AQUEDUCT NOTEBOOK
FEBRUARY 5, 2015
by John Mucciolo
There was no graded racing during another abbreviated week on the inner oval
at Aqueduct.
Track Stats
A total of 23 races were held over the inner strip at the Long Island, New
York venue, with favorites winning at a 22 percent rate and the top two betting
choices combining for 74 percent of the wins during the week. Six races were won
in wire-to-wire fashion (26 percent), while there was no turf racing.
We thought speed was beneficial for sure on Sunday, with three wire jobs and
three other runners prompting the pace in second to the top of the lane.
Overall, with such small fields and lack of races, it’s hard to make a case
for any kind of track biases at this time.
Meet Totals
| RACES: | 264 | |
| DIRT: | 264 | |
| FAVORITES: | 107 (40 percent) | |
| 2ND CHOICES: | 53 (20 percent) | |
| DIRT WIRE: | 65 (25 percent) |
HORSES TO WATCH
Thursday (1/29)
6TH — FLEET FIRST (Afleet Alex) moved into contention into the lane and
gamely wore down a clear one late in posting a solid triumph for trainer George
Weaver. The four-year-old gelding rallied into a soft pace and could be tough at
the next level coming back with any improvement.
7TH — The Bill Mott-trained ISABELLE (Successful Appeal) engaged the leader
in the lane and won the battle to the wire in a sharp return for this filly.
Unraced since the summer, the four-year-old made good in her seasonal debut and
could be one to watch this campaign.
Friday (1/30)
1ST — DARIEL (Kipling) tracked a clear leader early, disposed of that one in
early stretch and powered home a big debut winner under Angel Cruz. The Gary
Gullo trainee was very professional in this first offering and could be a good
one with more seasoning if placed properly.
6TH — DOC ALMON (Any Given Saturday) returns to this list after a real nice
claiming tally over this field in rolling home late with good energy beneath
Cruz to win by open lengths. The five-year-old gelding might be a very shrewd
claim for Rudy Rodriguez, who nabbed him out of this dash.
Sunday (2/1)
5TH — DONTBETWITHBRUNO (Tiz Wonderful) overtook the pacesetter at the top of
the lane, was confronted by a horse charging with momentum, but stayed on gamely
to win the bob late for trainer Todd Pletcher. We’re unsure of what kind of
talent was in this field, but the sophomore colt showed a lot of heart and might
come back with a score in his subsequent performance.
MONEY MULTIPLIER (Lookin at Lucky) broke slow and was last after the opening
half-mile, but the sophomore put in a huge run in the lane and should be
graduating very soon for conditioner Chad Brown.
A Look Ahead
A pair of Grade 3 races — the $250,000 Withers and $150,000 Toboggan — will
take place at Aqueduct on Saturday.