Bed o’ Roses BC

TRACK BANDIT PREVIEWS

A field of seven distaffers is set to go in Saturday’s $150,000 Bed o’ Roses
Breeders’ Cup H. (G3) at Aqueduct, and the mile test is shaping up to be a
rematch between CATIVA (Sir Cat) and BANK AUDIT (Wild Rush). The pair hooked up
in the Distaff Breeders’ Cup H. (G2) last out, with the latter getting the 1
1/4-length win. Cativa ran a one-paced fifth as the even-money favorite,
breaking a four-race win streak in the process. Trainer Richard Dutrow is
probably hoping his charge can turn the tables on Bank Audit Saturday, but
neither runner looks to offer much value for the victory. Because of this, we’re
going with the up-and-coming TRACI GIRL (Quiet American) to take home top honors
in her graded debut.

The six-year-old mare has spent much of her career in the claiming ranks, but
seems to have found a good home with trainer Bruce Levine. Since being purchased
by her new connections, Traci Girl has already made three trips to the winner’s
circle, winning by easy margins. The bay mare’s most recent score came last out
in an optional claimer over the sloppy main track at Aqueduct, where she took
the lead and was never headed at any call. That’s obviously her winning running
style and if she gets away with it on Saturday, the rest will be running for
second place. Traci Girl owns the BRIS numbers to get the job done here and has
been working bullets of late to prepare for this one. Mike Luzzi has the call.

Cativa, listed at 9-5 on the morning line, captured the Barbara Fritchie H.
(G2) prior to her fifth in the Distaff Breeders’ Cup, earning a 105 Speed figure
for the 2 1/4-length win. She’s also climbed her way out of the claiming races
and likes the lead to win, but doesn’t show the same preference for Aqueduct
(6-2-0-1). The dark bay mare is perfect in two starts at the mile distance and
will be challenging for it all under Edgar Prado.

PLEASANT HOME (Seeking the Gold) is lightly raced as a four-year-old, owning
only six career starts. The Shug McGaughey trainee has won three of those,
though, and finished third in two others. She’ll be making her stakes bow in
this spot under regular rider Cornelio Velasquez, and, like our top two picks,
owns a win over an off track, which could come in handy if the rainy forecast
comes true for Saturday. The dark bay miss could continue to improve enough to
threaten in the top three at a good price.

Bank Audit has the talent to make it three in a row on Saturday, especially
if the top two get involved in a speed duel. However, the four-year-old filly
hasn’t been quite as impressive under the tutelage of Frank Laboccetta Jr. as
she was with trainer Greg Martin last year. We’re willing to take a stand
against for the win as she is 8-5 on the morning line. SPECTACULAR MOON
(Migrating Moon) didn’t do so well in the Barbara Fritchie, finishing sixth, but
came back to win her last one, an optional claimer over the track. She earned a
nice 101 E2 Pace figure for that effort and could earn a check in this one.

CHILDRESS (Evansville Slew) is 9-5 on the morning line, but probably wouldn’t
go off that low if she wasn’t coupled in the wagering with Cativa. The other
Dutrow trainee has been playing musical barns for the past year and might need
an easier spot than this. ACTCELLENT (Noactor) doesn’t look fast enough to
challenge against these. We can’t recommend.