Nashua winner Rockefeller might stick around for Remsen
Rockefeller, who won Sunday’s Grade 3, $150,000 Nashua Stakes by 2 3/4 lengths at Belmont Park, could stay in New York and point to the Grade 2, $250,000 Remsen Stakes at Aqueduct on Dec. 4, trainer Bob Baffert said Sunday.
In California, there is basically one important stakes remaining this year for 2-year-old males – the $200,000 Los Alamitos Futurity on Dec. 11 – and Baffert has Messier and potentially others pointing to that race. Several of the same owners are involved in both Messier and Rockefeller.
The Remsen is run at 1 1/8 miles around two turns.
“I’ve got a week to think about it,” Baffert said, noting that Rockefeller wouldn’t be scheduled to ship back to California until the end of the week. “He handled everything really well. He came back good.”
Baffert chose the Nashua for Rockefeller once he ruled out the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile for him. Rockefeller, a debut winner sprinting at Del Mar on Aug. 28, had finished fourth, seven lengths behind Corniche, in the Grade 1 American Pharoah on Oct. 1. Corniche and Pappacap, who ran one-two in the American Pharoah, came back to run one-two in Friday’s Breeders’ Cup Juvenile at Del Mar.
In the Nashua, Rockefeller broke from the rail under Luis Saez, and was a half-length in front of Speaking through a quarter in 23.02 seconds and 46.75. He opened up a 1 1/2 length advantage at the quarter pole and, despite not changing leads until deep stretch, won comfortably over the previously unbeaten Cooke Creek.
Rockefeller, a son of Medaglia d’Oro out of the Grade 1-winning mare Dance to Bristol, covered the mile in 1:36.66 and earned an 83 Beyer Speed Figure.
“He doesn’t switch leads in his races,” Baffert said. “He finally did switch at the end. In the [American Pharoah] he really got tired chasing Corniche. He wasn’t ready for that.”
Should Rockefeller run in the Remsen, one of his challengers could be Unbridled Bomber, who upset a field of well-bred, highly regarded first-time starters to win a one-mile maiden race in Sunday’s second race. Unbridled Bomber, a son of Upstart trained and owned in part by Jim Ryerson, ran a mile in 1:37.49 and earned a 71 Beyer Speed Figure. He was making his fourth start.