When we asked Saratoga-based Thoroughbred trainer H. James Bond what horse he was most excited about this year for our racing experts panel on page 29, he didn’t even need to think about it. “Rinaldi,” he said. In four starts, the 4-year-old bay gelding by Posse and Dynamite Cocktail, a daughter of Dynaformer, has excelled for the Bond Racing Stable, winning both the New York Stallion Stakes (NYSS) Spectacular Bid at Belmont with 10-1 odds and the NYSS Cab Calloway at Saratoga Race Course, in which he nearly doubled his career earnings to $173,640. (Not bad for a weanling purchased for $5,000.)
This year, Rinaldi will likely be teamed up with jockey Luis Saez, who rode the horse to both his victories in 2019. “I’m looking for some New York–bred stakes races going one mile on the grass,” says Bond about his plans for the 2020 season. He’s pointing the horse toward the West Point Stakes, a $150,000, 11⁄16-mile turf race scheduled for September 4 at Saratoga. Even if we can’t be there in person, we’ll be glued to our TVs, cheering on this home-town horse.
CAREER STATS
Year Starts Firsts Seconds Thirds Earnings Earnings Per Start
2019 4 2 0 1 $185,640 $46,410
RINALDI By The Numbers:
3: Number of owners Rinaldi has
1: Number of hours he trains a day
7: Number of days he trains a week
6-7: Number of hours he rests a day
20-25: Number of gallons of water he drinks a day
15: Number of quarts of grain he eats a day
210: Amount, in dollars, spent on new shoes for him every month
150: Daily cost of his care, including vitamins and supplements, in dollars
1,025: His weight, in pounds
47: His top speed, in miles per hour
