Old Fashioned Grit will make run at Trackattacker in Gottstein

AUBURN, Wash. – If all goes according to trainer Dan Markle’s plan, Old Fashioned Grit will jump from a hot pan into a roaring fire when he makes his second lifetime start in the $65,000 Gottstein Futurity on Sept. 28 at Emerald Downs.

A start in the Gottstein would pit Old Fashioned Grit opposite the undefeated 2-year-old sensation Trackattacker, a 4-for-4 front-runner who has been mentioned as a candidate for the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile should he ace his first route test in the 1 1/16-mile Gottstein.

Old Fashioned Grit put plenty of his namesake determination on display in a hard-fought maiden victory in his career debut Aug. 24. After dropping back on the turn, he dug in gamely to collar Legion of Boom, a highly touted favorite, in the final strides. Old Fashioned Grit earned a Beyer Speed Figure of 54, a far cry from the 73 Beyer earned by Trackattacker in his last start – a 9 1/4-length victory in the Daily Racing Form Dennis Dodge Stakes last week.

Old Fashioned Grit was bred in Kentucky and purchased privately in Florida by longtime Northwest horsemen Tim and Sue Spooner. He’s by Old Fashioned, a son of Unbridled’s Song, out of the Dumaani mare Scootin’ Girl. A half-sister, Miss Pippa, captured the $95,000 Swingtime Stakes on grass at Santa Anita last fall.

“The Old Fashioneds are popular right now,” Markle said. “This horse is a pretty handy 2-year-old, and I’d like to run him again. There was a race the other day that didn’t go – he was the only one entered. So, it looks like the Futurity is the only spot for this colt. He’s bred to go that far, so it’s not out of the question. But I know what the competition is. He better be a whole lot better than average to contend with Trackattacker.”

Trackattacker has won each of his starts by at least seven lengths. His ability to cover a route of ground is the great unknown, and that gives Markle some hope for an upset.

“He’s certainly a good sprinter. He’s outstanding,” Markle said of Trackattacker. “But you know, to look at that clubhouse turn for the first time can turn the tables on things. But nobody can get close to his tail going short. That extra quarter-mile could make a lot of difference. Is he rateable? Every time he cracks the gate, he goes 1:09 and change. I don’t know if he can hold that up going one and one-sixteenth. This colt of mine, he hasn’t missed a beat. He’s got a natural gift of being able to break. He’s pretty well coordinated. But he’s also willing to sit back and eat some dirt clods. He’s rateable. That’s a big plus in our favor. That’s the key to going that distance, seeing if you can regulate that first half-mile.”