Runaway Lute was a runaway winner in his May 28 debut here, dominating a field of New York-bred maidens by 12 lengths when bet to a nickel under 6-5, and backed up that performance with another romp in the state-bred Rockville Centre S. Away awkwardly as the 7-5 second choice, the dark bay settled in a comfortable third, two lengths off dueling leaders Silver Mission (Mission Impazible) and Manifest Destiny (City Zip) through a 22:14 quarter-mile. Ranging up after those two passing the five-sixteenths pole, Runaway Lute took command soon after turning for home under Javier Castellano and widened away from the field with every stride thereafter, bounding home well clear under the wire. The winner was bought into by Nehoc Stables after his big debut. He is a half to Judy Soda (Personal Flag), MSW, $395,567, while his second dam is SW/GSP Tootsie (D'Accord). Nikki Tootsie is responsible for a yearling colt by English Channel and a Midshipman filly foaled this term.
“Obviously, after the fact, I'm glad he got left a little bit [at the break] because he showed us a new dimension,” winning trainer Gary Contessa said. “If you want to have a good horse, he's got to have that ability to not have things go his way and win anyway. So I'm glad to see this, I've always thought he was a super horse. Now we'll take the next step forward, maybe the [GII] Saratoga Special [Aug. 14] or the [GI] Hopeful [Sept. 5], but we're definitely going to go open company because I think he's that good.” Castellano added: “He's shown a lot of potential. I think he's going to be a really good horse in the future. The way he did it today, he did it the right way. He switched at the right time and right place. You don't see too many 2-year-olds that way. It's a big advantage for a jockey to ride those kind of horses.” Click for the Equibase.com chart or VIDEO, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton.
ROCKVILLE CENTRE S., $122,500, BEL, 7-16, (S), 2yo, 6f, 1:10.82, ft.
1–#RUNAWAY LUTE, 122, c, 2, by Midnight Lute
1st Dam: Nikki Tootsie, by Waquoit
2nd Dam: Toosie, by D'Accord
3rd Dam: Pech Di Roma, by Seattle Slew
($77,000 Ylg '15 SARAUG). O-Harold Lerner LLC & Nehoc
Stables; B-Windylea Farm (NY); T-Gary C. Contessa; J-Javier
Castellano. $75,000. Lifetime Record: 2-2-0-0, $111,000.
[bullet ad=”webb-carroll-another-wctc-grad”][bullet ad=”vinery-sales-bullet-runaway-lute”][bullet ad=”most-consigned-by”]2–Ethan Hunt, 118, c, 2, Mission Impazible–Deputy Reality, by
Deputy Minister. ($155,000 Ylg '15 FTKJUL). O-Twin Creeks
Racing Stables, LLC; B-Twin Creeks Farm & Sequel
Thoroughbreds, LLC (NY); T-Todd A. Pletcher. $25,000.
3–Silver Mission, 122, c, 2, Mission Impazible–Nashinda, by
Silver Deputy. O-Twin Creeks Racing Stables, LLC & Sequel
Racing; B-Sequel Thoroughbreds, LLC & Twin Creeks Farm
(NY); T-Todd A. Pletcher. $12,500.
Margins: 8 3/4, 1 1/4, 6 1/4. Odds: 1.45, 7.80, 1.15.
Also Ran: Manifest Destiny, Concatulations.
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