OZONE PARK, N.Y. - A slow start, a wide trip and a wet track over which he had previously proven ineffective were no obstacles for Cicciobello, who rallied from far back under Jose Lezcano to upset Saturday’s $125,000 Thunder Rumble division of the New York Stallion Series by a neck over General Banker at Aqueduct.
A supplemental nominee to the race after trainer Derek Ryan admittedly forgot to nominate him two weeks earlier, Cicciobello returned $43.60 as the second-longest shot on the board.
“He had been working gangbusters, it helped there was a speed duel up front and he got left,” Ryan said from Tampa, where he watched the race.
Javier Castellano had worked Cicciobello on Sunday after Lezcano had worked the horse a half-mile in a bullet 46.80 seconds on Nov. 7. Castellano was committed to Doc Sullivan in the Thunder Rumble.
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Ryan said he instructed Lezcano to just leave the horse alone out of the gate.
“Don’t send him, don’t take him back, he chokes up a little bit,” Ryan said.
Cicciobello got pushed inward by Light Man out of the gate. Lezcano then guided Cicciobello outside and into the clear and he was five-wide down the backstretch. He was well back, but the pace was hot as Antonio of Venice and Light Man dueled through an opening quarter in 22.34 seconds and a half-mile in 45.44.
Lezcano kept Cicciobello wide for the stretch drive and was carried out even wider by General Banker in upper stretch, but Cicciobello prevailed. General Banker was second by 1 3/4 lengths over B D Saints. Doc Sullivan, the 6-5 favorite, didn’t have a good trip and finished fourth.
Kaz Sugar Bank, Light Man, Dr. Kraft and Antonio of Venice completed the order of finish.
Cicciobello, a 5-year-old gelding by Bellamy Road owned by Massimino Rapuano, covered the seven furlongs in the mud in 1:23.84.
“On paper, it looked like there would be lot of speed, I let him break and not rush him and at the three-eighths I let him go and he started picking it up and he come with a run,” Lezcano said.
Luis Rivera Jr., rider of General Banker, said he knew a horse was coming to his outside, so he guided his horse out there so his horse could see him.
“The other horse came way too wide and beat me on the wire, my horse got no excuse, he run huge today,” Rivera said.
Ryan said he is likely to give Cicciobello a freshening and point to NY Stallion Series races in 2025.
Franco’s five-win day includes Staten Island win
Manny Franco won five races from six mounts on Saturday at Aqueduct, the fourth of those wins coming aboard Golden Rocket, whom he guided to a 3 1/2-length victory in the $125,000 Staten Island division of the NYSS.
Golden Rocket broke from the rail and never left it as she sat within a half-length of the pacesetting Sunday Girl, who set fractions of 23.26 seconds for the quarter and 46.77 for the half-mile. When it was time to ask his filly to run, Franco never had to leave his inside position. Golden Rocket made the lead in upper stretch and was a comfortable winner over Sunday Girl, who finished second by two lengths over Lisa’s Vision. Both the second- and third-place finishers were trained by David Duggan.
Ilkay Kantarmaci trained Golden Rocket. It was Kantarmaci’s first official stakes win as a trainer after taking over the stable for his brother Mertkan, who retired in October.
Ilkay Kantarmaci claimed the mare two starts back for $45,000.
“She had back class, she won stakes races before,” Kantarmaci said. “I was looking to claim and have more horses.”
Golden Rocket, a 5-year-old daughter of Alpha owned by John Witte and Morris Kernan, covered the seven furlongs in the mud in 1:25.13 and returned $18.60 to win.
“I just sit on the rail and when room opened up, I just went for it,” Franco said.
Franco won all the odd-numbered races on Saturday’s card. He took the opener on Bank Frenzy ($3.60), the third on Land d’Oro ($6), the fifth on Sir Kartrite ($10.60), the seventh on Golden Rocket ($18.60) and the ninth on Lightning Mama ($6.70). Franco’s only defeat came when he rode B D Saints to a third-place finish in the Thunder Rumble, a mount he picked up earlier in the day.
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