A season that began rather positively for Senor Buscador has descended into a whimper in recent months. The six-year-old veteran will look to halt that trend Saturday in an intriguing renewal of the $500,000 Cigar Mile H. (G1) at Aqueduct.
A wet, speed-favoring strip in last year’s Cigar Mile perhaps cost the deep-closing Senor Buscador a better shot at winning. However, he bounced back from that distant second-place effort in the new year, missing by a neck in the Pegasus World Cup (G1) and then taking the $20 million Saudi Cup (G1) by a head.
Rested following a distant third-place run in the Dubai World Cup (G1), Senor Buscador has not been in the frame in three subsequent starts, including the California Crown (G1) and Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1).
“The Breeders’ Cup was a tough race,” trainer Todd Fincher said. “He was stuck down on the rail which he’s not used to, and [jockey Joel Rosario] had to use the horse to keep his position all the way around there. It took him out of his running style, but he ran a nice race that day. We were wanting to do better, but it was better than it looked.”
One horse who did have a good run on Breeders’ Cup Day was Post Time, who rallied from last to finish second in the Dirt Mile (G1). Never out of the money in eight starts this season, Post Time earned his signature win of the season in the Carter (G2) in April and subsequently placed in both the Metropolitan H. (G1) and Whitney (G1).
Mullikin also fared respectably at the Breeders’ Cup, finishing third in the six-furlong Sprint (G1). The four-year-old was far more effective over seven furlongs during the summer, winning both the John A. Nerud (G2) and Forego (G1).
“The six furlongs didn’t bother me at all, but the seven fits him much better,” trainer Rudy Brisset said. “We knew that before the race, but he has enough speed that he can put himself in the right spot. It was just a bit unlucky the way the race set up and we ended up being a little further back than we wanted.”
Other older contenders worth noting are Law Professor, who has won five of seven lifetime starts at Aqueduct, and the Forty Niner (G3) one-two Coastal Mission and Nelson Avenue.
The two leading three-year-old contenders in the Cigar Mile are Grade 1 winners Book’em Danno and Locked. Book’em Danno enters off a photo-finish loss in the Perryville (G3) at Keeneland, in which he was late finding running room and ran out of real estate.
Locked, who last year captured the Breeders’ Futurity (G1) and finished third to stablemate Fierceness in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (G1), made a belated return to the races on Oct. 19, winning a seven-furlong allowance by 7 1/2 lengths. Trainer Todd Pletcher has won the Cigar Mile a record six times.
The $200,000 Go for Wand (G3), a one-mile test for fillies and mares, has attracted a competitive field of eight. Favoritism might fall on Occult, who landed her third career Grade 1-placing in early October when finishing a distant second to champion Idiomatic in the Spinster (G1) at Keeneland.
“She’s coming from Keeneland and is cutting back to one turn, which will be interesting,” trainer Chad Brown said. “I think she should be able to handle it, and that was quite a valiant effort chasing Idiomatic through the stretch.”
But there are others to consider. Tizzy in the Sky and Comparative were both stakes winners at the Big A earlier in the year, while Shidabhuti and Ain’t Broke finished one-two in the seven-furlong Distaff (G3) in early April.
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