Wolfie’s Dynaghost makes nice debut, will head to Florida
OZONE PARK, N.Y. - The 2-year-old Wolfie’s Dynaghost made an auspicious debut Saturday at Aqueduct, winning a seven-furlong maiden race by 1 1/2 lengths, earning a creditable 77 Beyer Speed Figure in the process.
Wolfie’s Dynaghost is by Ghostzapper and is out of the mare Dynaire, making him a half-brother to Sadler’s Joy, a Grade 1 winner on turf who is pointing to Saturday’s Grade 3 Red Smith.
Trainer Tom Albertrani, not known for winning first out, said he was “cautiously optimistic” about Wolfie’s Dynaghost going into Saturday’s race.
“My only doubt was with the family and all would he handle the dirt [in a race] as well as he was working over it,” Albertrani said. “He was working like a horse with a lot of talent. I did like him. The reason he was 33-1 was people know that I’m not one that cranks them up first time out. When they’re good enough, they certainly will come through.”
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Albertrani said Wolfie’s Dynaghost would soon head to South Florida, where his options could include anything from a first-level allowance race to a stakes race.
Meanwhile, Sadler’s Joy worked five furlongs in 1:04.44, one of more than 400 horses who were credited with a timed workout Sunday morning over the Belmont Park training track.
Sadler’s Joy, a 7-year-old son of Kitten’s Joy, won the Red Smith in his final start of 2019. This year, he is 0 for 7, though he was disqualified from a victory in the Grade 2 Bowling Green at Saratoga. Since then, he finished fourth in the Grade 1 Sword Dancer and third in the Grade 1 Joe Hirsch Turf Classic, both times to Channel Maker.
With regular rider Javier Castellano undergoing arthroscopic surgery on his right leg Monday, Joel Rosario has picked up the mount on Sadler’s Joy in the Red Smith.
Albertrani said Fiya, winner of four consecutive races including the Maryland Million Turf Sprint on Oct. 24, is already in Florida and will be pointed to the Claiming Crown Canterbury, a five-furlong turf stakes at Gulfstream on Dec. 5.