My Boy Tate sharp for Gravesend Stakes

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – In choosing to run My Boy Tate in Saturday’s $100,000 Gravesend Stakes at Aqueduct over next Saturday’s Say Florida Sandy, trainer Michelle Nevin opted to run her New York-bred gelding against Stan the Man rather than Funny Guy.

It makes sense. In his last five starts, My Boy Tate has been beaten by Funny Guy three times and Stan the Man once. Funny Guy will likely be the favorite in next Saturday’s Say Florida Sandy.

My Boy Tate enters the Gravesend off a neck defeat to Funny Guy in the Thunder Rumble division of the New York Stallion Series on Nov. 22.

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My Boy Tate is 5 for 9 at Aqueduct, with four of those wins coming over a wet track. Rain was forecast Friday, and the track was already muddy Thursday.

Plagued by foot issues earlier in his career, My Boy Tate has put together a string of four solid efforts, including a 5 1/2-length allowance win at Parx Racing on Sept. 23.

“Early on, he had terrible problems with his feet,” Nevin said. “Now that he’s gotten older, he seems to have gotten over all that stuff. This year, he’s been going right along. Hopefully, he can keep going like that.”

Manny Franco rides My Boy Tate from post 4.

Since beating My Boy Tate in the Tale of the Cat Stakes at Saratoga, Stan the Man was a well-beaten third in the Grade 2 Kelso and a late-closing second behind Share the Ride in the Grade 3 Fall Highweight.

“Another couple of jumps and he gets up,” said John Terranova, the trainer of Stan the Man. “We weren’t thinking of the Gravesend, but he’s come out of it well, he’s doing well, and it’s enough spacing. He worked really well [Monday] morning.”

Stan the Man worked a half-mile in 48.56 seconds in company with Funny Guy over the Belmont Park training track Monday.

Like My Boy Tate, Stan the Man has an excellent record at Aqueduct (5-5-1 from 15 starts) and is proven over a wet surface.

Stan the Man, the 122-pound highweight, breaks from post 5 under Eric Cancel.

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The wildcard in the Gravesend is Happy Farm. He finished second to Firenze Fire in this race in December 2019 and was second to Mind Control in the Grade 3 Tom Fool in March. He has not raced since then and will be making his first start for Linda Rice.

Happy Farm is the speed of the field from the rail under Jose Lezcano.

“He was a little heavy,” Rice said. “It was hard to get the weight off of him, but he’s trained well. He’s still a little heavy, but he’s a pretty nice horse. He’s got class.”

Pete’s Play Call, claimed for $62,500 out of his last start, has the speed to press Happy Farm should trainer Rudy Rodriguez elect to use it. Pete’s Play Call came from off the pace to win his most recent start here Nov. 27.

Drafted, a Group 3 winner in Dubai in 2019, makes his second start off a lengthy layoff for trainer David Duggan. He was fifth, beaten only 3 3/4 lengths, in the Fall Highweight.