Doc Sullivan rides to victory, NYRA Photo
Keith McCalmont
Tristar farm Doc Sullivan enjoyed a turnaround in distance to post an emphatic score of 5 1/2 lengths in Saturday’s $125,000 Thunder Rumble division of the New York Stallion Stakes Series, a seven-furlong sprint for eligible New York 3-year-olds and older, at Aqueduct Racetrack.
Trained by John Ortiz and driven by Hall of Famer Joel Rosario, the 4-year-old Solomini dark bay went from a neck defeat to returning rival Banking madness in the nine-furlong Empire Classic against fellow New York-breds on October 25 here.
He picked up his third state-bred win by sprinting seven furlongs at Saratoga Race Course in last year’s Mike Lee and John Morrissey in July.
“He always does his best, this horse, and I thought seven-eighths was perfect for him,” Rosario said. “He won that distance before, so that was good. He ran great. He always breaks sharply and he was the best horse in the race.”
Dr. Power alert broke under Flavien Prat and showed the way through an opening quarter-mile in 22.92 seconds over the sloppy and closed main circuit, while Doc Sullivan was pressed from the outside. Bank Frenzy, with Manny Franco leading, entered the backstretch from third position as Dr. Kraft led the field into the turn, while Doc Sullivan piled on the pressure with a clocked half mile of 45.79.
Doc Sullivan was at the front of the stretch call, but drifted away, leaving Dr. Kraft was given a chance to fight on for a match while Bank Frenzy tried and failed to make up ground on the leaders. Rosario straightened his attack and was rampant with a sixteenth to go as Dr. Kraft continued and Bank Frenzy attempted a late inside move, but to no avail as Doc Sullivan raced home in a final time of 1:22.31. Dr. Kraft, who finished in fifth place in the Empire Classic, completed the exacta by 1 1/2 lengths over Bank Frenzy with Jackson Heights And General banker complete the order of finishing.
“He just kept moving. I kept him busy because sometimes he likes to wait a little bit, but I think he was the best in the league today. He was strong,” said Rosario, who has piloted Doc Sullivan in each of his last five rides, including a close fourth-place finish sprinting seven furlongs in the Grade 1 Forego in August at Saratoga and the Grade 3 Vosburgh presented by Army Mule in September here ahead of his Empire Classic attempt.
Daniel Ortiz, assistant and brother of winning trainer John Ortiz, said he was satisfied with the effort.
“We came into this very confident after a big effort last time, and kudos to Bank Frenzy – it’s always nice when you have another horse to compete with you,” Ortiz said. “We’re so happy he got the job done. He showed a lot of confidence and I’m glad he did it with ease. It’s great for the whole [team].”
Doc Sullivan, bred in the Empire State by Seamus Coughlan, bought for $59,000 at the 2023 OBS June 2-Year-Olds and Horses of Racing Age Sale and earned $68,750 in wins while improving his record to 19-6-6-2. He returned $3.40 for a $2 win bet as an after-time favorite.
Live racing resumes Sunday at the Big A with a nine-race card featuring the $150,000 Forever Together in Race 4 and the Grade 3, $150,000 Pebbles in Race 8. The first post is 12:10 PM Eastern.
America’s Day at the Races will present live coverage and analysis of the Aqueduct Racetrack fall meet on the FOX Sports networks. For the broadcast schedule and channel finder, visit https://www.nyra.com/aqueduct/racing/tv-schedule/.
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