Espresso Shot bounces back to win NYSS Staten Island

By Tom Law

The connections of Espresso Shot dared to dream big in the early months of 2019.

The New York-bred daughter of Mission Impazible justified those hopes, building on a productive 2-year-old season with an open-company stakes victory in her first start at 3. Espresso Shot earned points toward a spot in the Kentucky Oaks starting gate with that win in the Busher Stakes, thus the big dreams, and looked to be on her way.

The Oaks never came to be for Espresso Shot, trainer Jorge Abreu and owners N Y Final Furlong Stable, Maspeth Stables and Parkland Thoroughbreds. Espresso Shot eventually lost 10 straight over 15 months, defeats that came in graded stakes, open-company and state-bred races. She ended that run of futility Sunday at Aqueduct, looking like her 2- and 3-year-old self with a professional victory over six others in the $100,000 Staten Island division of the New York Stallion Series.

Espresso Shot, fifth last time out after being caught wide early in the Iroquois Stakes on Empire Showcase Day, relished the better setup in the Staten Island under John Velazquez. They tracked expected pacesetter Sadie Lady early, made a move around the far turn and drew off in the stretch to win by 2 lengths from favored Prairie Fire. Espresso Shot, now 3-for-9 with a second at Aqueduct, won in 1:24.64.

“She really does love Aqueduct,” Abreu said. “The one-turn, going seven-eighths, this is what she wants to do. We tried stretching her out and it didn’t work out.”

A finalist for champion New York-bred honors the last two seasons, Espresso Shot improved to 4-3-1 from 17 starts and padded her bankroll to $402,105.

“Last time, there was a lot of speed and she got carried wide,” Velazquez said. “Today was totally different. She was closer … and much better.”

Bred by Twin Creeks Farm and sired by New York-based Mission Impazible, who stands at Sequel New York in Hudson, Espresso Shot is out of the winning New York-bred Medaglia d’Oro mare Glory Gold. Twin Creeks purchased Glory Gold for $125,000 at the 2013 Keeneland November breeding stock sale.

Final Furlong Racing, a partnership managed by Dan Zanatta and Vince Roth, bought Espresso Shot for $69,000 at the 2017 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga New York-bred yearling sale. She was previously sold for $22,000 by Twin Creeks through Taylor Made Sales Agency as a short yearling at the Keeneland January sale.

“She was a typical, solid Mission Impazible, not really fancy, just well proportioned, correct with a lot of lovely parts to her,” Twin Creeks’ Randy Gullatt said after Espresso Shot’s 2-year-old season. “We were able to get her a great home and now she’s got another great home. I’m their biggest cheerleader.

“The Medaglia d’Oro line was a good cross for Mission Impazible. We just went out in the early stages of his stud career and tried to find a good variety of mares that matched well with him. We want to keep trying to get a steady influx of new pedigrees for him. Fresh blood. It all worked out great and gave him the opportunity to get a horse like Espresso Shot.”

Espresso Shot is one of three winners from four foals to race out of Glory Gold. She’s a half sister to the four-time winner Goldtown, a daughter of Speightstown who sold for $300,000 at the 2015 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga New York-bred yearling sale; and a full sister to Hokulea, who sold for $100,000 at the 2017 Fasig-Tipton Gulfstream 2-year-old sale.

Final Furlong Racing purchased Glory Gold, in foal to Firing Line, for $13,000 at the 2018 Keeneland November breeding stock sale. The subsequent foal, a yearling filly named Venti Valentine, was foaled in New York for breeders Final Furlong Racing and Maspeth Stable.

Source URL: https://www.nytbreeders.org/news/2020/11/22/espresso-shot-bounces-back-to-win-nyss-staten-island/

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Funny Guy up late to win NYSS Thunder Rumble division

By Tom Law

Funny Guy likes to do things his way, around the barn, on the racetrack, wherever he may be in fact.

The 4-year-old son of Big Brown did it his way again Sunday in the $100,000 Thunder Rumble division of the New York Stallion Series at Aqueduct and needed just about every inch of the restricted stakes’ 7 furlongs to get it done. Ridden by Joel Rosario and back to what looks like a more favorable sprint trip, Funny Guy got up late to win by a neck over My Boy Tate with Bankit third in the field of five. The winning time was 1:23.57.

“He’s got some gears,” said John Terranova, who trains Funny Guy for Gatsas Stable, R A Hill Stable and Swick Stable. “Once he got him into that rhythm, he was able to kick. [Rosario] had to work on him but he’s as honest as they come.

“The pace didn’t really unfold early, but I think you can attribute that to the fact this track is a little bit loose and deeper. He’s a big, heavy colt and he likes a little quicker surface you can bounce off of. It took a little bit to get him going and get his feet, but he sure got into gear when he needed it at the end.”

Bred by Mike Oliveto’s Hibiscus Stables and foaled at Waldorf Farm in North Chatham, Funny Guy improved to 3-for-6 on the season in the Thunder Rumble. He won the Commentator Stakes at Belmont Park and John Morrissey Handicap at Saratoga Race Course – both against New York-breds – to earn his way into the Grade 1 Forego and Grade 2 Vosburgh Invitational for his next two starts. Funny Guy fared well in those stakes, finishing fourth and second, respectively, before returning to the state-bred ranks for the Empire Classic Handicap.

Sent off as the 8-5 favorite in the 9-furlong Empire Classic, Funny Guy finished a non-threatening fourth after a bobble at the break.

Terranova and his wife Tonja regrouped after that effort and let Funny Guy dictate where to go next.

“He’s a beautiful horse and he just has that personality,” John Terranova said. “He’s super honest and you can pick up on his tells all the time. He tells you when he’s ready. He knows what he’s doing out there in the mornings and the afternoons. We’re just trying to point him in the right direction and we’re really happy for the owners. We’re just happy he’s back in the winner’s circle here today.”

Funny Guy, a $45,000 purchase at the 2018 OBS April 2-year-olds in training sale, knows how to find the winner’s circle. He won his second start in late December 2018 and became a stakes winner in his fifth start, taking the Times Square division of the New York Stallion Series at Aqueduct in April 2019. A victory in the Albany Stakes on the Saratoga Showcase Day card also earned him consideration for champion New York-bred 3-year-old male last season.

Funny Guy is one of eight winners from eight foals to start out of Heavenly Humor, a Kentucky-bred five-time stakes winner and stakes producer purchased by Hibiscus Stables with Funny Guy in utero at the 2015 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga fall mixed sale for $25,000. Heavenly Humor is also the dam of stakes winner Super Humor and stakes-placed 3-year-old Three Jokers, who is also campaigned by Funny Guy’s connections.

Heavenly Humor is also the dam of a yearling filly by Overanalyze purchased by Cutair Racing for $120,000 at the Fasig-Tipton Midlantic fall yearling sale in October. Heavenly Humor was bred to Hard Spun in 2020.

Source URL: https://www.nytbreeders.org/news/2020/11/22/funny-guy-up-late-to-win-nyss-thunder-rumble-division/

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