McClay eager to test Amplified’s distance aptitude

Tom McClay said he was horrified when he saw his 3-year-old colt Amplified in front through early fractions of 21.69 and 44.47 seconds in last Friday’s six-furlong Danzig Stakes for Pennsylvania-breds at Penn National. McClay said he wondered what jockey Angel Rodriguez was doing by setting such a fast pace with a horse who had rated in his career debut.

McClay said he was even more stunned when Amplified kept on going without faltering and finished six lengths in front of New York shipper Instructor Kunu while completing the distance in 1:09.35.

“When a horse goes 21-and-3 and 44-and-2, that’s going to take a lot out of him,” said McClay, an owner and breeder in Pennsylvania for 15 years. “You’re not supposed to finish in 1:09 and 1. I was as shocked as anybody by what Amplified did.”

To put Amplified’s performance into perspective, the preceding race on the card, a second-level optional $25,000 claimer going five furlongs and featuring older horses – where the early fractions were likely to be swifter – went in 22.09 and 45.23 seconds.

Amplified was awarded an 85 Beyer Speed Figure, nearly matching the 87 he earned for his career-debut victory.

Rodriguez was only riding Amplified because Tammi Piermarini, who had ridden the son of Smarty Jones when he defeated open-company maidens at Parx Racing on May 17, was committed to Love Rules, a Mike Gorham-trained colt whom she had ridden to a win and a near miss in two starts at Parx this spring, for the Danzig.

“We wanted Tammi to ride the horse. She’s very good at getting horses to relax,” McClay said. “And that’s how Tammi rode him in his first race. We didn’t expect to be on the lead in this race, but Angel said he came out of the gate and took him right to the front.”

McClay said Amplified didn’t make it to the races as a 2-year-old because of shin problems.

“We knew he was going to be pretty good,” McClay said. “But he had a bad case of shins. We scraped him and then pinfired him, so we just decided to lay him off and allow him to get better. There’s nothing wrong with him now.”

McClay, who bred the mare Queens Point to Smarty Jones, said the next test will be to find out whether Amplified can go long. The plan is to look for a first-level allowance route at Parx within three to four weeks. The next suitable race in the condition book is a $43,000 allowance for 3-year-olds and up going a mile and 70 yards on July 5.

“At this point, I’m optimistic but realistic,” McClay said. “We’ll try a route to see what kind of horse we have. We need to see if he can go long. On the dam’s side, distance is a little questionable. With Smarty Jones as his sire, he should be able to get at least eight furlongs, maybe nine. Maybe he will be even better going long than he is sprinting. We’ll see.”

McClay has owned several very good horses, including Beau’s Surprise, who won seven stakes, including the 2001 Danzig, and earned $325,849 in his 38-race career, and Norman Asbjornson, who was second in the $230,000 Mountainview Handicap in 2013 and banked a total of $536,600.

“I try to breed horses for Pennsylvania,” said McClay, who lives in Hummelstown, a suburb of Harrisburg, which is close to Penn National. “I’m not as anxious to go to New York. I try to promote racing in Pennsylvania.”

Of course, if Amplified continues winning, McClay might have to set his sights higher and head out of state for bigger races and tougher competition.