The Claiming Game: Schlesinger Bags A One Rocket
January 14th, 2002by Jude T. Feld
A One Rocket flying down the Saratoga stretch
Photo by Adam Coglianese
“I love the action,” says owner Mark Schlesinger. “I have mares in Kentucky but that is pretty boring. I like going to the track with all my friends and having fun.”
Claiming is the quickest way to participate in the sport of Thoroughbred racing and it is not unusual to find a neophyte owner standing in the winners’ circle with their initial claim.
Schlesinger, the owner of a travel business in Pasadena, California, has made a few successful claims recently, but his current favorite is A One Rocket.
“I saw him work a couple of times and liked the way he looked,” Schlesinger stated. “Then somebody at the track told a couple of my friends that Sandy Shulman had a horse by Abaginone that could really run and it turned out to be A One Rocket.”
“The fact that he was a New York-bred really appealed to me too,” Schlesinger continued. “There are a lot of big purses for New York-breds, so I took a chance and claimed him with Jenine Sahadi.”
A One Rocket raced greenly in his racing debut on January 10 at Santa Anita and finished seventh. Sahadi took her time with Schlesinger’s new $32,000 claim and when she ran him back for $70,000 on April 18, A One Rocket responded with a wire-to-wire victory, running six furlongs in an eye-catching 1:09 3/5.
“I think Jenine is a great trainer,” Schlesinger said. “A One Rocket was short for his first race and Jenine did a great job getting him fit and ready, but the plan all along was to run him in New York, so we sent him to Bill Mott.”
In his first start for Mott, A One Rocket finished a strong second in an allowance race for New York-breds validating Schlesinger’s opinion and promising more racing fun.
Making his Saratoga debut on July 31, the Keeneland sale graduate romped home, five lengths on top, in a state-bred allowance race, stopping the clock in an eye-catching 1:16 1/5 for the six and one-half furlongs.
“Mott really likes him,” Schlesinger shared. “He’s made $64,000 now and run some fast races, so our plan seems to be working. My philosophy about racing is to have fun and there is nothing more fun than having a nice horse.”
