Saratoga: Rattle N Roll looks to stamp BC Classic ticket

Trainer Kenny McPeek is hopeful that Lucky Seven Stable’s Rattle N Roll can put together a Breeders’ Cup worthy performance in Saturday’s Grade 1, $1 million Jockey Club Gold Cup at Saratoga.

The 1 1/4-mile test for 3-year-olds and up offers a win-and-you’re-in berth to the Breeders’ Cup Classic in November at Santa Anita Park.

The 4-year-old Connect colt has proven that he does not have to take his racetrack with him, having won five graded stakes over four racetracks. Rattle N Roll won his stakes debut in the Breeders’ Futurity in October 2021 at Keeneland and earned a triumph in the Oklahoma Derby (G3) at Remington Park nearly one year later.

But Rattle N Roll’s 4-year-old season appears to be his best one yet, having put together a string of three graded-stakes triumphs this year. After making a successful return to the site of his lone Grade 1 coup in the Ben Ali (G3) on April 22, he shipped to Pimlico to secure a narrow triumph in the Pimlico Special (G3). Both efforts earned a career-high 101 Beyer Speed Figure. From there, he won the Blame (G3) on June 3 going nine furlongs at Churchill Downs.

Rattle N Roll has not raced since finishing second, beaten a half-length by West Will Power, in the Stephen Foster (G1) on July 1 at Ellis Park. McPeek said a strong performance would warrant targeting the Breeders’ Cup Classic, with a possible start in the Lukas Classic (G2) on Sept. 30 at Churchill Downs.

“He’s a horse that ran hard all spring, and every time we led him over there he did great,” McPeek said. “We just felt that if we were going to make the Breeders’ Cup Classic, we should space his races a little bit. Let’s see what he does this weekend. If he runs really well with the two-month spacing, he might not run again until Breeders’ Cup. We can always come back in the Lukas Classic if we choose to, but he’s done everything we asked him, and he continued to thrive.”

McPeek said he was selective about where to run his talented colt this year.

“We were really conservative with him as a 3-year-old and even as an older horse,” McPeek said. “We were trying to find soft spots and let him continue to win. At this stage, you got to take things to a higher level. At this point it’s up to him, but he’s been a fantastic horse to be around. How many horses win graded stakes at 2, 3 and 4? He’s been a constant professional. He can win anywhere you want to go.”

Rattle N Roll has banked $1,697,741 through a 19: 8-2-2 lifetime record. He was selected by McPeek for $210,000 out of the 2020 Keeneland September yearling sale and is out of the Johannesburg mare Jazz Tune, who has a Liam’s Map yearling colt entered in this year’s Keeneland September Yearling Sale listed as Hip 1300.

McPeek will have the chance to double up on Grade 1 scores at Saratoga when he saddles first-out maiden winner Wonder Ride in Sunday’s seven-furlong, $300,000 Spinaway. The 2-year-old Gun Runner filly broke her maiden going the Spinaway distance on Aug. 13, coming from just off the pace en route to a half-length score. The triumph produced a 72 Beyer Speed Figure.

Wonder Ride, owned and co-bred by Walking L Thoroughbreds with Fest Miles, is out of the graded-stakes-winning, New York-bred Wonderment, who was campaigned by McPeek. Wonder Ride was raised on McPeek’s Magdalena Farm in Central Kentucky. He said breeding to Gun Runner was a no-brainer.

“That wasn’t a hard decision,” McPeek said, with a laugh. “But physically, I felt that Gun Runner was going to help the mare and maybe contribute a little added balance and speed and he’s done it. He’s a once-in-a-lifetime stallion. He’s a very well-made horse. Whether you breed him to a big mare or a little mare, I think he adds his influence.”

McPeek also said he will keep a string of about 20 horses at Belmont Park following the conclusion of the Saratoga meet. He said he plans to run at the Belmont at the Big A meet through the fall and possibly into Aqueduct’s fall and winter meet.

“I think we have the numbers to be able stay and I have some horses that I want to run up there in New York, so we decided to set up a division there,” McPeek said. “I think it’s ideal for us to leave some horses up there during the fall and maybe even the winter if all goes well.”