Blue Gator runs record to 2-for-2 in Monday’s New York Breeders’ Futurity at Finger Lakes. SV Photography.
By Tom Law
Blue Gator added his name to the mix of top New York-bred 2-year-olds of 2020 with a professional victory Monday in the 58th edition of the $218,075 New York Breeders’ Futurity at Finger Lakes.
Shipping upstate out of trainer Mike Maker’s string at Belmont Park, the son of Liam’s Map ran his record to 2-for-2 with a 4 1/2-length victory over Our Man Mike with 7-5 favorite and multiple stakes winner Thin White Duke a troubled third in the field of six.
Owned by the Wycoff family’s Three Diamonds Farm, Blue Gator collected $130,845 for winning the 6-furlong Futurity over the sloppy and sealed track in 1:12.62 under Reylu Gutierrez.
Blue Gator, the 9-5 second choice off a 1 1/2-length maiden victory going the same distance at Belmont Park Sept. 25, raced off the pace set by the filly Blame It On Mary in the early stages. The filly led Blue Gator by 2 1/2 lengths through the opening quarter-mile in :22.73, while Thin White Duke lagged well behind the field after walking out of the gate and spotting the field at least 5 lengths.
Blue Gator inched closer leaving the backstretch and around the far turn, cutting into Blame It On Mary’s lead and the two were on even terms after a half in :46.39, about 4 lengths in front of Aspirant runner-up Our Man Mike in third. Thin White Duke, winner of the Aspirant and Funny Cide in his last two starts for trainer, breeder and co-owner Phil Gleaves, passed two back markers at that point but still had a lot to do approaching the stretch.
Gutierrez and Blue Gator swept past the pacesetter straightening for home and darted to the inside fence. Gutierrez kept the eventual winner busy with a few left-handed cracks of the whip while the opened up. Our Man Mike slipped past Blame It On Mary inside the final eighth while Thin White Duke did the same inside the final sixteenth for the placings.
Bred by Morera Breeding and Racing LLC, Blue Gator is the third foal produced by the winning Langfuhr mare Candy Cat Can. Her first is the 6-year-old Lemon Drop Kid gelding Escape Velocity, the winner of 10 of 30 starts and $137,606; and the second is the winning 4-year-old Verrazano gelding Heungbok Dream, purchased by Korean interests for $40,000 at the 2017 Keeneland September yearling sale.
Candy Cat Can, a half-sister to 2018 Grade 1 Metropolitan Handicap winner Bee Jersey, produced Blue Gator in late January 2018 at Hidden Lake Farm in Stillwater. He sold to Bluewater Sales, Meg and Michael Levy’s operation with a longtime association with Three Diamonds, later that year for $80,000 at the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga fall mixed sale. Bluewater offered the colt at the 2019 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga New York-bred yearling sale but he went unsold on a final bid of $85,000 and he also didn’t sell at this year’s OBS Spring 2-year-olds in training sale out of the Wavertree Stables consignment on a bid of $110,000.
Candy Cat Can, an RNA for $40,000 with Blue Gator in utero 2017 Keeneland November breeding stock sale, is the dam of a yearling colt by Central Banker, a weanling filly by Palace and was bred to Enticed in 2020.
