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Gural gets his Crown
by Debbie Little
Prior to his Hall of Fame induction in July 2021, Meadowlandsâ president and chief executive officer Jeff Gural told HRU that at 78, he still had things he wanted to accomplish. One was winning a Hambletonian and the other was winning a Breeders Crown.
Thanks to the magnificent pacing mare Rocknificent, itâs one down, one to go.
âIâve come close but this is the first one Iâve ever won,â said Gural. âAnd itâs funny, because I told Sarah Svanstedt that I was going to bring the Breeders Crown to The Meadowlands so they could win one, because theyâve never won one at all these other tracks and they were so excited and theyâre doing great. And I havenât gotten a check with a horse I own with them. Iâm glad I got the job done with a pacer, a pacing filly.â
Gural didnât remember the specifics on how he came to own part of Rocknificent, but knew it had something to do with his friendship with co-owner Dan Baer of South Mountain Stables.
âWe bought Rocknificent at the Lexington sale and Jeff has been buying into horses with me for some time and I called Jeff up and said, âJeff, what do you think?â and I remember this, he said, âShe really is well-bred. Okay, Iâll take a quarter,ââ said Baer. âJeff and I buy several horses together. He is a good friend and heâs very supportive. Iâm very supportive of Jeff and what heâs done for racing and Iâm so happy for Jeff today because this is his first Breeders Crown. Iâm just so happy for him. Itâs my first Breeders Crown as well, but heâs been in racing so long and he is an icon and Iâm just so happy for him.â
Baer also acknowledged co-owners Enviro Stables that could not make it to The Meadowlands for the Crown races.
âThatâs Marc Hanover and Gordon Banks and they partner with me on a number of horses and Iâm so thankful for them sticking with me as well,â said Baer. âIt was Gordon who made the last bid on the horse when we got her. This is the ultimate and it was really wonderful. She is the best horse Iâve ever owned. Iâve owned a lot of horses and sheâs the best horse Iâve ever owned. She gives me a heart attack every time she races. I love her and I love all of the people who are part of her. Itâs a great family that we have. We have a lot of fun. Iâm happy for Linda, and Scotty Zeron drove her magnificently. Her breeder is a wonderful guy, too.â
It was also a first win in the Crown for Rocknificentâs caretaker, Jessica Fluet.
âI started working for Linda [Toscano] three years ago,â said Fluet. âSomebody had left and I ended up getting their horses and she was one of them and I fell in love with her.â
Fluetâs 19-month-old son Aiden has also formed a bond with Rocknificent.
âThey are best friends,â said Fluet. âThey love each other and he gives her kisses. She was my first child.â
Even though this was Toscanoâs eighth Crown victory, winning a race like this will never be old hat to her.
âNot when you know that you have to keep them going all year long and this is one of the last races of the year, if not the last race of the year for some of them,â said Toscano, a Hall of Famer. âItâs a very hard race to win and itâs also one of those Holy Grail races, you know, âIt all comes down to the Breeders Crownâ and they mean that. That mare, Lyons Sentinel, has been no slouch this year and a very difficult horse to beat and Iâm just thrilled that it was our day today.â
Toscano also acknowledged what a great job Fluet and all of her caretakers do.
âThey love them,â said Toscano. âThatâs the backbone of the business. Itâs getting more and more difficult to get good help. They are certainly few and far between. These horses are everything to them. These horses are their friends. Iâm the work master, but sheâs the one that gives her the love and the attention she needs and keeps her happy.â
By virtue of this win with Rocknificent, Zeron now has five Crown victories. He knew this one wouldnât be easy to get since heâs been knocking heads with Lyons Sentinel all year.
âWeâve been the bridesmaid every time (to Lyons Sentinel),â said Zeron. âItâs been slightly frustrating because Iâve tried different tactics to try to beat Lyons Sentinel, and I just couldnât. It didnât matter what I did. She could come first up and wear me down. I could get a perfect two-hole trip. Lyons Sentinel is a phenomenal, phenomenal animal. Today, we just capitalized on probably a really good trip in the elimination that gave her some momentum, not to mention the Kentucky race when she won in 1:48 flat. She was just on a really good roll right now. I hadnât put her on the front in a while, so when I did, it panned out.
âFor her, I donât know how she never lost confidence because weâve been the bridesmaid every time. Youâd think it was a little demoralizing. But week in, week out, you canât hurt her feelings. She always comes back.â
Mike Gulottaâs Deo Volente Farms LLC bred Rocknificent with T L P Stable.
âIâm absolutely thrilled for Jeff, his first Breeders Crown,â said Gulotta. âIâm thrilled for Dan Baer and Enviro and Linda Toscano, the whole crew. [Rocknificent] was special right from the beginning. Sheâs a Captaintreacherous and we have a full sister to her, a weanling this year, and we have a Lazarus sister to her thatâs going to be selling at Harrisburg this year. Rockclamation is just a wonderful mare. She just produces and sheâs special. We love her and Iâm just thrilled for the owners.â
This was Gulottaâs fourth Crown victory. He now has two as an owner and two as a breeder.