Gravesend

Eight will take to the Aqueduct inner dirt Sunday for the 46th running of the
$100,000 Gravesend H. (G3). GATORS N BEARS (Stormy Atlantic) enters as the 8-5
morning-line favorite, but we are going to try to beat him with MR. WHITESTONE
(Dance Brightly). The Richard Dutrow charge usually fares well when starting
from an inside post and for Sunday’s six-furlong contest he drew the one-hole,
which has a 18 percent win clip. The four-year-old is coming off the best run of
his career, which earned him a BRIS Speed figure of 111. Mr. Whitestone is
two-for-two over the inner track at the Big A and has jockey Julian Pimentel
making his eighth start on the gelding, who already has two wins and four other
on-the-board appearances
on.

Gators n Bears comes off a respectable fourth-place finish in the Frank J. De
Frances Memorial Dash S. (G1) against worthy competition. Prior to that, the
four-year-old had not finished off the board in 15 starts, including a
third-place outing in this event last year. The Leo Nechamkin II trainee has
produced the highest Speed figures in the field and has managed to turn out
triple-digit Speed figures in every one of his races dating back to September of
last year. The bay colt will once again utilize the services of jockey Javier Castellano.

BLACK SILK (GB) (Zafonic) is coming off a front-running performance last out on
the same surface. This early speed will help his chances, as Aqueduct has a
habit of churning out winners in wire-to-wire form. The eight-year-old has four
starts on this track and two wins, with another second in the books. Black Silk
has also proved that he can come from off the pace or the back of the pack to
post a top finishing position. This versatility could make him a threat in the
end. Trainer Laurie Lafavers will lift Pablo Fragoso into the saddle.

UNCLE CAMIE (Abaginone) weakened in the closing strides of the sloppy Fall
Highweight H. (G3) last out to finish fourth after a run in the clear. Three starts
at the Empire State track have resulted in two wins, so the four-year-old colt
definitely has a taste for the surface. Richard Migliore, who has five wins
aboard the colt, returns here. Listed as 10-1 on the morning-line, Uncle Camie
certainly has the potential to be the upset horse in this race.

AMERI BRILLIANCE (Ameri Valay) also has early speed, which could prove to be
quite beneficial. A couple of sharp works and a switch to jockey
Rafael Bejarano make this five-year-old one to watch for the gimmicks. PAPUA
(Louis Quatorze) exits off a second in the Fall Highweight and a third in the
Hudson H., both races in which he earned century-topping Speed figures. However Castellano, who piloted the bay to these placings, jumps ship to board Gators n
Bears.

EAVESDROPPER (Kingmambo) managed to close for third in the Fall Highweight.
There will probably be too much class for his taste here, however. DON SIX (Wild
Escapade) will making his first start for trainer Scott Lake, and the
improvements his new trainer might have made are unknown at this point. Based on
his past few performances, we will go against.