City Man outruns Bodecreame to win $100,000 Gio Ponti at Aqueduct. NYRA Photo.
By Melissa Bauer-Herzog
New York-bred City Man added a second stakes victory to his record Friday with a determined win over Bodecreame in the $100,000 Gio Ponti Stakes at Aqueduct.
City Man raced alongside Bodecream early on in the 1 1/16-mile open turf stakes as Sail At Sunrise set fractions of :24.26 and :49.81 a little over a length ahead of the duo. Bodecream made a challenge at the leader down the backstretch as they flashed through the three quarters in 1:14.05 and City Man raced behind them on the rail.
Sail At Sunrise started to fade swinging into the stretch as City Man swung to the outside to make a run at Bodecream. The pair dueled throughout the final furlong with the race coming down to a head bob. City Man’s nose hit the line first with the pair a length ahead of race favorite Price Talk, who was in his own duel with Ajourneytofreedom for third at the line.
“I had a good trip,” said winning jockey Junior Alvarado. “He broke good and I helped him out of there a little bit and got myself a beautiful spot all the way around. I tipped out right when I wanted it and he responded really well at the end. To be honest, I thought he could have won easy but sometimes he likes to wait on horses and hang and I think that’s what he did today. When he got to the last horse, he was waiting on him, but we got it done anyway.”
Trained by Christophe Clement for Reeves Thoroughbred Racing and Peter and Patty Searles, City Man added the Gio Ponti to his 4 3/4-length victory in last year’s Funny Cide Stakes on the dirt at Saratoga Race Course. The Mucho Macho Man colt could return to that surface for his next start in the Alex M. Robb Stakes Dec. 12 at Aqueduct.
Bred by Moonstar Farm, City Man is one of two winners out of the winning City Zip mare City Scamper.
City Scamper is a half-sister to the New York stakes winner Alysinstilettos and stakes placed Always For You.
City Man proved to be a strong pinhook for Off The Hook, whic purchased the colt for $20,000 as a weanling at the 2017 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga fall mixed sale. He next went through the ring as a 2-year-old at the OBS April sale, where Reeves Thoroughbred Racing purchased him for $185,000.
City Scamper has a 2-year-old unnamed New York-bred colt by former Sequel New York stallion Laoban and a New York-bred Hoppertunity weanling colt born in March. The mare returned to Mucho Macho Man for a full sibling to City Man in 2020.
