Testosterstone wins richest race at Claiming Championships

OZONE PARK, N.Y. - The third edition of the New York Claiming Championships at Aqueduct were held over a sloppy track Saturday. The races, like the Claiming Crown, were for horses who have raced for various claiming prices since Jan. 1, 2016.

Seven trainers and six jockeys won races on the nine-race card.

Jockey Cornelio Velasquez won three races, a pair for trainer Linda Rice. Trainer John Toscano Jr. also won twice, as did jockey Rosario Montanez.

The richest race of the day, the $90,000 Mr. Sinatra, went to Testosterstone, who was winning for the second time since being claimed for $40,000 in November by Jerry Marino and his son Mike, who race as Yellow Moon Stable.

The win was Testosterstone's second from six starts for the Marinos and trainer Gary Sciacca. Normally an off-the-pace runner, Testosterstone broke sharply in the 1 1/18-mile Mr. Sinatra and tracked alone-on-the-lead Fox Rules.

Turning into the stretch, Hard Study made a quick move to challenge Fox Rules from the inside. Dylan Davis, on Testosterstone, stayed outside and proved clearly best, pulling away to score by 1 1/2 lengths. He paid $13.20 and was timed in 1:52.74.

"We've been planning on this race for a while, so I'm glad he showed up today," Sciacca said. "He's a good horse."
Tetsosterstone, 6, raced 14 times last year. He is now 6 for 34 in his career with earnings of $347,000.

The day's other highlights included:

** Rosario Montanez won his second race on the card when he guided She's So Fine to her fourth consecutive win in the $80,000 Karakorum Elektra (race 6), a seven-furlong race for fillies and mares who have started for a claiming price of $32,000 or less.

Montanez made a wide middle move to get She's So Fine in a contending position behind front-running Wildcat Belle, then pulled away in the stretch to win by 3 1/4 lengths in 1:26.53. She paid $7.20.

Montanez, an Eclipse Awards finalist in the apprentice rider category in 2011, has been riding at Aqueduct since November. He won the $80,000 Caixa Eletronica (race 3) earlier on the card.

Montanez had previously ridden in New York in 2014, but was injured in a spill at Saratoga. He did not ride at all in 2015.

She's So Fine, trained by Toscano, had won a $20,000 claiming race, a $50,000 starter race, and a first-level optional claimer prior to the Karakorum Elektra.

** Bass River Road overcame getting bumped and squeezed back at the start to win the $55,000 Kelly Kip (race 5), a six-furlong sprint for horses who have started for a $12,500 claiming price or less since Jan. 1, 2016.

Bass River Road, the 2-5 favorite, raced behind horses early. He found clear running on the far turn, and finished with a good run to overtake pace-setting Gambler's Ghost by 1 1/4 lengths.

Gambler's Ghost was disqualified from second to third for ducking inward a few strides out of the gate and bothering several horses, including third-place Formal Summation.

Bass River Road is trained by Rudy Rodriguez and was ridden by Irad Ortiz Jr. He returned $2.80.

Bass River Road was timed in 1:12.42. He has now won five races in a row, and three straight since Rodriguez claimed him for $25,000.

** Do Share, who has won a $50,000 starter race and a first-level allowance since being claimed for $20,000 by Rice in January, proved he is more than a sprinter by successfully stretching out to a mile in the $75,000 Stud Muffin (race 4), which was for horses who have raced for $25,000 claiming or less.

Do Share, a 4-year-old gelding by Candy Ride, was patiently handled by jockey Velasquez, who kept him reserved just off front-running Bluegrass Prevails until the top of the stretch before asking for his best. Do Share bounded clear when asked and scored by 2 1/2 lengths. He paid $4.

Do Share's time of 1:39.67 was reasonable over the sloppy surface and he looks ready to try a second-level optional-claiming race.

The win was the second on the card for Velasquez, who won the day's opener, the $60,000 Sis City on Maddizaskar for trainer David Jacobson.

** On a sad note, 8-year-old Second City broke down in his left hind leg on the far turn of the one-mile Caixa Eletronica (race 3) and had to be euthanized on the track.

Second City began his career with four straight wins in 2012. He won a $25,000 maiden-claiming race at Penn National, and then two allowance races at Charles Town before being purchased by Peter Redekop and taken to western Canada. In his first start at Hastings Park in Vancouver, he won the British Columbia Derby. He finished ninth in the Breeders' Cup Dirt mile later that season.

Second City won a second-level optional-claiming race at Aqueduct three starts back in November for trainer Jeremiah Englehart when in for a $62,500 claiming price.