GALLOPING GROCER (A. P Jet) proved to be the best New York-bred
juvenile last season with a 7 1/2-length win in the Sleepy Hollow S. and showed
his class against open company when falling only a neck short to Rockport Harbor
(Unbridled’s Song) in the Remsen S. (G2) in late November. The Dominick
Schettino-trained gelding will make his first three-year-old start in Saturday’s
$75,000 Whirlaway S. at Aqueduct.
A field of 10 will meet in the 1 1/16-mile contest over the inner track and
Galloping Grocer will likely be a prohibitive favorite under jockey Aaron Gryder.
The chestnut captured his first three starts by a combined 31 3/4 lengths before
suffering his first setback in the Remsen. His top rivals include the top two
finishers from the January 15 Count Fleet S., SCRAPPY T (Fit to Fight) and
NAUGHTY NEW YORKER (Quiet American). DIAMOND WILDCAT (Forest Wildcat) will make
his stakes bow off a nice one-mile allowance win last month.
In post parade order, with riders and imposts, the Whirlaway contestants are
Diamond Wildcat, Stewart Elliott, 118; TANI MARU (Cherokee Run), Mike Luzzi,
118; Naughty New Yorker, Jean-Luc Samyn, 118; SORT IT OUT (Out of Place), Tim
Thornton, 120; THIEVERY (Cat Thief), Pablo Fragoso, 116; Galloping Grocer, 120;
LIEUTENANT DANZ (Gold Fever), Fernando Jara, 116; DADDY JOE (Unbridled’s Song),
Jeremy Beasley, 116; MIDDLE EARTH (Dixieland Band), Shaun Bridgmohan, 116; and
Scrappy T, Alan Garcia, 122.