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​Today’s Flavor gets first taste of stakes glory in $100K Affirmed Success

by Keith McCalmont

Reddam Racing’s Today’s Flavor made every pole a winning one in Sunday’s $100,000 Affirmed Success, a six-furlong sprint for New York-bred older horses to complete the stakes action at the Aqueduct Racetrack spring meet.

Trained by George Weaver and piloted by the meet’s leading rider Manny Franco, Today’s Flavor closed out the racing action on the card after the scheduled ninth and final race was cancelled due to inclement weather.

Today’s Flavor, a 5-year-old Laoban gelding, was hustled out of the outermost post 6 by Franco and marked splits of 22.47 seconds and 45.53 over the sloppy and sealed main track with Amundson tracking to his outside in second.

Franco and Today’s Flavor maintained their lead through the turn as the Jose Ortiz-piloted Sheriff Bianco loomed a threat with an inside move and Amundson prepared to launch his bid. But there would be no catching Today’s Flavor, who opened up by 1 1/2-lengths at the stretch call and crossed the wire a 3 3/4-length winner in a final time of 1:09.58. Sheriff Bianco completed the exacta by 1 1/2-lengths over Amundson with Scocciatore, My Boy Tate and Lobsta rounding out the order of finish. Listentoyourheart was scratched.

Today’s Flavor won four consecutive races over the Big A main track from a state-bred maiden score on November 27 through to an open allowance win on February 18 that garnered a career-best 99 Beyer Speed Figure. He entered from a pacesetting fourth on April 8 in his stakes debut in the seven-furlong Grade 1 Carter Handicap presented by NYRA Bets, finishing 1 3/4-lengths back of the victorious Doppelganger. 

“He’s a nice horse. He showed us last time in the Grade 1 Carter with the quick pace in front of him that he still gave it to me in the end and just lost by about a length,” said Franco, who completed the spring meet with 37 wins. “Today, with the New York-bred company, I was so confident in him because I knew that he was the best horse in the race. 

 “I just rode him like that and he got it done. It was the plan to just let him roll. It was a sloppy track and I didn’t want to get dirty,” added Franco, with a laugh.

Sheriff Bianco, a six-time winner entering on one week's rest from an optional-claiming score here, earned his first stakes placing for the spring meet’s leading trainer Linda Rice.

 “We had a forward trip,” said Ortiz. “The winner is a good horse and ran in a Grade 1 race last time and came back to state-bred company today. He did what he was supposed to do – he went to the lead and stayed there.”

Today’s Flavor, bred in the Empire State by Joseph Calvo, banked $55,000 in victory while improving his record to 10-5-3-0. 

Live racing resumes Thursday on Opening Day of the spring/summer meet at Belmont Park with a nine-race card. First post is 1 p.m. Eastern.

America’s Day at the Races will present daily coverage and analysis of the spring/summer meet at Belmont Park on the networks of FOX Sports. For the complete broadcast schedule, visit https://www.nyra.com/belmont/racing/tv-schedule.

NYRA Bets is the official wagering platform of Belmont Park, and the best way to bet every race of the spring/summer meet. Available to horseplayers nationwide, the NYRA Bets app is available for download today on iOS and Android at www.NYRABets.com.