AQUEDUCT NOTEBOOK
APRIL 6, 2011
by John Mucciolo
A single graded race took place during the opening week of racing on the main
dirt oval at Aqueduct.
Excelsior H. (G3): Susanne Hooper et al’s homebred INHERIT THE GOLD
(Gold Token) continues his ascension through the New York stakes events with an
authoritative, 6 1/4-length tally under Eddie Castro. The James Hooper trainee
got 1 1/8 miles in 1:50 1/5, coming home in a swift :12 2/5 under mild
encouragement.
Track Stats
A total of 46 races were held over Jamaica, New York venue, with favorites
winning at a 46 percent rate and the top two betting choices combining for 74
percent of the wins. From 46 races on the main oval, 11 animals won in
wire-to-wire fashion (24 percent). There was no grass racing during the week.
The weather is starting to break, meaning the abundance of small fields and
the overall lack of quality will change, as connections ship there horses up
north for the summer.
We broke down what we noticed over the first five days of the meet below as
to how the main oval is playing.
Wednesday — Speed was very good, on or just off the pace
Thursday — Closers did well here
Friday — Late runners once again did well
Saturday — Horses close to the lead, or pace pressers, fared best
Sunday — Similar to Saturday, where speed and pressers did well
Meet Totals
| RACES: | 46 | |
| DIRT: | 46 | |
| TURF: | 0 | |
| FAVORITES: | 21 (46 percent) | |
| 2ND CHOICES: | 13 (28 percent) | |
| TURF WIRE: | 0 (0 percent) | |
| DIRT WIRE: | 11 (24 percent) |
HORSES TO WATCH
Wednesday (3/30)
9TH — LIME ZEST (Limehouse) showed good speed before tiring to third late in
here in what we thought was a productive first run for conditioner Carlos
Martin, who is not a great debut trainer. We’ll tab this one for a big try next
out.
Thursday (3/31)
5TH — COALTOWN LEGEND (Jump Start) ran off to his second straight score in
this one, reeling in a clear leader before dominating late under Mike Luzzi. The
Sandino Hernandez charge is in very good current form.
Friday (4/1)
3RD — Richard Dutrow has turned BE BULLISH (Pure Prize) into a consistently
good sprinter, and the New York-bred gelding should be graded stakes-bound
before long. The six-year-old got his final quarter-mile in a sharp :23 3/5!
5TH — OLIVE EYE (Maria’s Mon) ran a winning race in defeat in this
off-the-turf affair for conditioner Joe Lostritto. The four-year-old filly has
run a few decent races at this level in succession and rates a chance on either
surface in her return.
Saturday (4/2)
9TH — Inherit the Gold continues to thrive here and has clearly never been
better. We don’t think of the five-year-old as a winter warrior; he should be
able to carry his form through the spring and summer as the competition
stiffens.
Sunday (4/3)
3RD — We were somewhat disappointed that smart Gulfstream maiden winner
BREAK UP THE GAME (Bernardini) didn’t win in this compact field, but the
lightly-raced sophomore showed a nice turn of foot late while facing winners and
elders for the initial time for Shug McGaughey. The well-bred colt should
develop into a nice one.
8TH — MIDNIGHT VISIT (Henny Hughes) was not at her best here and really had
to work to grind out this victory, but give the sophomore filly credit for her
determination. The Todd Pletcher pupil might have a chance at stretching out
some, too.
A Look Ahead
The highlight of the winter/spring meeting at Aqueduct is this Saturday, when
the $1 million Wood Memorial S. (G1) headlines a big day in the Empire State.
Unbeaten champion UNCLE MO (Indian Charlie) will have his final tune up for the
Kentucky Derby (G1) here.
Also on Saturday are the $250,000 Carter H. (G1), $200,000 Bay Shore S. (G3)
and $100,000 Comely S. (G3).