AQUEDUCT
NOTEBOOK
November 24
by Bernard T. Moore
As darkness began to fall on a damp and dreary Saturday
afternoon at Aqueduct, the Red Smith H. (G2) signaled the
possible end to New York’s turf season. With the inner track
scheduled to open on December 1 and more wet weather expected
this Holiday Week, grass racing is on its last leg, as the
condition of the turf course, in combination with the onset of
cooler temperatures, will make it extremely difficult to card
races over the lawn during the final week.
Ten horses entered the starting gate to contest the Red Smith
at 11 furlongs, a race named in honor of the late popular sports
columnist in New York. On paper, the race appeared to be a wide-open
affair, with Evening Attire (Black Tie Affair [Ire]) sent off as
a lukewarm 5-2 favorite. However, when the last “clod of sod”
hit the ground, the victor was DREADNAUGHT (Lac Quimet), who had
begun his 2004 campaign by racing over hurdles.
The Tom Voss-trained runner has come along way since then, as
he parlayed a perfect stalking trip into his first graded stakes
victory. Voss had removed the four-year-old gelding’s blinkers
for this contest, as he had demonstrated a tendency in the past
to get lazy once making the lead. That equipment change may have
ultimately made the difference as the winner was pushed to the
limit in the stretch to outrun an ultra game Certifiably Crazy (Fit
to Fight) to the wire.
The runner-up, an unlucky loser to be sure, carved out all the
pace over a turf course listed as good, which had played
favorably to off-the-pace runners all week. It was three-lengths
farther back to Alost (Fr) (Highest Honor [Fr]), who won a photo
for third in his U.S. bow. The favorite, Evening Attire, raced
towards the back of the pack after walking out of the gate from
his rail post and never threatened in a dull effort.
In the other stakes event on Saturday, STORM MINSTREL (Storm
Cat) nosed out a stubborn Then She Laughs (Distorted Humor) for
owner/breeder Edward P. Evans to capture the Safely Kept for
three-year-old fillies. The pair battled heads apart in the
stretch, with Storm Minstrel gutting it out in the final yards to
emerge on top. Early trailer Dreamadreamforme (Sword Dance)
closed belatedly in the stretch for third.
On Saturday night in Louisiana, trainer Steve Asmussen
eclipsed Jack Van Berg’s mark for winners in a year, a record Van
Berg had held since 1976. The next day at the Big A, Asmussen
demonstrated one of the reasons that he is the current record
holder, sending out MEGASCAPE (Cape Canaveral) to post a facile
front-running victory in the Valley Stream S. (G3) for juvenile
fillies.
With jockey John Velazquez at the controls, the pair
immediately seized the lead from the outset, and they would never
be seriously threatened from that point on as they proceeded to
register a decisive 2 1/4-length win. The prohibitive favorite in
the Valley Stream, Alfonsina (Grand Slam), never really seemed to
get a hold of the track labeled good, but did close deliberately
in the stretch to gain the place over More Moonlight (More Than
Ready). This was the second stakes win for Megascape (Cape
Canaveral), a New York-bred, but her first success in open
company.
The Aqueduct track appeared to slightly favor speed to kick
off the week. That bias seemed to vanish as the week wore on, but
reemerged again on Saturday, especially in sprints. On Sunday,
after rain had fallen overnight, closers held the edge early in
the card. When the track condition was upgraded to good, runners
who set or stalked the early pace did particularly well.
No path bias seemed evident until Sunday, when the outside
seemed better. The turf course favored closers all week to
varying degrees.
Richard Dutrow Jr. is making a shambles of the trainer’s race,
as he holds a 10-win lead over Gary Contessa, Mike Hushion and
Jennifer Pedersen, who are tied for second with seven victories
each.
A few trainers to keep your eye on in the upcoming weeks are
Carlos Martin, Greg Martin and Pat Kelly. These outfits seemed to
have come alive recently, which coincided with the switch to
Aqueduct. Also, Michael Brice should be observed as well, as he
continues fly under the radar. He has three wins from just 11
starters, and usually does well at Aqueduct.
Edgar Prado leads all jockeys with 22 wins, just three ahead
of Cornelio Velazquez with 19. Jockey Alan Garcia has cracked the
top 10, and his accomplishment directly corresponds to the
resurgence of Pedersen, who continues to be on a roll. Aqueduct
owns a well-deserved reputation as a hotbed for apprentice
riders, but that has yet to happen. Things can change with the
colder weather and the return of racing over the inner dirt track.
HORSES TO WATCH
Wednesday (11/17)
3RD – UNABASHED (Kingmambo) was a good-looking second in his
debut for trainer Sal Russo, who is not known for his success
with first timers. The sophomore raced far behind the pacesetters
early and dispensed a nice rally on the turn and into the stretch.
Switched leads right on cue in the stretch and finished with good
energy late for the place. He galloped out well ahead of the
field past the wire. Look for his connections to stretch him out
to a distance of ground in his next start.
7TH – STACIE’S BALLADO (Saint Ballado) turned in a third-place
finish that is better than first appears on paper. Braking a bit
slowly from the gate off the layoff, the three-year-old continued
to race well behind the early leaders before dispensing a strong
wide run on the far turn. He sustained that rally into the
stretch despite the speed-conducive nature of the track. Should
continue to move forward for trainer Bruce Levine, especially
with two of his three wins coming over the Aqueduct inner track.
9TH – JUST GABI (Devil His Due) showed a dramatic form
reversal returning to Aqueduct off a layoff and reuniting with
Javier Castellano. Steadied slightly down the backstretch, the
four-year-old miss raced a bit wide on the turn and again in the
stretch. She brushed with another rival several times attempting
to rally in midstretch and closed with a flourish once clear to
just miss in a sharp effort.
Thursday (11/18)
2ND – MY NAMES NICOLE (Charismatic) exhibited much improvement
returning off a layoff. Closed well to be second best chasing an
authoritative winner in a swiftly run race. Can sprint or route
for Dominick Galluscio, whose barn is starting to come around.
Friday (11/19)
4TH – PROUD DILIGENCE (Diligence) experienced a nightmare trip
switching to Aqueduct on the drop. After brushing with another
rival leaving the gate, the gray two-year-old was trapped along
the inside down the backstretch and around the far turn. He was
forced to take up when shut off attempting to rally in the
stretch, and was steadied again shortly after that as well.
6TH – T. MAC (Personal Flag) exhibited newfound early speed to
carve out the early pace when bet down to 8-1 off morning line
odds of 20-1. Showed the way to midstretch before tiring late and
didn’t surrender the show spot until the wire in a vastly
improved race.
Saturday (11/20)
4TH – DIAMOND WILDCAT (Forest Wildcat) was a good-looking
second in his debut. Had the misfortune of hooking a well bet/well
meant Dutrow firster, but the dark bay two-year-old easily bested
all other rivals. He closed well for the place vs. the grain of a
speed-biased track in a swiftly run race. Bred for a sprint and
to win early as his dam was a stakes winning sprinter as a
juvenile.
6TH – WILD WADI (Old Trieste) recorded an encouraging third
off the shelf. Forced to throttle down his early speed when
caught behind a slow pace while pinned down along the inside
behind the pacesetter, the sophomore finished with interest in
the stretch as the pace quickened noticeably late. May appreciate
a stretch-out to a distance of ground in second start off a
layoff.
Sunday (11/20)
9TH – WORK WITH ME (Tomorrows Cat) was clearly second best
chasing home an authoritative winner. Both the pace and final
time of the race were extremely fast for the class level and
distance. This stakes-placed runner may appreciate two turns.