Ted Noffey born with a silver spoonerism
?q=100)
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – How does it feel for Spendthrift Farm general manager Ned Toffey to have a maiden winner at Saratoga named for him – sort of?
“As long as he can run, you can call him anything you want,” Toffey said after joining his pseudo-namesake in the winner’s circle.
Ted Noffey, trained by Todd Pletcher for Spendthrift, won his debut by 1 1/2 lengths on Saturday at Saratoga. The genesis of the name was a misspelling of Toffey’s name on social media. Toffey’s daughter Megan called the typo to the attention of Spendthrift owner Eric Gustavson, who attached the moniker to a colt by kingpin stallion Into Mischief who had been purchased for $650,000 at the Keeneland September yearling sale.
“He’s a big, classy-looking horse,” Toffey said. “He’s got some leg under him. It looked like he could be a two-turn type, but he also, he’s got a great hip on him. He’s very athletic. [He] looks like the kind of Into Mischief that can stretch out and go two turns.”
Toffey, who has been in his role at the farm for more than two decades, didn’t know about the name that had been given to the colt until he began breezing this year.
“I just saw the workouts one morning. Somebody sent me his work,” Toffey said. “At this point, he was already working well, but it’s funny naming horses. You name them because you think they’re good and sometimes they’re not. I think you always have to be careful naming horses that way, but Eric Gustavson, he’s got a great sense of humor, and he has a lot of fun with the names that he uses and does a really good job with it. So, it was a lot of fun.”
Ted Noffey’s victory earned a Beyer Speed Figure of 76, as he ran 6 1/2 furlongs on the fast track Saturday in 1:17.56. That was quicker than fellow 2-year-old Ewing ran while winning the Grade 2 Saratoga Special in 1:18.03.
“Very straightforward. Trained really well since he came in,” Pletcher said of Ted Noffey. “He’s been breezing in company with some other colts that have run well in their debuts. We were optimistic coming in that he’d be professional enough to have a good debut.”
Soon, everyone might know Ted Noffey’s name. While Spendthrift and Pletcher have several promising juveniles to sort out, the trainer said this one has earned consideration for the Grade 1, $300,000 Hopeful Stakes, coincidentally sponsored by Spendthrift Farm, on Sept. 1.
:: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.