Aqueduct Notebook 11-24

AQUEDUCT

NOTEBOOK

November 24

by Bernard T. Moore

As darkness began to fall on a damp and dreary Saturday

afternoon at Aqueduct, the Red Smith H. (G2) signaled the

possible end to New York's turf season. With the inner track

scheduled to open on December 1 and more wet weather expected

this Holiday Week, grass racing is on its last leg, as the

condition of the turf course, in combination with the onset of

cooler temperatures, will make it extremely difficult to card

races over the lawn during the final week.

Ten horses entered the starting gate to contest the Red Smith

at 11 furlongs, a race named in honor of the late popular sports

columnist in New York. On paper, the race appeared to be a wide-open

affair, with Evening Attire (Black Tie Affair [Ire]) sent off as

a lukewarm 5-2 favorite. However, when the last "clod of sod"

hit the ground, the victor was DREADNAUGHT (Lac Quimet), who had

begun his 2004 campaign by racing over hurdles.

The Tom Voss-trained runner has come along way since then, as

he parlayed a perfect stalking trip into his first graded stakes

victory. Voss had removed the four-year-old gelding's blinkers

for this contest, as he had demonstrated a tendency in the past

to get lazy once making the lead. That equipment change may have

ultimately made the difference as the winner was pushed to the

limit in the stretch to outrun an ultra game Certifiably Crazy (Fit

to Fight) to the wire.

The runner-up, an unlucky loser to be sure, carved out all the

pace over a turf course listed as good, which had played

favorably to off-the-pace runners all week. It was three-lengths

farther back to Alost (Fr) (Highest Honor [Fr]), who won a photo

for third in his U.S. bow. The favorite, Evening Attire, raced

towards the back of the pack after walking out of the gate from

his rail post and never threatened in a dull effort.

In the other stakes event on Saturday, STORM MINSTREL (Storm

Cat) nosed out a stubborn Then She Laughs (Distorted Humor) for

owner/breeder Edward P. Evans to capture the Safely Kept for

three-year-old fillies. The pair battled heads apart in the

stretch, with Storm Minstrel gutting it out in the final yards to

emerge on top. Early trailer Dreamadreamforme (Sword Dance)

closed belatedly in the stretch for third.

On Saturday night in Louisiana, trainer Steve Asmussen

eclipsed Jack Van Berg's mark for winners in a year, a record Van

Berg had held since 1976. The next day at the Big A, Asmussen

demonstrated one of the reasons that he is the current record

holder, sending out MEGASCAPE (Cape Canaveral) to post a facile

front-running victory in the Valley Stream S. (G3) for juvenile

fillies.

With jockey John Velazquez at the controls, the pair

immediately seized the lead from the outset, and they would never

be seriously threatened from that point on as they proceeded to

register a decisive 2 1/4-length win. The prohibitive favorite in

the Valley Stream, Alfonsina (Grand Slam), never really seemed to

get a hold of the track labeled good, but did close deliberately

in the stretch to gain the place over More Moonlight (More Than

Ready). This was the second stakes win for Megascape (Cape

Canaveral), a New York-bred, but her first success in open

company.

The Aqueduct track appeared to slightly favor speed to kick

off the week. That bias seemed to vanish as the week wore on, but

reemerged again on Saturday, especially in sprints. On Sunday,

after rain had fallen overnight, closers held the edge early in

the card. When the track condition was upgraded to good, runners

who set or stalked the early pace did particularly well.

No path bias seemed evident until Sunday, when the outside

seemed better. The turf course favored closers all week to

varying degrees.

Richard Dutrow Jr. is making a shambles of the trainer's race,

as he holds a 10-win lead over Gary Contessa, Mike Hushion and

Jennifer Pedersen, who are tied for second with seven victories

each.

A few trainers to keep your eye on in the upcoming weeks are

Carlos Martin, Greg Martin and Pat Kelly. These outfits seemed to

have come alive recently, which coincided with the switch to

Aqueduct. Also, Michael Brice should be observed as well, as he

continues fly under the radar. He has three wins from just 11

starters, and usually does well at Aqueduct.

Edgar Prado leads all jockeys with 22 wins, just three ahead

of Cornelio Velazquez with 19. Jockey Alan Garcia has cracked the

top 10, and his accomplishment directly corresponds to the

resurgence of Pedersen, who continues to be on a roll. Aqueduct

owns a well-deserved reputation as a hotbed for apprentice

riders, but that has yet to happen. Things can change with the

colder weather and the return of racing over the inner dirt track.

HORSES TO WATCH

Wednesday (11/17)

3RD - UNABASHED (Kingmambo) was a good-looking second in his

debut for trainer Sal Russo, who is not known for his success

with first timers. The sophomore raced far behind the pacesetters

early and dispensed a nice rally on the turn and into the stretch.

Switched leads right on cue in the stretch and finished with good

energy late for the place. He galloped out well ahead of the

field past the wire. Look for his connections to stretch him out

to a distance of ground in his next start.

7TH - STACIE'S BALLADO (Saint Ballado) turned in a third-place

finish that is better than first appears on paper. Braking a bit

slowly from the gate off the layoff, the three-year-old continued

to race well behind the early leaders before dispensing a strong

wide run on the far turn. He sustained that rally into the

stretch despite the speed-conducive nature of the track. Should

continue to move forward for trainer Bruce Levine, especially

with two of his three wins coming over the Aqueduct inner track.

9TH - JUST GABI (Devil His Due) showed a dramatic form

reversal returning to Aqueduct off a layoff and reuniting with

Javier Castellano. Steadied slightly down the backstretch, the

four-year-old miss raced a bit wide on the turn and again in the

stretch. She brushed with another rival several times attempting

to rally in midstretch and closed with a flourish once clear to

just miss in a sharp effort.

Thursday (11/18)

2ND - MY NAMES NICOLE (Charismatic) exhibited much improvement

returning off a layoff. Closed well to be second best chasing an

authoritative winner in a swiftly run race. Can sprint or route

for Dominick Galluscio, whose barn is starting to come around.

Friday (11/19)

4TH - PROUD DILIGENCE (Diligence) experienced a nightmare trip

switching to Aqueduct on the drop. After brushing with another

rival leaving the gate, the gray two-year-old was trapped along

the inside down the backstretch and around the far turn. He was

forced to take up when shut off attempting to rally in the

stretch, and was steadied again shortly after that as well.

6TH - T. MAC (Personal Flag) exhibited newfound early speed to

carve out the early pace when bet down to 8-1 off morning line

odds of 20-1. Showed the way to midstretch before tiring late and

didn't surrender the show spot until the wire in a vastly

improved race.

Saturday (11/20)

4TH - DIAMOND WILDCAT (Forest Wildcat) was a good-looking

second in his debut. Had the misfortune of hooking a well bet/well

meant Dutrow firster, but the dark bay two-year-old easily bested

all other rivals. He closed well for the place vs. the grain of a

speed-biased track in a swiftly run race. Bred for a sprint and

to win early as his dam was a stakes winning sprinter as a

juvenile.

6TH - WILD WADI (Old Trieste) recorded an encouraging third

off the shelf. Forced to throttle down his early speed when

caught behind a slow pace while pinned down along the inside

behind the pacesetter, the sophomore finished with interest in

the stretch as the pace quickened noticeably late. May appreciate

a stretch-out to a distance of ground in second start off a

layoff.

Sunday (11/20)

9TH - WORK WITH ME (Tomorrows Cat) was clearly second best

chasing home an authoritative winner. Both the pace and final

time of the race were extremely fast for the class level and

distance. This stakes-placed runner may appreciate two turns.