Under most circumstances, El Bloombito is the kind of horse Linda Toscano would have looked to sell. But after a discussion with the horse’s other owners, it was decided that the four-year-old El Bloombito was the kind of horse worth keeping.
El Bloombito – named after a Twitter account that parodied then-New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s attempts at speaking Spanish – is among nine horses in Saturday’s $54,200 Whata Baron Series final at the Meadowlands Racetrack. He is one of three Toscano-trained horses in the race.
First race post time is 5:30 p.m. Saturday at the Meadowlands.
Toscano had high hopes for El Bloombito after he was purchased for $25,000 at the 2012 Standardbred Horse Sale. He won a division of the Tompkins-Geers as a two-year-old, but was limited to three starts that season because of soreness. At age three, El Bloombito won two preliminary divisions of the New York Sire Stakes, but had to be scratched from the final because of illness.
“He had issues at both two and three, but he had a lot of speed,” said Toscano, who owns El Bloombito with Stake Your Claim Stable and Fred Wallace. “He absolutely had a lot of speed.
“I don’t keep them very often; I usually sell them after their 3-year-old year so I can make room for the next one. But the group of us talked and thought: Do we really want to sell this horse? He’s going to make an awful nice aged racehorse for somebody else. We thought maybe he could pay his way and pay for some of the babies. We decided to keep him, and I’m not unhappy that I kept him. I’m just unhappy that he has no luck.”
Now a gelding, El Bloombito has won two of nine races this year and hit the board a total of five times. He was fifth in the first round of the Whata Baron Series, although beaten by only a half-length, and third in last week’s 12-horse second round despite racing on the outside for the entirety of the extended-distance 1-1/8 miles event.
His luck did not improve with the draw for Saturday’s final, as he got post nine. Regular driver John Campbell will be in the sulky. The duo is 8-1 on the morning line.
“John and he get along really, really well and he’s been finishing up like gangbusters,” Toscano said. “Even last week at a mile and an eighth he raced well; he was parked the whole mile. I was happy with him. But I don’t know how we’re going to do it from the nine hole.”
El Bloombito has done most of his racing this season from off the pace, but that is by design and not because of a lack of speed leaving the starting gate.
“He leaves really well, but we’re teaching him two ends,” Toscano said about the son of American Ideal-On The Arm. “He was a one-trick pony; he used to always have to leave and be on the lead. But he was too grabby. We needed him to relax. He’s been racing really well from the back.”
El Bloombito, who has earned $119,974 lifetime, also has relaxed since being gelded.
“He was very tough on himself,” Toscano said. “He was the kind of horse that was difficult, both from a caretaker’s point of view and a trainer’s point of view. He would scream and holler and rant and rave. He’s much more focused now. He’s just a nice horse to have around.”
Toscano’s other Whata Baron finalists are JK Patriot and Sassy Hanover, who are 15-1 and 20-1, respectively, on the morning line.
“Sassy is overmatched, I think,” Toscano said. “He’s an honest horse and when he’s in the right class he wins. I like those kinds of horses. But I think he’s one touch above where he belongs (in the Whata Baron).
“JK Patriot is just a pleasure to have in the barn. I’m babysitting him for (Ohio’s) Sammy and Jodi Schillaci. He doesn’t do anything wrong. He’s just one of those horses that you’d love to own because he goes out there and finds a way to get a check every single time. Last week he had an impossible spot as well as having his wheel run over, so he dragged a flat tire around the whole mile. He didn’t have much shot last week.
“He’s reunited with David (Miller) and David gets along great with him and maybe he’ll get more luck too.”
Ron Burke-trained Rediscovery, who won his two preliminary starts in the series, is the 2-1 morning line favourite. He leaves from post six with driver Yannick Gingras.
Ideal Cowboy and Bettorever, both from the stable of trainer Jeff Bamond Jr., are 5-2 and 3-1, respectively. Bettorever, who also has a preliminary-round win in the series, starts from post two with driver Corey Callahan while Ideal Cowboy begins from post seven with driver Tim Tetrick.
This story courtesy of Harness Racing Communications, a division of the U.S. Trotting Association. For more information, visit www.ustrotting.com.