Drawing Away Stable and trainer David Jacobson’s Strapping Groom captured his
seven-year-old debut in Saturday’s Grade 3, $200,000
Tom Fool
Handicap at Aqueduct as the even-money favorite and paid $4.30 for the win.
“We thought we’d be closer to the pace,” Jacobson said. “Being down on the
inside we wanted to get out of there, but the way he ran from off the pace today
is another dimension he has.
“With the training schedules we’ve had because of the severe winter, he
wasn’t the fittest horse today, but when I saw the fractions I said, ‘We might
have a shot.’ This was all going through my mind in a split second. He’s a good
horse, and he’s one of the better sprinters on the East Coast, if not in the
country right now, in my opinion.”
Strapping Groom raced off the pace in third in the early going as Dads Caps
led the field through quick opening fractions of :22 2/5 and :45 1/5.
Strapping Groom kept himself within striking distance as he angled to the
outside on the far turn. Dads Caps continued to lead in midstretch by a length,
but Strapping Groom dug in late to mount a rally. The son of Johannesburg drew
even with the leader in deep stretch and took over to prevail by a length for
his fifth stakes score.
“He came out (of the gate) a little slow and (Jacobson) told me to put him in
the race,” jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. said. “When I got clear in the stretch, he took
off. He was ready today; (Jacobson) did a great job with him.”
Dads Cap’s took second by a 1 3/4 over third-place finisher and 2013 Tom Fool
runner-up, Saturday’s Charm. Jake N Elwood, Non Stop, Candyman E and Sensational
Slam completed the order under the wire.
“One of these days, we’ll get them,” said Rudy Rodriguez, trainer of Dads
Caps. “We were happy with the way he ran. I was hoping the outside horse would
clear us and go to the lead, but then we got to the inside and got pressured. He
ran a big race. Strapping Groom is a very nice horse.”
Strapping Groom covered six furlongs in 1:09 4/5 over the fast inner track.
His record now stands at 27-10-6-2 and $916,713 in career earnings.
The chestnut horse showed some promise early in his career with a pair of
runner-up finishes in the Fred “Cappy” Capossela and Hansel Stakes at age three,
then went to the sidelines in September 2010 and did not reappear until the
following August, finishing last in an optional claiming event at Saratoga. He
dropped into the claiming ranks for his second and final start of 2011, and
raced for either a tag or against starter allowance company in four attempts in
2012.
Strapping Groom was haltered for a $35,000 tag in his 2013 debut, a May 24
runner-up finish at Belmont, and promptly captured the June 26 Lion Cavern in
his first start for new connections. He then finished fifth in the Grade 3 James
Marvin on the opening-day at Saratoga and won the Kid Russell in his next start
on August 12.
Strapping Groom stayed at Saratoga to pull off the upset at 15-1 odds over a
sloppy track in the Grade 1 Forego on August 31, for his first graded victory.
He would finish third in the Grade 1 Vosburgh the following month at Belmont and
was off the board in Grade 3 Bold Ruler in October, but ran second over this
track in the Grade 3 Fall Highweight in November. The chestnut closed out his
six-year-old campaign with a 6 1/2-length score in the Gravesend Handicap on
December 21.
“The obvious is the (Grade 1, $500,000) Carter (on April 5),” Jacobson said
when asked what might be next for Strapping Groom. “That’s on the top of the
list. Anything is possible. He’ll tell us how he’s doing and he’ll let us know
what he wants to do.”
Bred in Kentucky by Kinsman Farm, Strapping Groom is out of stakes runner-up
Something Silver, a daughter of Silver Deputy. This is the female family of
Breeders’ Cup Classic winner Awesome Again and two-year-old champion Macho Uno,
both successful sires out of 2000 Broodmare of the Year Primal Force.
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