Lobsta outfinishes My Boy Tate in deep stretch for his first stakes win in the NYSS Thunder Rumble Sunday at Aqueduct. Susie Raisher/NYRA Photo.
By Tom Law
Lobsta withstood multiple challenges – one from his older brother Chowda and another from 3-2 favorite and multiple stakes winner My Boy Tate – and came out on top in Sunday’s $150,000 Thunder Rumble division of the New York Stallion Series Stakes at Aqueduct.
Under Javier Castellano and sent off at 27-1, the 3-year-old son of Emcee turned back a challenge in deep stretch from My Boy Tate to win the 7-furlong Thunder Rumble by a half-length lengths with Our Last Buck third and Chowda fourth in the field of 11. Lobsta, owned by Eddie F’s Racing and trained by Gary Sciacca, won off more than a four-month layoff after finishing third in the New York Derby July 19 at Finger Lakes.
“I was jumping up and down like crazy,” said Eddie Fazzone of Eddie F’s Racing. “Both of these horses have been such a joy and brought a lot of excitement for me as a small stable. Now, they’re both stakes winners. I’m overwhelmed right now. I’m really happy for Gary and John Jayko.”
Bred by and foaled at Jayko’s Fedwell Farm in Saratoga Springs and out of the Chief Seattle mare Salty Little Sis, Lobsta improved to 3-for-8 and boosted his earnings to $221,400. He’s only finished off the board twice in his eight starts, both fifths at Aqueduct in his debut on New Year’s Eve in 2020 and in the Times Square division of the New York Stallion Series in April.
Lobsta is the fourth foal out of the two-time winning New York-bred Salty Little Sis, who is also the dam of winning New York-bred Soaring Empire gelding The Big Lebanese and Chowda. A 4-year-old by Emcee, Chowda won the 2020 Gander Stakes at Aqueduct and has placed in two other stakes. He came into Sunday’s Thunder Rumble off a fourth and third in allowance races at Belmont for Sciacca and Eddie F’s Racing.
Fazzone, who owns the popular Saratoga Springs restaurant Eddie F’s Eatery on Clinton Street, runs the partnership that also includes Ross Lackey and his brother-in-law Don Wilock.Eddie F’s Racing purchased the full brothers from Fedwell Farm.
Team Lobsta celebrate the colt’s first stakes win Sunday at Aqueduct. NYRA Photo.
“It’s pretty amazing. When you go into this as a small group, you don’t expect to be winning stakes races,” Fazzone told the NYRA communications team before the Thunder Rumble. “It was a big thrill to win the Gander with Chowda and then for his brother to come back and run second in the same race the following year was big too. These two guys have been a joy for us.”
Eddie F’s Racing also purchased a yearling half-brother to Lobsta and Chowda, a New York-bred colt by Micromanage.
“He’s on a farm in Virginia so you’ll see him next year,” Fazzone said.
Lobsta earned his stakes victory after a solid break from post 10. He and Castellano led by a half-length from Devious Mo and Chowda through the opening quarter-mile in :23.10. Devious Mo eventually backed up to third and Chowda took up the chase, pushing his stablemate through the half-mile in :46.85.
Sciacca, who hit a career milestone this fall with his 1,000th training victory, didn’t expect the battle.
“I never thought that would happen,” he said. “I thought Lobsta would sit back a little bit and Chowda was going to go. He [Castellano] said he broke so good with Lobsta, he was just sitting on him. He [Eric Cancel] had to hustle Chowda to stay up in there and the two brothers were battling.”
My Boy Tate, coming off a victory in the Leon Reed Memorial at Finger Lakes, made steady progress around the turn and split Lobsta and Chowda under Manny Franco. They looked on the way to victory after building a half-length advantage at the eighth pole and past 6 furlongs in 1:11.82.
Lobsta wasn’t done in deep stretch and continued to battle on while on the outside of My Boy Tate to deliver the winning run just before the wire. My Boy Tate finished 4 lengths ahead of Our Last Buck, who was 6 clear of Chowda.
“Why did they let him through? I thought they’d at least block him a little bit,” Sciacca joked about My Boy Tate coming through his runners in the lane. “When he got through, I thought ‘that’s tough.’ He showed some fight – Lobsta – to come back and get the horse.”
