Siege of Boston seeks 1st graded win in Knickerbocker

Siege of Boston has hit the board in three listed stakes and three graded races during his career. Now he seeks an elusive graded win in Sunday’s Grade 3, $175,000 Knickerbocker Stakes, a 1 1/8-mile, outer-turf route for 3-year-olds and up at Belmont at the Big A.

Trained by Jimmy Toner and owned by Allen Stable, the 5-year-old War Front horse enters from a third in the one-mile-and-70-yard listed Tapit on Aug. 29 at Kentucky Downs. In that race Siege of Boston traveled in eighth of nine early before a wide rally for show honors, beaten by 3 1/2 lengths by the more forward Irish Aces.

“The funny thing was that speed was holding on this year at Kentucky Downs pretty well. All in all it was a good effort from him,” Toner said. “He always shows up.”

Before that Siege of Boston was second, beaten by one length, in the listed Kentucky Downs Preview Turf Cup on Aug. 4 at Ellis Park. It was back-to-back narrow defeats after a half-length fourth when closing along the rail in the Monmouth (G3), won in a dead heat by Running Bee and Knickerbocker foe Fort Washington.

“That day (at Monmouth) the ground was not soft, let’s be real. But there was a little bit of give to it, and I think there was a bit more give to the inside than the outside, and I think the outside closers got us right at the wire,” Toner said. “It was a big effort. He’s a nice horse. He tries hard and gives you everything he’s got every time he runs. ... Sooner or later, he is going to get in there.”

Siege of Boston was beaten by the same half-length margin this year when third in the Tampa Bay (G3) at Tampa Bay Downs and second in the Canadian Turf (G3) at Gulfstream Park. The latter earned a career-best 96 Beyer Speed Figure, according to Daily Racing Form, in defeat to Grade 1-placed Emmanuel, just shy of Reckoning Force’s Knickerbocker field-high 97.

Toner said firm turf likely would be to Siege of Boston’s benefit, but he always can count on him to try hard.

“Listen, he’s a nice horse,” Toner said. “He’s a good, honest horse. He gives you everything he’s got no matter where you take him, no matter where you run him. He never runs a bad race.”

Bred in Kentucky by Allen and White Birch Farm, Siege of Boston is out of Group 2-winning Sadler’s Wells mare Peinture Rare. He has a record of 19: 3-6-6 with $496,211 in earnings. Hall of Famer Joel Rosario will ride from post 6.

The Knickerbocker is scheduled to start Sunday at 1:41 p.m. EDT.