Owned by Rose Petal Stable LLC, the colt sired by Copper Bullet out of a Majestic Warrior mare has already earned $120,000 in completing steps one through three for trainer Gary Capuano. His earnings have been helped by the fact that his previous two wins came in races for Delaware certified horses with generous purses. 

In each of his four races he went off under even money, so his talent has been obvious to bettors from the jump. The odds-on streak may end Saturday, as he is lined as the 5-2 morning line favorite and will have Mychel Sanchez up.

“Obviously he has done whatever we asked him so far,” Capuano said. “The upside is going two turns. If we can stretch him out, there are a lot more options down the road. He acts and trains like he won’t have any problem with it. We have done some long workouts with him and let him finish strong at the end. He is kind of a gangly horse. He was a May foal and is still growing.”

The one-mile trip on the Delaware main track includes a short run up to the first turn. Copper Tax is drawn outside – he’s number nine in a field capped at 10 – but Capuano says he is not worried.

“He drew an outside post, which is not always a good thing for a two-turn mile, but he likes to be in the clear anyway,” the trainer said. “It looks like we may get some rain on Saturday, but he has already shown he can handle a wet-fast track, so everything looks to be in order.”

Both Jaime Rodriguez and Jeiron Barbosa, who have previously ridden the horse, will be in Maryland Saturday for the Maryland Million card, so Mychel Sanchez will get the ride, No worries, said Capuano: the veteran jock is “a very good rider.”

Last time out, in the six-furlong First State Dash, Copper Tax stalked the pace from fourth early, made a four-wide bid, and strolled home nearly four lengths clear. Capuano said he believes the Delaware surface has played fair ths year and been maintained well, helping horses with tactical ability.

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As far as next steps following this race Capuano said, “Nothing is etched in stone but we at the very least will most likely give him a little breather,” adding, “I try not to get beyond the race at hand so I want to see how he runs before finalizing next steps.”

The race is a well-matched field of 10 with one also-eligible. Copper Tax has the best last race figure albeit in a sprint, but there is no clear cut favorite and he will likely go off at odds exceeding even money.

DELAWARE PARK NEWS AND NOTES

To make up for the racing day lost to the tropical storm in late September, Delaware Park will conduct racing on Breeders’ Cup Friday, November 3. The live meet concludes the following day, Breeders Cup Saturday.

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