Carrumba back in action in G3 Distaff

by NYRA Press Office

Phipps Stable's homebred Carrumba, winner of the 2016 Grade 3 Top Flight Handicap, is set to make her first start since last summer, topping a field of six in Sunday's Grade 3, $150,000 Distaff Handicap at Aqueduct Racetrack.

Carrumba, trained by Hall of Famer Shug McGaughey, found herself in a formidable group of older fillies and mares in her 2016 campaign, most notably finishing second and third behind the talented Cavorting in the Grade 2 Ruffian and Grade 1 Ogden Phipps, respectively. In her only start at Saratoga, Carrumba held a pressured early lead in the Grade 3 Shuvee Handicap but was no match for Curalina, who shot to a 9 ¼-length victory, prompting McGaughey to send her to Ocala, Florida for extended R&R.

"I thought she wasn't finishing up her races as well as she should have," McGaughey said of the break. "Obviously, the ones who were beating her were pretty good too. She would get there, but she just wouldn't finish as well as I wanted her to. Like that race [the Ogden Phipps] Cavorting won. That filly was very good, but she [Carrumba] turned the corner like maybe she was going to win but she was just kind of steady from there. Then she had sort of the same thing going for her at Saratoga [in the Shuvee], but then Curalina ran by her like she was tied to a post, so I thought then we just need to give her some time."

The 5-year-old Bernardini mare has never finished worse than third in 10 career starts and boasts four wins at either a mile or 1 1/8 miles, including her half-length victory in the Top Flight. Cavorting will try to tackle the turn back in the seven-furlong Distaff, a distance she hasn't raced at since finishing second as a 3-year-old maiden at Saratoga in 2015.

"Last year, I started her back in the Top Flight going a mile and an eighth but, at the same time, I wondered if, off a layoff, it took a little bit of the sting out of her, so I elected to come back and go in this spot," said McGaughey. "We've had her back to Payson Park all winter and she's trained well. She's gotten bigger and stronger. I feel pretty good about it."

Hall of Famer John Velazquez has the mount aboard Carrumba, set to break from post 4. 

Barely two years after Frosted picked up his first of four graded stakes wins, his 4-year-old half-sister Indulgent will look to follow in the family tradition when she makes her stakes debut in the Distaff.

Indulgent, by Bernardini and out of the Deputy Minister dam Fast Cookie, is 3-for-3, all at six furlongs, since breaking her maiden at Parx in October. Her trainer, Kiaran McLaughlin, was originally aiming her for the Correction over the inner track on March 18, but changed directions and instead entered another talented filly from his stable, Clothes Fall Off, who won her second straight Correction by 4 ½ lengths.

"We just thought seven furlongs and the outer track would suit her [Indulgent] better," McLaughlin said. "She's a really nice filly and she's shown that. We think she wants to go further so we're excited to go seven, and then possibly a mile in the Ruffian, and go on longer with her. She's a very talented filly and we're excited to move up to a graded stakes.

"She's improving all the time," he continued. "Physically, she looks great. She's a beautiful filly, and she's sharp mentally too. She had some tying-up issues in the early part of her life and that's why we didn't get started too early with her. It delayed her, too, so we had to give her a little bit of time in between, but luckily it's not a big deal. The team here has done a great job with her. She couldn't be doing better. She's won three in a row and we're excited to have her in on Sunday."

The Godolphin Racing color bearer will be ridden by Irad Ortiz, Jr. from post 5.

Clipthecouponannie will bring her undefeated record to the graded stakes level to open her 4-year-old campaign for owner-breeder Repole Stable and trainer Todd Pletcher. By Uncle Mo, Clipthecouponannie bested her state-bred company in the Franklin Square in February 2016 and resurfaced in December at Gulfstream, winning an optional-claiming race against open company by 2 ¼ lengths.

"She's done everything we've asked of her so far," said Pletcher. "This will be a little bit of a step up in class for her but she's been training sharply so hopefully she'll continue to do well."

Rounding out the field for the Distaff are Charles Fipke's homebred Tale for Ruby from the Barclay Tagg barn, winner of an optional-claimer February 24 at Gulfstream Park; Chester and Mary Broman's New York-bred Highway Star, winner of the Grade 3 Go For Wand in December, for trainer Rodrigo Ubillo; and Gary Contessa trainee Kelsocait, owned by Leonard C. Green and Sean Shay.
 

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Catapult will seek to capitalize on class relief as part of a field of seven 4-year-olds and up in Sunday's $100,000 Danger's Hour, carded as Race 8 at one mile, marking the first turf stakes of Aqueduct's spring meet.
 

Owned by Woodford Racing, Catapult will be returning to the Big A for the first time since capturing the Gio Pointi on November 24. Trained by Chad Brown, the Kitten's Joy 4-year-old was outkicked in the stretch to finish fourth in the 1 1/16-mile Grade 3 Tampa Bay on February 11. He will turn back to a distance in which he is 1-0-1 in three career starts, drawing post 2 with Irad Ortiz, Jr.

Macagone will also hope the drop in class brings success after two lackluster efforts in the Grade 3 Canadian Turf on March 4 and the Grade 2 Ft. Lauderdale, respectively, to start his 2017 campaign. Trained by Hall of Famer Bill Mott, Macagone will return to the Big A for the first time since winning the Artie Schiller on November 19. Kendrick Carmouche will ride from post 6.
 

Edge of Reality, the field's most race-tested horse, will make his 34th career start looking for his first win since the Robellino on August 6. The 7-year-old Graham Motion trainee will be making his Aqueduct debut and third straight turf start, where he has two wins in 11 starts. Cornelio Velasquez has the call from the outside post.
 

Cage Fighter will make his 2017 debut in drawing the rail for trainer James Lawrence. The 7-year-old, who was pulled up and has not run since the Henry S. Clark in April 2016, will be running for just the second time since the 2015 Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Turf. Paco Lopez will ride.
 

Rounding out the field is Il Segreto, a French-bred for trainer Christophe Clement, from post 5; Gold Shield, making his stakes debut for Hall of Famer Shug McGaughey, from post 4; and Eirigh for trainer Todd Pletcher from post 7.
 

Graded stakes veteran Greenpointcrusader, also trained by Pletcher, is a main-track only entry. He won the 2015 Grade 1 Champagne and started in that year's Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Juvenile, following that effort with a game runner-up finish in the Grade 2 Holly Bull.