Clapton gets up to make the grade in the Ghostzapper (G3) April 1 Gulfstream Park (Lauren King)
NYRA Press Office
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y.— Clapton, a half-length winner of the Grade 3 Ghostzapper in April at Gulfstream Park, was purchased privately by Sheikh Rashid Bin Humaid Al Nuaimi’s RRR Racing and has been transferred to trainer Chad Summers.
The 4-year-old Brethren colt will target next Saturday’s 10-furlong Grade 1, $1 million Jockey Club Gold Cup which offers a “Win and You’re In” berth to the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Classic in November at Santa Anita Park.
Summers said Clapton, who finished second to Charge It last out in the 10-furlong Grade 2 Suburban on July 8 at Belmont Park, will be given every opportunity to make the Breeders’ Cup with longer-term targets at the Dubai World Cup Carnival under consideration.
“I’m grateful for the opportunity to work for His Highness,” Summers said. “We try and find horses for the carnival and the big races overseas, year in and year out. We’ve had a few horses on our radar and we were able to get this deal done.
“If he were to run well here, you’d look towards a race like the Breeders’ Cup,” added Summers. “If not, we’ll prepare him for races at the carnival like the Maktoum Challenge Round 1 going a mile and it opens up the door to the Saudi Cup and the Dubai World Cup. There’s a lot of window of opportunity over there. How he does Saturday will do a lot to determining his future stateside or overseas.”
Previously trained by Juan Alvarado, the former Florida homebred for Arindel boasts a record of 22-5-4-6 for purse earnings of $522,890. He has competed mainly at Gulfstream Park, graduating at six furlongs in July 2021 and taking the one-mile Gil Campbell Memorial Handicap in October. Clapton has made his last three starts in graded company, finishing third to likely returning rival Rattle N Roll in the 1 3/16-mile Grade 3 Pimlico Special in May ahead of his Suburban effort that garnered a career-best 100 Beyer Speed Figure.
“If you go back and watch his races, he’s very consistent. He’s a cool horse and there’s things we look for in our purchases – he’s tactical; and he’s won at different distances,” Summers said. “His Ghostzapper going a mile and a sixteenth was really impressive. He came back and ran a mile and a quarter in the Suburban last time out running second to Charge It and that is nothing to sneeze at. I love his running style. He just grinds and he keeps trying.”
Clapton worked five-eighths in 1:00.12 Saturday over the Gulfstream Park main track in company with four-time winner The Skipper Too, who recently ran fourth in the Birdstone on July 27 here.
“He did it the right way,” Summers said. “He worked in company with Skipper and blew him away at the top of the stretch. He’s up here now and we’ll look to breeze him on the weekend.”
To win the Jockey Club Gold Cup, Clapton will have to topple a talented field led by Grade 1-winner and $ 2-million-earning Godolphin homebred Proxy.
“It’s going to be a tough field,” Summers said. “Any time you run against the blue – whether in America or overseas – blue is the one you’ve got to try and beat. We’ll give it our all and hopefully get a little lucky.”
Clapton, a full-brother to stakes-placed Knox, is out of the stakes-winning Afleet Alex mare Alexandra Rylee.
