Toboggan looks like a go this time
OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Toboggan, take 3.
The weather looks clear for Saturday, which means the New York Racing Association will finally be able to run the Grade 3, $150,000 Toboggan Stakes, a six-furlong race twice postponed by inclement weather. The Toboggan was originally scheduled for Jan. 18, but that card was canceled due to excessive winds. Rescheduled for last Sunday, the Toboggan and the rest of the card was lost to a blizzard.
But no inclement weather is forecast for Saturday, and the Toboggan, originally carded with six runners, has a 10-horse field topped by Dads Caps and Green Gratto, the one-two finishers from last April’s Grade 1 Carter.
Dads Caps, a two-time Carter winner trained Rudy Rodriguez, has not raced since June 5, when he finished third behind Rock Fall in the Grade 2 True North at Belmont Park. During his break, he had a chip removed from a knee.
Leading into the original date of this race, Rodriguez had expressed concerns about the 6-year-old Dads Caps being ready off the layoff. But Dads Caps now has 11 workouts leading up to his return, including a three-furlong blowout in 37.37 seconds Thursday over the inner track.
“He looks pretty good,” Rodriguez said. “In his last couple of races, he was changing to his wrong lead. In his last few works, he was very comfortable. He’s more into the game; you see he wants to do a little bit more.”
Dads Caps, who figures to get a stalking trip under Irad Ortiz Jr., will break from post 4, the same post he had the last time this race was drawn.
Green Gratto enters the Toboggan off back-to-back stakes wins in the Grade 3 Fall Highweight and Gravesend. He won the Gravesend over the inner track by 5 3/4 lengths and earned a career-best 107 Beyer Speed Figure.
Though trainer and part-owner Gaston Grant wasn’t necessarily looking for more time between races, he believes Green Gratto is “holding his form pretty well.”
“He’s eager to run,” Grant said. “He hasn’t missed a meal.”
Green Gratto was originally in post 2, then post 8, and is now in post 10.
Grant had his sights set on the $250,000 General George at Laurel Park on Feb. 15 with Green Gratto, but he is also considering the $2 million Dubai Golden Shaheen on March 26.
“It’s something to consider,” Grant said. “It’s a once-in-a-lifetime thing. It’s not every day you get to go there.”
Breaking from the outside post, Kendrick Carmouche likely will send the speedy Green Gratto to the front. Alex the Terror, who also has speed, is in post 7, and Captain Serious, another horse with good early speed, is drawn in post 2.
The Toboggan is carded as the ninth on a 10-race card.