Noseda Delighted With Donn Entrant Sloan Avenue
Although he is based in Europe and considered to be a foreigner in Saturday’s $500,000 Donn Handicap (G1), trainer Jeremy Noseda is no stranger to American racing.
On Saturday, Noseda, who began his training career in California, will saddle the 4-year-old Sloane Avenue in what will be the chestnut colt’s first start on dirt. While some would view the move to be a big risk and a large undertaking, Noseda is not concerned. That’s because he and owner Paul Roy have taken this risk twice before, and each transcontinental journey has resulted in a win.
In 2004, Noseda shipped 2-year-old Wilko to Lone Star Park for the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (G1), and the son of Awesome Again, who had never before raced on a dirt surface, came away from the race with a game, three-quarter length victory on Championship Day. Noseda returned in 2010 with another Roy-owned son of Awesome Again, Awesome Act, and he would get a win of his own in the Gotham (G3) at Aqueduct, again in his dirt debut.
Noseda hopes that trend can continue with Sloane Avenue, who in his last start won the EBF Stallions Hyde Stakes at Europe’s Kempton Park on Nov. 19. Noseda shipped Sloane Avenue to Belmont last fall to run in the Hill Prince (G3), but the colt caught a soft course and finished eighth.
“He trains on [the dirt] good,” Noseda said.“I brought two horses out here for Paul [Roy] that had dirt pedigrees, and they both won. [Sloane Avenue] is the third one I’ve brought over for him. So I hope it’s third time luck.”
Sloane Avenue was originally on target to contest the Al Maktoum Challenge at Meydan Racecourse in Dubai, but due to the past success they’ve had stateside, Noseda and Roy opted to target a race in America.
“We were looking to go to Dubai with him to run in the Maktoum Challenge, because we were very keen to give him a run on the dirt, because he has a real dirt pedigree,” Noseda said.“Then I had a talk with Paul Roy, and he said, ‘Would there be anything we could go for in America?’ So I had to look around. I looked at the Malibu at Santa Anita, and honestly, in Santa Anita, if you go to California, you’re going to take on possibly the best dirt horses at the moment - Shared Belief, Bayern and California Chrome - so I looked here and saw this race. So [Roy] and I had a chat, and we decided, ‘Let’s be brave and go for it.’ So here we are.”
Sloane Avenue took his first steps over the track early this week after clearing quarantine. The colt gave his trainer a brief scare after he came out of his Tuesday morning exercise stiff, but Noseda says the son of Candy Ride, now settled at Gulfstream, is back in top form and training forwardly.
“He’s doing well,” he said.“He was a little bit stiff after he exercised on Tuesday morning, which wasn’t ideal. I had to change what I wanted to do while I was here, but he was good yesterday and today, so we’re all happy.”
“We’ve got that behind us, and he seems to be in top form now,” he added.“I’m sure he’ll run a good, solid race.”
Noseda said if Sloane Avenue performs well in the Donn, he may bring the colt back for another U.S. start later in the year.
“There are races in my mind that I’d love to have a go with,” he said.“I’d love to take him back to Belmont in the summer. But let’s get this out of the way and make sure we’re on the right track.”
“Apart from my little scare on Tuesday, I’m delighted,” he added.“I worked for John Gosden in the mid-80’s. I trained in California in the ‘90s. I love American racing. I think it’s great racing, and I’m always glad to come here.”
Source: Gulfstream Park