NEWS: RACING

Comandante closes out year with Alex M. Robb tally

Saturday, December 28th, 2013
Adam Coglianese
Adam Coglianese
by Sarah Mace

Capturing his third race in a row and second consecutive stakes, Three Diamonds Farm’s Comandante (Frost Giant) concluded his sophomore campaign Saturday with a gate-to-wire victory in Aqueduct’s $100,000 Alex M. Robb – NYRA’s final stakes race of 2013 for New York-breds.

Comandante came into the Robb having won his last two races from just off the pace: a first-level state-bred allowance going a one-turn mile on November 3 and the seven-furlong Thunder Rumble division of the New York Stallion Stakes series on November 23, for which he earned a career-high Beyer Speed Figure of 94.

As he stretched out to 1 1/16 miles around two turns on Saturday, Comandante appeared on paper to be the controlling speed of the six-horse field following the early scratch of frontrunner and presumptive favorite Saratoga Snacks, winner of last year’s renewal of the Robb. Saratoga Snacks, who has been plagued with foot problems in an abbreviated campaign this year, was reported to have had a “hot” right front foot, but x-rays were negative. Also scratched from the original field was West Hills Giant who contested the open Traskwood Stakes Friday, finishing fourth.

Out of the post five alertly as the 3-2 second choice behind even-money favorite Awesome Vision, Comandante grabbed the lead and never looked back. Prompted through early fractions of 24.42 and 48.55 by 19-1 Moneyinyour Pocket, the gelding shook off his rival by the head of the stretch and opened up daylight in the lane on his way to a comfortable 4 1/2-length victory.

Moneyinyour Pocket doggedly held off Awesome Vision to preserve second by a nose, while Zetterholm followed in fourth five lengths back. Bake Shop and Sound of Drums completed the order of finish. The final time for the 1 1/16 miles over the fast inner oval was 1:44.15.

Winning jockey Cornelio Velasquez said, “My horse is in good form; this was his third straight win. The assistant trainer [Byron Hughes] said before the race if the number four horse [Zetterholm] wanted to go, to let him go, but my horse broke two lengths in front. He was never under any pressure even when the other horse came to him, and had plenty left at the end.”

Byron Hughes, assistant to trainer Todd Pletcher, said, “He had been training well; this is the kind of performance I expected out of him.”

Comandante began his career with trainer Mike Trombetta, breaking his maiden over the Aqueduct inner last December following with three straight runner-up finishes. After a summer campaign, which he concluded with a competitive fourth sprinting at Saratoga, Comandante moved to the Pletcher barn for the fall. Improving with each start, he capped competitive placings in allowance races at Belmont in September and October with his November-December three-race winning streak, capping the series with back-to-back stakes victories. From a career record of 4-4-2 in 14 starts, Comandante has now earned $270,568.

Bred by Andrew Cohen and IEAH Stables & Partners and foaled at Empire Stud in Hudson, Comandante is one of two winners out of Slew Motion (Slew Gin Fizz), an accomplished New York-bred sprinter bred by a partnership of IEAH Stables, Curragh Stables, Diamond Pride LLC and Andrew Cohen. The last reported foal for Slew Motion, who was a stakes winner and Grade 2 runner-up with multiple black type placings ($224,064), is an unplaced colt by Big Brown named Ke in Motion.

Comandante’s sire Frost Giant is the leading second crop sire in New York in 2013. Owned by Andrew Cohen as Sunset Stables, he stands at Keane Stud.

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