Pete’s Play Call First Stakes Winner of Year For Munnings
Pete’s Play Call (7g Munnings x Taft Lil Queen, by Irish Open) added a second stakes victory to his record on Saturday with a win in the Listed Gravesend Stakes at Aqueduct to kick off 2021.
Racing over 6½ furlongs on dirt for owner Michael Dubb, the gelding settled into second less than a length off the leader soon out of the gate. Keeping pressure on throughout, Pete’s Play Call headed the front runner around the turn and by the top of the lane had total command of the race.
Under Jorge Vargas Jr., the Rudy Rodriguez-trained gelding recorded his 14th win with the 2 1/2 length victory to push his earnings to $648,421.
Pete’s Play Call is one of four stakes winners for the stakes winning Taft Lil Queen. That mare is also the dam of Grade II winner Kiss To Remember and the granddam of Grade I winner Constellation. Under his second dam, Pete’s Play Call also finds Grade I winners Spun Sugar and Daaher.
Booked full for 2021, Munnings was one of the top sires of 2020 with 11 graded stakes winners and four Grade I placed runners among his 21 stakes performers.