Dismissed at more than double the odds of the next-biggest longshot, hard-knocking Green Gratto ran away with this traditional Thanksgiving feature to earn a first career stakes victory. Second in the local GI Carter H. in April for David Smith, the 5-year-old had last visited the winner's circle after a Belmont optional claiming score in June for Osvaldo Rojas. Transferred to co-owner Gaston Grant after a distant fourth behind Private Zone (Macho Uno) in the GIII Belmont Sprint Championship on July 4, he hadn't been out of the superfecta in six subsequent tries. Fourth in the GIII Bold Ruler H. on Halloween, he was wheeling back on short rest off a nose second at the hooves of Fabulous Kid in a Nov. 18 track-and-trip optional claimer. Doling out splits of :22.29 and :44.71 without much resistance, the dark bay hit the top of the lane with a bit of a cushion and kept finding to hold off the cavalry charge.
“It's hard work and very emotional,” said Grant, who was celebrating his first win of any kind as a trainer. “I had this horse since he was a yearling, bought him and he just kept trying. I knew all along he was the kind of horse to win a graded stakes race because he always showed it in the mornings. It was just a matter of putting it together in the afternoon. He's just one tough guy and there's no quit in him. I really can't say much about it other than to Thank God for this opportunity.”
He continued, “I wasn't concerned with the week layoff because when he came back the next day it looked like he didn't lift a hoof. He was acting good and we put him on the track and he was training awesome. He came back from last time like he didn't even break a sweat, so we figured we'd give him a shot in here. We were trying to go to [Saturday's GI] Cigar Mile until we heard Private Zone was entered, but we knew at three-quarters this horse was really tough. We're going to give him a breather; he's been racing all year. He deserves it. He's the one that tells us where we're going with him.”
Thursday, Aqueduct
FALL HIGHWEIGHT H.-GIII, $250,000, AQU, 11-26, 3yo/up, 6f, 1:09.95, ft.
1–#@GREEN GRATTO, 124, h, 5, by Here's Zealous
1st Dam: Starship Smokester, by Smokester
2nd Dam: Admiral Minnie, by Golden Eagle II
3rd Dam: Amiga La G., by Delaware Chief
O-Gaston & Anthony Grant; B-Kaz Hill Farm (NJ); T-Gaston
Grant; J-Kendrick Carmouche. $150,000. Lifetime Record:
GISP, 36-5-6-6, $575,514. Werk Nick Rating: F.
Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Palace, 133, h, 6, City Zip–Receivership, by End Sweep.
($160,000 2yo '11 OBSMAR). O-Antonino Miuccio; B-The Peter
J. Callahan Revocable Trust Dated 2/28/02 (NY); T-Linda Rice.
$50,000.
3–Fabulous Kid, 124, c, 4, Congrats–Lemon Drop Girl, by Lemon
Drop Kid. O-David Jacobson; B-Dr. K K Jayaraman MD & Dr.
Vilasini Devi Jayaraman MD (FL); T-David Jacobson. $25,000.
Margins: HD, HF, NK. Odds: 24.25, 7.00, 11.60.
Also Ran: Pulling G's, Salutos Amigos, La Verdad, Captain Serious. Click for the Equibase.com chart, the TJCIS PPs or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton.
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