Tessore hoping he and his horses fit in New York

OZONE PARK, N.Y. - Trainer Bruno Tessore, coming off a decent Monmouth Park summer meet, hopes to make an impact in New York this fall and winter.

Tessore, 34, has brought an 11-horse string to New York for the Aqueduct fall and winter stands. Tessore, like all trainers based in New York this time of year, is stabled at Belmont Park.

“I got the chance with a couple of nice horses, so I decided to come here and try to give it a shot and see what I can do here,” Tessore, who won six races from 28 starters at Monmouth, said Thursday morning.

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On Thursday, Tessore sent out his first starter at the fall meet in Marvin, who finished last of six in a starter allowance for horses who raced for $10,000 claiming.

Tessore will hope for a better result Saturday when he sends out the 9-year-old gelding Rough Sea in a second-level/optional $62,500 claiming race that serves as the co-feature on the nine-race Aqueduct card. The race is at 1 3/16 miles.

Tessore claimed Rough Sea for $12,500 in October 2021 and the gelding has won 4 of 12 starts for him, including the Native Dancer Stakes at odds of 40-1 in April at Laurel.

Tessore said it took him a couple of months to figure out Rough Sea after he first claimed him. The horse had a breathing issue and was a bleeder. But Tessore appears to have both issues under control.

Tessore believes the horse’s breathing issues were why the previous connections were running him in races at shorter distances.

“But he can gallop all day long,” Tessore said. “The longer he can go the better. He’s an old horse; I don’t need to do much with him.”

Since he is 9 years old, Rough Sea won’t have many opportunities to race in New York. Last year, the New York Racing Association passed a house rule that bans 10-year-olds from stabling or racing at NYRA tracks.

“I wish he was younger,” Tessore said.

Tessore is from Uruguay where his grandfather trained horses and his father was an owner. Tessore went to school in Pensacola, Fla., but he always knew he wanted to work with horses.

“I’ve been around horses my entire life,” Tessore said.

Tessore has raced in Florida, New Jersey and Maryland. He went 8 for 23 at the 2021 Pimlico spring meet. He now hopes to be able to call New York home.

“My goal is to try and get [better] horses and get rid of the cheap horses and try to get to the next level,” Tessore said.

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