By Bloodhorse.com
OZONE PARK, N.Y. (Mar. 7, 2015) — Salutos Amigos, a Kentucky-bred son of California stallion Salute the Sarge, continued to show he’s the top sprinter in New York with a powerful victory in the $200,000 Tom Fool Handicap (gr. III) at Aqueduct Racetrack March 7 (VIDEO).
Sent off as the 3-5 favorite, Salutos Amigos rallied from third, easily going by second-choice Dads Caps in the stretch to post his fourth straight stakes victory.
The 5-year-old by Salute the Sarge is now a perfect 3-for-3 over Aqueduct’s inner dirt track.
Owned by David Jacobson and Southern Equine Stable, Salutos Amigos rated kindly in third under Cornelio Velasquez, as Dads Caps and 24-1 longshot Green Gratto battled from the start through a half-mile in :46.24 over the muddy track.
As they turned for home, Velasquez began to ask on Salutos Amigos and the bay gelding responded, taking command from Dads Caps just inside the eighth-pole before posting the four-length score.
The final time for the six furlongs was1:09.61.
“Very impressive,” said Jacobson, who also trains Salutos Amigos. “This is a special race, with all the training that he missed and to run the way he did. Dads Caps really looked great in the paddock, I was worried after I saw him. (It was) a spectacular performance. He’s just a special horse.”
Salutos Amigos had not posted a workout since winning the Toboggan Handicap (gr. III) Feb. 7 at Aqueduct. A foot issue cost him a start in the General George (gr. II) Feb. 16 at Laurel Park.
“My horse broke on top, and if I let him go, he could have gone wire to wire,” Velasquez said. “But I wanted to cover him up behind horses, because he is more relaxed. At the top of the stretch, when I put him in the clear, I had a lot of horse. He won easy today. It was an easy race for him.”
Dads Caps lasted to be second, while Green Gatto held on for third ahead of Maleeh. West Hills Giant, Sonny Inspired, and Elevated rounded out the order of finish.
Salutos Amigos returned $3.20 to win, $2.10 to place, and $2.10 to show. Dads Caps paid $3.10 and $2.50. Green Gratto returned $4.70 to show.
“We’ll see where we go from here,” Jacobson said. “We were really concentrating on this race, and now that we have this one behind us now, I will take (Dubai) a lot more serious. After today, he proved that he is a special horse. He’s been running all year, and he’s been so strong and good. He’s had the foundation, so the training he missed was like a mini-vacation, but it didn’t affect him at all.”
Salutos Amigos was bred in Kentucky by Joan Hadley Thoroughbreds and is out of the dam Sarasota. He now has won nine of 27 career starts with earnings of $897,406, after beginning his career with just one win from 14 starts, while mainly racing on the west coast.
Since moving into the barn of trainer David Jacobson, Salutos Amigos has blossomed, winning eight of 13 starts including victories in the 2014 Bold Ruler Handicap (gr. III), the 2014 Fall Highweight Handicap (gr. III), the 2014 Gravesend Stakes, and this year’s Toboggan Stakes (gr. III).
Read more on BloodHorse.com: http://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/articles/90516/salutos-amigos-powers-to-tom-fool-victory#ixzz3TktKraix