Rattle N Roll Does Just That in Breeders' Futurity

Kenny McPeek fired only one of his bullets in Keeneland's $500,000 Claiborne Breeders' Futurity (G1) Oct. 9, but it was the only shot he needed.

Though he kept stakes-winning Tiz the Bomb  in the barn to await the Oct. 10 Castle & Key Bourbon Stakes (G2T) there, his presence on Saturday wasn't missed. McPeek's less accomplished but similarly talented colt, Lucky Seven Stable's Rattle N Roll , proved up to the Breeders' Futurity challenge, defeating Double Thunder  by 4 1/4 lengths.

Two-turn experience proved essential Saturday. The top two finishers had it, and most of their rivals did not.

So when the favorite, Classic Causeway , blasted out of the gate with fast fractions of :22.81, :46.74, and 1:11.90 in the 1 1/16-mile dirt race, chased by Stellar Tap  and Mr. Bouma , it played into their experience and stamina edge. The two horses settled in the rear half of the pack before swinging into action.

On the far turn, Rattle N Roll began picking off horses to come on even terms with Classic Causeway and Stellar Tap turning for home. Then he found yet more energy to pull away. Not even a strong-finishing Double Thunder could post a threat.

Classic Causeway weakened to third, beaten 4 3/4 lengths.

Ridden by Brian Hernandez Jr., Rattle N Roll covered 1 1/16 miles on the fast main track in 1:43.78 before a crowd of 21,333. Coming off a maiden victory at Churchill Downs last month in his third start, the progressive Connect   colt paid $19.40 to win.

WATCH: McPeek Reflects on Development of Rattle N Roll

"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," Hernandez said. "When I got him outside, he showed what a good horse he is. He engulfed those horses pretty easily, and turning for home he switched leads. He knows his job and he just kind of went on about it."

The victory is the third in the race for McPeek, who also won in 1994 with Tejano Run  and 2009 with Noble's Promise . He mentioned Rattle N Roll reminds him of Tejano Run in appearance.

With the Breeders' Futurity a "Win and You're In" qualifier for the TVG Breeders' Cup Juvenile Presented by Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance (G1) Nov. 5 at Del Mar, Rattle N Roll earned a free berth in that race. 

Whether that berth is accepted will be determined in the coming days and weeks, McPeek said.

"You know what, I'm gonna talk to the guys," he said of the ownership, headed by Michael Mackin. "I'm not set in stone that I want to go. I might wait for the Kentucky Jockey Club (G2)," a $400,000 race at Churchill Downs Nov. 27.

He mentioned the configuration of Del Mar and how the track plays as considerations for his hard-charging 2-year-old. He is taking into account goals for the colt next spring, he said.

McPeek is 0-for-36 overall in the Breeders' Cup, though six of his horses have been the runner-up and another 10 runners have been third, sometimes at large prices.

"It might be a season I might opt out. Like I said, I wanna talk to the Mackins before making any decision like that," he said.

Should they bypass the Juvenile, that would make winning a championship this year difficult. The Eclipse Award regularly goes to the Juvenile victor.

The Breeders' Futurity is also part of the Road to the Kentucky Derby, awarding the top four finishers qualifying points toward the 2022 Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (G1) on a 10-4-2-1 scale.

Whatever race is next, Rattle N Roll is now a valuable grade 1 winner at 2, assuring him a place at stud when his racing career is over.

The second- and third-place finishers Saturday could have been compromised by drawing extreme posts, Double Thunder the rail, Classic Causeway post 13. The outside post left Jose Ortiz on Classic Causeway no choice but to hustle him to secure position.

Double Thunder, on the other hand, had to wait in the gate after being one of the first to load.

"I followed the winner all the way, but had to work very hard," said his jockey, Paco Lopez. "He's a nice horse. He just got tired."

Rattle N Roll did not, finishing his final sixteenth in :6.26.

Bred in Kentucky by St. Simon Place, Rattle N Roll is the lone winner from four foals out of the Johannesburg  mare Jazz Tune . Two of her foals are unraced, the youngest of which is an unnamed yearling colt by Tapwrit  . She was bred to Liam's Map   for 2022.

The winner was a $210,000 purchase by McPeek from the Paramount Sales consignment at the 2020 Keeneland September Yearling Sale. As a weanling in the 2019 Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale, he was a $55,000 acquisition by Rexy Bloodstock when consigned by Select Sales. Rattle N Roll has earned $379,460 from a 2-0-1 record in four starts.

"I'm just real happy for the Mackin family. I love having the opportunity to be able to buy horses for people like them," McPeek said.

Keeneland reported wagering records Saturday for fall meet single-day all-sources betting and Pick 5 wagering, besting previous records set on Fall Stars Saturday in 2019 and 2020, respectively. All-sources handle totaled $20,935,640, surpassing the $18,392,756 set in 2019. Wagering on the $300,000-guaranteed All-Stakes Pick 5 totaled $1,255,080 to shatter the former fall meet record of $868,303 from 2020.