King for a Day Sires First Black-Type Winner
Soontobeking earns his first stakes victory in the Gander Stakes March 8.
After five previous stakes placings, Saturday was finally the day for Our Blue Streaks Stable, SGV Thoroughbreds, and trainer George Weaver's Soontobeking as he narrowly prevailed in the $125,000 Gander Stakes, a one-turn mile for sophomore New York-breds at Aqueduct Racetrack.
The bay colt notched the thrilling nose victory with a strong turn-of-foot in deep stretch under regular pilot Eric Cancel in just his second attempt at the distance. The win was rewarding for the colt's connections after he finished fourth in the $500,000 Great White Way division of the New York Stallion Series Stakes in December with a troubled trip that saw him cut off and steadied late after rolling down the lane with a similar momentum to Saturday.
With the victory, Soontobeking became the first black-type winner for his sire, second-crop stallion King for a Day . A stakes-winning son of Uncle Mo, King for a Day compiled a 3-1-1 record in seven starts and earnings of $260,550 for owner/breeder Red Oak Stable and trainer Todd Pletcher.
King for a Day finished second on the New York first-crop sire standings in 2024 behind Honest Mischief. He currently ranks first in the New York second-crop sire rankings by number of winners with five.
King for a Day stands for $5,000 in 2025 at Irish Hill & Dutchess Views Stallions near Stillwater, N.Y.
Article by Bloodhorse
