Salutos Amigos should get the job done in Tom Fool

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – If he is right, Salutos Amigos is clearly the horse to beat in Saturday’s Grade 3, $200,000 Tom Fool Handicap at Aqueduct. Last week, trainer and part-owner David Jacobson expressed concern that Salutos Amigos, plagued by foot problems throughout his career, may not be 100 percent right.

Apparently, Jacobson’s concerns have dissipated, and he’s now quite confident that Salutos Amigos will be able to extend his three-race winning streak in the Tom Fool, one of three stakes on Saturday’s 10-race card, which is topped by the Grade 3, $400,000 Gotham for 3-year-olds.

“I don’t want to be too cocky or confident because any given horse can get beat on any given day, but he’s going into the race great,” Jacobson said Thursday. “I wish I could have been able to breeze him and train him a little more, but everybody’s dealing with the same thing.”

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Salutos Amigos won the Grade 3 Toboggan on Feb. 7, and Jacobson was planning to wheel him back nine days later in the Grade 2 General George at Laurel. But the horse couldn’t train in the week leading up to the race, and then he developed a foot problem, which forced him to miss about five days of training.

Jacobson got a three-furlong work into Salutos Amigos on Sunday and likely would have worked him again Thursday, but the track was closed for training due to winter weather. The horse has been able to exercise in the jogging barns.

Salutos Amigos will meet a familiar foe in Dads Caps, who had a four-length lead in midstretch of the Toboggan before Salutos Amigos came and got him. Salutos Amigos will have to carry the high weight of 125 pounds, two pounds more than Dads Caps, who finished second in this race last year to the Jacobson-trained Strapping Groom.

Maleeh, the winner of the Fred “Cappy” Capossela Stakes in 2013 over the inner track, gets 11 pounds from Salutos Amigos and is in with an upset chance.

KEY CONTENDERS

Salutos Amigos (Last 3 Beyers: 108-109-105)

◗ Salutos Amigos has won 7 of 12 starts since Jacobson took over his training about a year ago. He has earned seven triple-digit Beyer Speed Figures in those 12 starts.

◗ He figures to get a good pace to close into, with Green Gratto likely pushing Dads Caps early.

◗ With Irad Ortiz Jr. in Tampa, Cornelio Velasquez rides Salutos Amigos. He is 3 for 3 on the gelding.

Dads Caps (Last 3 Beyers: 103-101-94)

◗ Certainly ran his race last out in the Toboggan, with blinkers added, and was simply run down by a better horse in Salutos Amigos.

“We thought he was a winner,” said Gustavo Rodriguez, who has stepped up from assistant to head trainer while his brother Rudy serves out a suspension. “Salutos Amigos, the way he closed, he just exploded.”

Maleeh (Last 3 Beyers: 87-104-94)

◗ He came off an eight-month layoff to run a bang-up second behind Honor Code, a graded stakes winner, in a second-level allowance race Nov. 22.

◗ He regressed a bit when finishing third in an allowance race last out. Trainer Kiaran McLaughlin felt that jockey Ortiz may have waited a little too long to make his move.

Storied Lady in Cat Cay

The New York-bred filly Storied Lady, 4 for 7 over the inner track, could play out as the primary speed against five rivals Saturday in the $100,000 Cat Cay Stakes at 1 1/16 miles. Holiday’s Jewel and Evening Show, both allowance winners at the meet, top the competition in the race for fillies and mares.