jose Ortiz will ride Matt King Coal from post 5.
My Man Sam, a son of Trappe Shot, finished fifth in his debut sprinting on Dec. 19. Stretched out around two turns here Jan. 31, he made a long, sustained bid, rallying from 15 lengths back to win by eight. Trainer Chad Brown briefly considered running in the Gotham but opted to give his colt more experience before running in a stakes race.
“He’s only run twice,” Brown said. “In his first race, he was green, it was sprinting, and I don’t know how much he got out of that. In his second race, he obviously put it all together and was real impressive. His biggest reason for getting to the races late was mental issues. He’s always been a healthy horse, but mentally he was very unfocused.”
Mo Power, a son of Uncle Mo, won a one-mile maiden race by a length at Gulfstream Park on Jan. 30 after losing by a neck in his debut. Trainer Todd Pletcher also opted for the experience over the stakes for this colt’s first try against winners.
Pletcher also entered Inside Straight, a recent New York-bred allowance winner, and Brown also entered Street Heat, fourth in the Miracle Wood at Laurel two back.
Taoiseach, third in the Damon Runyon and Gander stakes, completes the field.