Lucky Seven Stable’s Kentucky-bred Rattle N Roll put in a powerful, sweeping move around the far turn to rocket to the lead and drew off in the stretch for a 4 ¼-length victory in the 108th edition of the $500,000 Breeders’ Futurity (G1) for 2-year-olds on Oct. 9.
With the win, Rattle N Roll earned a berth in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (G1) on Nov. 5 at Del Mar. Trained by Ken McPeek and piloted by Brian Hernandez Jr., Rattle N Roll covered the 1 1/16 miles in 1:43.78. With the $300,000 winner’s share of the purse, Rattle N Roll increased his earnings to $379,460. His record now stands at 4-2-0-1.
“All the credit really goes to the horse, being only his fourth start, to be able to sit back there and read the race and let it develop in front of him,” said Brian Hernandez. “When I got him outside, he showed what a good horse he is. He engulfed those horses pretty easily, and turning for him he switched leads. He knows his job, and he just kind of went on about it.”
Bred in the Bluegrass by St. Simon Place, Rattle N Roll is a chestnut son of Connect out of the Johannesburg mare Jazz Tune. He was a $210,000 Keeneland September Sale graduate.
In the $500,000 Spinster Stakes (G1) for fillies and mares, St. George Stable’s homebred Letruska posted yet another front-running win—her fourth consecutive graded score—winning by 1 ¾ lengths on Oct. 10. The win marked the fourth one in a Breeders’ Cup Challenge series race this year for Letruska, who has earned a fees-paid berth into the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Distaff (G1) at Del Mar on Nov. 6.
Trained by Fausto Gutierrez and ridden by Irad Ortiz Jr., Letruska covered the 1 1/8 miles in 1:49.01. The 5-year-old Kentucky-bred daughter of Super Saver is out of the Successful Appeal mare Magic Appeal. Letruska’s earnings now stand at $2,236,459 and her record is 22-17-1. Her impressive resume includes wins this year in the Apple Blossom Handicap (G1), Ogden Phipps Stakes (G1), Fleur de Lis Stakes (G1), and the Personal Ensign Stakes (G1).