NYRA Photo

Aqueduct Racetrack Notes

by NYRA Press Office

• G3 Withers score a big step up for Early Voting
• G3 Withers runner-up Un Ojo to continue at route distance
• Drafted rewards Duggan’s resilience in G3 Toboggan; G1 Carter a possibility
• Nevin to take time picking next spot for Happy Medium, My Boy Tate to Hollie Hughes
• Atras lining up Doin’ittherightway and Sadie Lady for state-bred stakes
•  Aqueduct Racetrack Week 9 stakes probables

Early Voting provided trainer Chad Brown and owner Klaravich Stables with their second straight victory in Saturday’s Grade 3 Withers at Aqueduct Racetrack, picking up 10 points toward the Grade 1 Kentucky Derby on May 7 at Churchill Downs.

Piloted gate-to-wire by Jose Ortiz, the son of 2021 leading freshman stallion Gun Runner built on his advantage down the backstretch several paths from the rail and glided home to a 4 1/2-length score, registering a 78 Beyer Speed Figure over the muddy going. 

“He cooled out well this morning. He seems to have come out of it the right way,” said Brown’s Belmont-based assistant Dan Stupp. “We weren’t quite expecting that much speed from him. I know Chad wanted him to break well from that post, get a good forward position and he broke so well that I think Jose didn’t want to take anything away from him. He ended up doing it pretty comfortably on the backside there. He and Jose did the rest from there.”

Stupp spoke highly of the ride from Ortiz, who shipped up from Florida for the mount.

“The day before, it seemed like everyone was in the middle of the track closing and it played out that way yesterday as well,” Stupp said. “Jose wanted to steer him to the outside. Down the stretch, he said the horse wanted to just stay to the rail and he was trying to school him a little bit. He went to the left hand to get him out in the middle of the track and teach him a little bit.”

Early Voting arrived at Brown’s Saratoga division in late September from Niall Brennan Stables in Ocala, before shipping to Belmont in November. He displayed talent on debut going a one-turn mile on December 18 at the Big A.

Stupp said Early Voting improved exceedingly out of his maiden score.

“When I first got him, he was a little bit far away from a race, unfit and was difficult to train. As each work progressed and as we got closer to his debut, I saw glimpses of a good horse,” Stupp recalled. “When we ran him first time, we knew he wanted to run longer. We needed him to run once from both a conditioning and a maturity standpoint. This horse was just a totally different horse after his first race. There were small things with him. You had to lead him to the track with a lip chain, he just wanted to act up on the track a little bit. He was just so much better after that first start and I think there’s more room for improvement.”

Stupp oversaw the winter campaign of last year’s Withers winner Risk Taking, who also trained at Belmont through the winter.

“Risk Taking and him were totally different,” Stupp said. “Risk Taking was straight forward and was what he was. This horse is a late-developing horse. He needs experience, he needs each race to move him forward from a conditioning standpoint.”

The two remaining Kentucky Derby preps at Aqueduct are the Grade 3, $300,000 Gotham at a one-turn mile on March 5 [50-20-10-5] and the Grade 2, $750,000 Wood Memorial presented by Resorts World Casino at nine furlongs [100-40-20-10] on April 9. Last year, Risk Taking skipped the Gotham in favor of staying around two turns for the Wood Memorial, where he finished seventh.

“Chad and Seth [Klarman] will figure that out. It’s a long way from now until the Wood,” Stupp said.

Purchased by Mike Ryan for $200,000 at the 2020 Keeneland September Yearling Sale, Early Voting is out of the unraced Tiznow mare Amour d’Ete – a half-sister to 2004 Champion Sprinter and influential stallion Speightstown.

Early Voting secured the double for Brown and Klaravich one race after Southern District defeated winners going a one-turn mile. Racing with blinkers off, he posted a 6 3/4-length romp under Manny Franco, garnering a career-best 100 Beyer Speed Figure.

“He did it ears pricked and comfortably,” Stupp said.

The 4-year-old son of Union Rags made up for his previous effort when a troubled third going nine furlongs on January 9 at the Big A, finishing four lengths back of runner-up and stablemate Winter Pool.

“Down on the inside, he couldn’t get a clean outside run, which is what he wants,” Stupp said of the nine-furlong effort. “He didn’t run a bad race. He was just a little keen and Chad decided to take the blinkers off. He was training so well we decided to throw him in there. I wasn’t expecting him to win that comfortably, but I would have been surprised if he didn’t run well.”

Peter M. Brant and Three Chimneys Farm’s Mystic Night successfully sought redemption on Friday when earning his third career victory in a nine-furlong allowance optional claimer. The 5-year-old Into Mischief gelding entered off a distant sixth in his stakes debut – the Queens County on December 19 at Aqueduct.

Mystic Night was a third-out winner last January at Aqueduct before defeating winners in March at the same oval. He returned to action two months later Belmont Park when second beaten 1 1/2 lengths and did not run again until September, finishing second at Saratoga.

“We thought about the Pimlico Special and we actually considered the Stephen Foster, but we had a virus run through the barn. We missed about a month of training which set him back quite a bit,” Stupp said. “He was probably a touch short on fitness when we ran him at Saratoga. He ran a credible race for a horse that might have been short on fitness. We ran him back in the stake and didn’t perform but he came well out of it. We still have high hopes for him. Not sure where we go with him, but he came out of it well and we’ll evaluate our options.”

***

G3 Withers runner-up Un Ojo to continue at route distance

Cypress Creek Equine’s New York-bred Un Ojo finished up well to be second in the nine-furlong, Grade 3, $250,000 Withers at Aqueduct Racetrack on Saturday in his first start at nine furlongs for trainer Tony Dutrow.

A gelded son of Laoban, Un Ojo made up ground late under Trevor McCarthy to secure place honors by a head over Gilded Age, earning four qualifying points towards the Kentucky Derby for his effort.

Un Ojo had entered the Withers off a game runner-up finish to Geno in the seven-furlong NYSSS Great White Way, beaten just a neck after coming from off the pace and bumping with Geno down the stretch.

Dutrow said he was hopeful the extra two furlongs in the Withers would be helpful to the dark bay gelding.

“We believed that the mile and an eighth would be good,” Dutrow said. “We were very happy with his effort. He’s a little New York-bred with one eye. He’s over-accomplishing every time he runs. Horses coming from last have been doing good over the track there, so I told Trevor to run late and get out in the middle of the track. I’m proud of our horse’s effort.”

Un Ojo was previously been trained by Ricky Courville in Louisiana up until his debut for Dutrow in the Great White Way. He graduated at second asking in a maiden special weight at Delta Downs before finishing fourth in his stakes debut in Delta Downs’ Jean Lafitte.

Dutrow said Un Ojo’s effort in the Withers confirmed that he will stay at route distances going forward, ruling out a start in the one-mile Grade 3 Gotham on March 5 at the Big A but leaving the door open for a run in the nine-furlong, Grade 2 Wood Memorial Presented by Resorts World Casino on April 9.

“The owner is very enthusiastic and wanted to talk yesterday about where to go next, but I wasn’t ready for that yet,” Dutrow said. “We both agreed that we will not be going to the Gotham. It’s possible that we run in a New York-bred allowance going nine furlongs to get him his deserving reward for his efforts. That would give him great confidence if we were to go to the Wood Memorial. That would be the distance he likes at a track he likes.”

Dutrow said 3-year-old maiden colt Predicted is currently taking a winter vacation in Florida after finishing a gritty second in his third career start at Aqueduct on November 12.

Predicted, a son Tapit, is out of the stakes-placed Bluegrass Cat mare Ithinkisawapudycat, who is a half to Grade 1 Alcibiades winner and Canadian Champion 2-Year-Old Filly Spring in the Air. Predicted, the sixth foal from Ithinkisawapudycat, is a full brother to 2016 Grade 1 Spinaway winner Sweet Loretta and a half-brother to stakes-placed mare Bridlewood Cat.

Owned by breeder Mt. Brilliant Stable with Famousstyle Stables and Team D, Predicted made his debut sprinting seven furlongs to a fourth-place finish at Saratoga Race Course in August before stretching out to 1 1/16 miles at Belmont Park in his second start.

A well-beaten sixth in that start behind Grade 2 Remsen winner Mo Donegal, Predicted added blinkers and cut back to a mile in his most recent outing, an off-the-turf maiden special weight at Aqueduct in November where he raced just off the pace in third before taking command at the top of the stretch and just missing by a neck at the wire.

“He’s a nice horse and we didn’t really have a plan for when he was going to run but he was ready to run at Saratoga,” Dutrow said. “He did everything well and we thought it was a good effort. He ran badly at Belmont and we thought about stopping on him but we decided to put blinkers on him to see what we could see. He ran well and all was positive, so we agreed that we’ve only seen sixty percent of what this horse could do and decided to stop on something positive.”

Predicted was sent to Mt. Brilliant Stables’ Kentucky farm for some downtime before heading to Niall Brennan’s training facility in Florida, where his is currently preparing for a return to the races sometime in early spring.

“Niall broke him and now he got him going again a month ago,” Dutrow said. “He’ll give him a work or two or whatever he would like to do and he’ll come back up to me once the weather gets warmer. Hopefully he’ll be a nice summertime 3-year-old and a nice 4-year-old.”

***

Drafted rewards Duggan’s resilience in G3 Toboggan; G1 Carter a possibility

After making multiple appearances against sprinting stakes company in New York, veteran sprinter Drafted scored a breakthrough victory in Saturday’s re-scheduled Grade 3, $150,000 Toboggan at Aqueduct.

The 8-year-old son of Field Commission made an aggressive move around the turn to collar overwhelming favorite Happy Medium and was clear throughout the stretch drive to win by 4 1/2 lengths.

The victory, which saw a career-best 97 Beyer, was his first trip to the winner’s circle for trainer David Duggan. It also was Drafted’s first win since capturing the Group 3 Mahab Al Shimaal in March 2019 at Meydan Racecourse in Dubai, when racing for trainer Doug Watson.

Since joining Duggan’s barn, Drafted made six starts at stakes level prior to the Toboggan with his best result a third-place finish in the six-furlong Gravesend on December 19 at Aqueduct.

“He’s been a difficult horse to be around,” Duggan said. “To get him back to where he’s at, we knew he had the talent but there were some personality issues along the way. There’s no easy races here. The high-end claimers are sometimes the same type of horses as the stakes horses.”

Duggan said pointing Drafted to the seven-furlong Grade 1, $300,000 Carter Handicap on April 9, would be preferable to the six-furlong Grade 3, $200,000 Tom Fool on March 5.

“It would have to be,” said Duggan when asked if the Carter was an option. “He ran a 97 Beyer, so numbers wise, it puts you right there. The numbers yesterday reflected that he’s a better seven-eighths horse. It’s pretty obvious. We ran six furlongs because it was there. We’re just going to enjoy this and go from there.”

Owned by Dublin Fjord Stables, Racepoint Stables, Kevin D. Hilbert and Thomas E. O’Keefe, Drafted boasts earnings of $844,693 with a 25-7-2-3 record. 

***

Nevin to take time picking next spot for Happy Medium, My Boy Tate to Hollie Hughes

Trainer Michelle Nevin said she will give careful thought on where to run Happy Medium next after the bay son of Runhappy finished a disappointing third in the Grade 3 Toboggan on Saturday at Aqueduct Racetrack as the 1-5 mutuel favorite.

Happy Medium had entered the Toboggan with a pair of triple-digit Beyer Speed Figures on his resume, earning a 103 for his 9 1/4 length maiden victory in September and a 104 for his last-out allowance romp at the Big A on December 18. 

Owned by Jay Em Ess Stable, Happy Medium exited post 5 in the Toboggan under regular rider Manny Franco and was guided to the inside path to set the pace in the seven-furlong sprint for older horses, backpedaling at the top of the stretch as 8-year-old gelding Drafted passed him to his outside and sprinted away to a 4 1/2 length victory.

Nevin said the muddy and harrowed main track, along with the 4-year-old’s inside trip, contributed to his 10 1/2-length defeat.

“The track was a factor in things. It did seem deeper down on the rail yesterday. This morning he’s nice and bright and ate up his food,” Nevin said. “We’ll just have to see how things develop over the next few days. I don’t see an issue. We’ll take our time and wait and see.”

My Boy Tate, who Nevin bred and co-owns with Little Red Feather Racing, will target a repeat win in the six-furlong Hollie Hughes on February 19 at the Big A, attempting his third win in the restricted stakes for older state-bred horses.

A son of Boys At Tosconova, My Boy Tate crossed the finish line first in the Say Florida Sandy in his last start but was disqualified for interference in the stretch and placed fourth behind elevated winner Lobsta.

The Say Florida Sandy marked the second time in a row that Lobsta won over My Boy Tate, coming on the heels of the NYSSS Thunder Rumble where Lobsta upset the 8-year-old My Boy Tate at odds of 28-1.

“He came out of the Say Florida Sandy well and is good to go for the Hollie Hughes,” Nevin said. “He’s training well.”

Nevin’s veteran gelding Our Last Buck has had a series of works since a third-place finish in the seven-furlong Alex M. Robb won by Sea Foam on December 31, most recently breezing 1:04.92 on February 1 over the training track at Belmont Park.

The 8-year-old son of Courageous Cat is searching for his first win since last January’s Say Florida Sandy, but has been on the board in 4-of-5 starts since.

The dark bay has shown versatility throughout his career, winning at distances ranging from six furlongs to 1 1/16 miles. Nevin said she is comfortable running Our Last Buck at a variety of distances so long as it’s a race she feels he can be competitive in.

“We’re trying to find a suitable spot for him. He can do anything and is a really nice horse. He’s shown up going six furlongs, seven furlongs, a mile,” Nevin said. “So, we’re going to just have to see what’s available for him that makes sense.”

***

Atras lining up Doin’ittherightway and Sadie Lady for state-bred stakes

Trainer Rob Atras will be represented in both state-bred stakes next weekend with Windylea Farm’s Doin’ittherightway pointed to Saturday’s $100,000 Gander, a one-turn mile for sophomores; and Dennis Narlinger’s Sadie Lady targeting Sunday’s $100,000 Broadway at six furlongs for older fillies and mares.

Atras is enjoying a solid winter meet with a record of 50-13-7-5, good for second in the trainer standings heading into Sunday’s card at Aqueduct.

Doin’ittherightway closed from last-of-9 to finish sixth last out in the 6 1/2-furlong Rego Park against fellow state-breds on January 9 at the Big A. The Super Saver gelding, bred by Kindred Racing Stable, boasts a record of 7-2-1-2 led by a score in the six-furlong Tin Cup Chalice in October at Finger Lakes.

Atras said Doin’ittherightway, who worked a half-mile in 49.45 over the Belmont dirt training track February 2, will appreciate a stretch out in distance.

"He worked really well. I see him taking another step forward,” Atras said.

Sadie Lady, a 6-year-old homebred daughter of Freud, will look to make her seasonal debut at a track over which she boasts a record of five wins from nine starts. The graded stakes placed mare has banked $418,232 through a record of 22-8-1-3 and was last seen finishing fourth in the six-furlong Garland of Roses on December 11, contested over a sloppy and sealed surface at Aqueduct.

“We've had this race in mind for her,” Atras said. “They do want to breed her, so we may only see her one or two more times this year depending on what their plan is.”

Michael Dubb’s Chateau was entered in the seven-furlong Grade 3 Toboggan when it was first drawn for January 29 but did not re-enter when the race was rescheduled to Saturday.

Atras said he preferred not to see his frontrunning specialist have to travel beyond six furlongs in a race that featured the significant pace presence of Happy Medium, who faltered to third in Saturday’s Toboggan which was won by Drafted.

Instead, Atras said the 7-year-old son of Flat Out will look to defend his title in the six-furlong Grade 3, $200,000 Tom Fool Handicap on March 5 the Big A.

“That's the plan,” Atras said. “He’s doing well right now. He's an easy horse to train. He's very sound and he gets a lot out of his works and gallops.”

Atras said the Dubb-owned Battle Bling, last-out winner of the nine-furlong Ladies on January 16 at Aqueduct, is pointing to the $125,000 Heavenly Prize Invitational, a one-turn mile for older fillies and mares on March 5 at the Big A.

“She came out of the race real good and has breezed well. I'm real happy with her,” Atras said.

Battle Bling made an early move to take the lead in the Ladies and held on to score by a neck under Trevor McCarthy. Atras said the 4-year-old Kentucky-bred daughter of Vancouver will appreciate the turn back in distance.

“I'm not sure if she really wants a mile and an eighth or not. She made a big move on the turn and then she just held on,” Atras said. “I think a mile to a mile and a sixteenth is going to be her best distance.”

Atras enjoyed a surprise winner Thursday at Aqueduct when Stud El Aguila homebred Eagle in Love overcame a troubled start to notch a debut score by 4 3/4-lengths at odds of 15-1 in a one-turn mile maiden special weight for sophomores.

By Dialed In, the bay gelding is out of the 11-time winning Jed Forest mare Mariisima, who was named 2004 Champion 3-Year-Old Filly in her native Panama.

“The owner owns the mare and she was a champion in Panama. She's had a few foals now and the farm manager called me up and told me a little bit of the history, so I thought, ‘Uh oh, the pressure is on,” Atras said.

Eagle in Love exited the outermost post 7 under Manny Franco and after bumping with a rival at the break, he tracked the pace from third before making the lead at the stretch call and powered to the wire in a final time of 1:39.72. The wining effort garnered a 76 Beyer.

“I think the outside post helped him a little bit,” Atras said. “He seems to be a little better in the morning when he works outside of horses and he was always a little sharper in his gate works rather than from the pole.

“He's a very athletic horse and a feel-good horse and sometimes in the morning he'd work decent and other times he was on the lazy side,” Atras added. “It was definitely a pleasant surprise.”

Atras said Beach Haven Thoroughbreds, Medallion Racing, Parkland Thoroughbreds and Barry Fowler’s Grade 1 Coaching Club American Oaks winner Maracuja is training well at Oaklawn Park.

The 4-year-old Honor Code filly has breezed twice at the Hot Springs, Arkansas oval which had to cancel live racing this weekend due to inclement weather.

“They've had some funky weather down there, which we've had here too, but she's doing good,” Atras said of the filly, who worked a half-mile in 52.20 February 1 over the main track. “It was nothing too serious - just letting her get her air back and fitness back.”

Maracuja was last seen finishing fourth in the Grade 1 Cotillion on September 25 at Parx Racing. Atras said the filly is pointing to a mid-March return in either an allowance tilt or the Grade 2 Azeri on March 12.

***

 Aqueduct Racetrack Week 9 stakes probables

Saturday, February 12

$100,000 Gander

Probable: Agility (Jorge Abreu), Barese (Mike Maker), Bold Journey (Bill Mott), Bossmakinbossmoves (Rick Schosberg), Doin’ittherightway (Rob Atras), Geno (David Donk)

Possible: Cut the Cord (Jeremiah Englehart)

Sunday, February 13

$100,000 Broadway

Probable: Breakfastatbonnies (Danny Gargan), Chasing Cara (Mitchell Friedman), Eloquent Speaker (Natalia Lynch), Letmetakethiscall (James Ferraro), Sadie Lady (Rob Atras)