Rontos Racing Stable has been in the headlines of late with unbeaten Kentucky
Derby hopeful Social Inclusion, but appears to have an improving older turf
horse in Hey Leroy. Making his stakes debut in Saturday’s Grade 3, $100,000
Appleton
Stakes at Gulfstream Park, the former claimer rallied from last to deny
pacesetting Mr. Online by a neck.
Like budding superstar Social Inclusion, Hey Leroy is trained by Manny
Azpurua. He was claimed for $20,000 from Ken and Sarah Ramsey at Saratoga last
July, and has climbed the class ladder since switching to turf for his new
connections.
Overlooked at 11-1 off an entry-level allowance score over this course on
March 15, where he was not entered for the tag, Hey Leroy raced well off early
fractions of :23 4/5, :46 3/5 and 1:09 on the firm course. Mr. Online, who took
over before the half-mile mark, opened up a 2 1/2-length lead in midstretch.
But Hey Leroy kicked into overdrive for Alex Solis, getting up in time to finish
the grassy mile in 1:32 2/5 and rewarding his loyalists with a $25.60 win
payout.
Salto, the 5-2 favorite, settled for third. Next came Tetradrachm, Grand
Tito, Midnight Cello, Fredericksburg, Kharafa and Five Iron. Cozzetti was
scratched, along with the main-track-only pair of Csaba and Catron. Csaba
instead ran one race later in the Grade 3 Skip Away and failed to hit the board.
Hey Leroy was bred by Spruce Lane Farm in Kentucky and sold for a mere $2,000
as a Fasig-Tipton Kentucky October yearling. The Ramseys claimed him out of a
four-length score in a $20,000 maiden claimer on the Churchill Downs dirt last
June, but he made only two starts for Mike Maker before being haltered by his
current connections. His scorecard now reads 22-5-5-3, $174,991.
The four-year-old gelding is by Any Given Saturday and out of the winning
Gulch mare Galashey. His dam is a half-sister to stakes winner Salinja, a
Mountaineer track record-setter who also equaled a course record at Monmouth on
turf. Galashey is also a three-quarter sister to stakes-placed Kisbey, dam of
stakes victress and Meadowlands track record-setter Thoroughly Holy. Further
back, this is the family of Grade 1 stars Sardula, Imperial Gesture and Divine
Park.
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