TDN APBs: Freshening Up Like a ‘Boss’

by Steve Sherack

Metaboss (Street Boss)–a devastating come-from-behind winner of the GIII El Camino Real Derby over the Golden Gate synthetic Feb. 14–is currently enjoying a freshening and is being aimed for a fall return. 

The chestnut, a lackluster sixth as the 9-5 favorite in the GIII Spiral S. over Turfway’s Polytrack Mar. 21, was briefly under consideration for the GI Kentucky Derby until heading to the shelf earlier this spring. Metaboss broke his maiden in style at fourth asking, displaying a serious turn of foot in a nine-furlong maiden special weight on the Santa Anita grass Jan. 4 prior to his two aforementioned stakes attempts. 

“After that last race [in the Spiral], it kind of puzzled me how he ran so bad,” said Mersad Metanovic, who picked Metaboss out as a $10,000 KEENOV weanling and also heads the ownership group. “He came out of the race a little bit light. We trained him–his first work back was really good [five furlongs in a bullet :59 2/5 at Keeneland Apr. 6], and his second work was just average. We just thought that we had asked too much of him–he’s a May 17th foal–so we didn’t want to really push much further. We just backed off and turned him out and freshened him up. He’s put on a lot of weight and has grown, too. He’s filled out really nicely and I think we have a really bright future with him.” 

Metaboss, previously trained in his first six starts by the California-based Jeff Bonde, will have a new conditioner when he returns to the races. He will likely be pointed for a grass campaign in the Midwest or East Coast in the October/November time frame, according to Metanovic. 

“I think he’s going to be one of the better older horses on the turf going into 2016,” Metanovic concluded. “His turn of foot on grass is wicked. He’s got a lot of potential that we haven’t even touched yet.”