Aqueduct: T Loves a Fight makes 15th start of the year in NYSSS Thunder Rumble

By Ryan Martin —-

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – State-bred veteran T Loves a Fight has been an aggressive campaigner all season long and will attempt to build on a combative season when taking on seven other Empire State natives in Sunday’s $100,000 New York Stallion Stakes Series Thunder Rumble division at Aqueduct Racetrack.

The seven-furlong sprint for older horses on the main track pays homage to the 1992 Grade 1 Travers winner. Trained by the late Richard O’Connell and owned by Braeburn Farm, Thunder Rumble won 3-of-4 starts at the Spa, which also included the Grade 2 Jim Dandy and the Saratoga Cup.

T Loves a Fight arrives at the Thunder Rumble off of a third-place finish in the Hudson on October 20 at Belmont Park. Trained by Orlando Noda for Noda Brothers, the 5-year-old has won five of his 14 starts this year but is still in search of a stakes victory in 2019.

T Loves A Fight is a three-time winner at the Big A as well as a three-time winner over seven furlongs. He will leave from post 6.

Noda, who is the sixth trainer to saddle the son of Girolamo, says that the horse thrives off plenty of training.

“He’s back to form at the end of the day,” Noda said. “He was third in his last stake and we got [jockey] Irad [Ortiz, Jr.] back up on him so we got a shot. Believe it or not, the horse loves to train. He’s a good horse and a sound horse and all he does is give his effort and a hundred percent every race. That’s all we can ask for.”

A winner of the 2017 Mike Lee at Belmont Park, T Loves a Fight was claimed in May by Noda in for $10,000 from Brad Cox. Since joining Noda’s stable, he has won 4-of-10 starts.

Francis Paolingeli’s homebred Gold for the King will try to protect his title in the Thunder Rumble, breaking from post 4 for trainer Charlton Baker.

The 5-year-old Posse gelding, fourth in the Hudson last out, was an outstanding 9 ¼-length winner of last year’s event. Although winless in six starts since, he is a five-time stakes winner in 24 career starts while boasting the largest bankroll in the field with $722,959 in lifetime earnings.

Gold for the King has acquired black type against open having run third in the Gravesend last year and rounded out the trifecta in the Grade 3 Toboggan in January.

Never off the board in nine starts at Aqueduct, Gold for the King will be ridden by Joel Rosario.

Making his first stakes start since his career debut as a 2-year-old in the Great White Way division of the NYSSS is Dark Money, who arrives at Sunday’s event off of a 4 1/2-length triumph at Aqueduct, where he registered a career-best 91 Beyer Speed Figure.

Owned by seven-time NYRA leading owner Michael Dubb in partnership with Bethlehem Stables, Michael A. Zinman and Joseph M. Zinman, Dark Money has never finished worse than second in his last five career starts and was claimed in June by trainer Rudy Rodriguez for $40,000 after winning at Belmont Park.
The son of leading New York second crop sire Central Banker has won four of nine career starts and will receive the riding services of Jose Lezcano from post 2.

Making his first start in 13 months is My Boy Tate, who last raced when finishing a distant eighth in last year’s Hudson.

Bred by trainer Michelle Nevin and owned by Billy Koch’s Little Red Feather Racing in partnership with Nevin, My Boy Tate will attempt to add a third stakes victory in Sunday’s race. After breaking his maiden in August 2017 at Saratoga, the son of Boys At Tosconova won his next four starts including the Say Florida Sandy and Hollie Hughes at the Big A.

My Boy Tate will emerge from post 3 under Manny Franco.

Completing the field are Binkster [post 1, Dylan Davis], Sicilia Mike [post 5, Jose Ortiz], Arthur’s Hope [post 7, John Velazquez] and Kazmania [post 8, Kendrick Carmouche].