Lobsta battles back to upset NYSS Thunder Rumble

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.

“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.”

Source URL: https://www.nytbreeders.org/news/2021/12/05/lobsta-battles-back-to-upset-nyss-thunder-rumble/

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Bank Sting bounces back in NYSS Staten Island

By Melissa Bauer-Herzog

After registering one of her rare losses in a sloppy renewal of the Empire Distaff Handicap last out, Bank Sting was back with a vengeance in Sunday’s $150,000 Staten Island division of the New York Stallion Series Stakes at Aqueduct.

Foaled at McMahon of Saratoga as a homebred for the McMahons, who are joined in her racing ownership by Hidden Brook Farm, the Central Banker daughter was ready to go nearly from the start of the 7-furlong Staten Island. As the 8-5 favorite The Important One and 9-5 second choice Trinni Luck battled for the lead, Bank Sting sat a few lengths off in third with the rest of the field more than 5 lengths back. Bank Sting crept up after the first quarter to put herself in perfect position as the leaders started to fade after registering a :46.10 half.

The Important One fought on as Bank Sting moved up to challenge her but it was a futile attempt. Within strides, she was swallowed up by Bank Sting, who quickly proved to be much the best. The winner continued to draw away and cross the line an eased down 8 1/4 lengths in front in a time of 1:26.27. Byhubbyhellomoney was best of the rest with The Important One holding on to third by a neck.

Bank Sting was registering her fifth win in seven career starts with the John Terranova trainee’s only losses coming in her debut in late 2019 and the Empire Distaff on Empire Showcase Day Oct. 30 at Belmont Park. She’s now earned $351,300 in those seven starts as Central Banker’s fourth highest earner.

“I’m proud of her. She’s been a special New York-bred for us,” Terranova said. “We’ll take it one race at a time with her.”

It hasn’t been an easy road for the filly or her connections to get to this point, making it all the sweeter.

Their high opinion of her was displayed in December 2019 when she made her race debut in a New York-bred stakes, where she finished fourth. That debut showed plenty of promise but her followers would quickly have to learn the art of patience.

Bank Sting was benched until February of this year. She made the wait worth it, breaking her maiden in her return before scoring three additional consecutive victories. After her Critical Eye victory, she made sure their patience was still intact with some hard luck when scratched at the gate in the Grade 3 Molly Pitcher in July at Monmouth Park. Her next start was in the Empire Distaff, where Terranova admitted she likely needed a race.

“She missed most of the summer and we were hurrying up to make Empire Showcase Day,” he said of the loss. “We jumped into the Distaff and the conditions were sloppy and it was her first race back. Ideally, if we had got a prep race going into that, it probably would have helped her cause. She came out of that race well and trained forward. Every day has been a good day since then.”

With Sunday’s victory, she now made over 25 times the $14,000 she RNA’d for at the 2018 Fasig-Tipton Midlantic Eastern fall yearling sale. Leaving the ring unsold, her breeders decided to keep her and privately sold part of her to Hidden Brook Farm.

She was one of three winners on the Big Apple Showcase Day card for Central Banker and is one of three stakes winners for her sire in 2021. Central Banker has had another strong season as the leading sire in New York and the Northeast overall this year.

Bank Sting is one of two stakes performers and five winners overall for stakes-placed New York-bred Bee In a Bonnet. That mare also produced Harlem Rocker’s Busanda Stakes-placed Liberty Island.

Bee In a Bonnet has visited Central Banker multiple times since her stakes winner was born with Bank Sting having a winning 3-year-old sister named Lot of Honey and a yearling sister. The mare also had a colt by Palace in 2019 and a colt by the ill-fated Laoban in 2021. She visited McMahon of Saratoga’s young stallion Solomini this year.

Source URL: https://www.nytbreeders.org/news/2021/12/05/bank-sting-bounces-back-in-nyss-staten-island/

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