Clement sends strong trio for $150K Autumn Days

Trainer Christophe Clement will be represented by a formidable trio of contenders in Dontlookbackatall, Love Appeals and Loon Cry as part of an overflow field for Friday’s $150,000 Autumn Days, a six-furlong outer turf sprint for fillies and mares 3-years-old and up, at Aqueduct Racetrack.

West Point Thoroughbreds, Scarlet Oak Racing and Titletown Racing Stables’ graded stakes-winner Dontlookbackatall [post 2, Irad Ortiz, Jr., 125 pounds] made the grade three starts back with a neck score over millionaire graded stakes-winner Danse Macabre in the Grade 3 Caress presented by Albany Med Health System traveling 5 1/2-furlongs over firm turf on July 25 at Saratoga Race Course. That effort completed a hat trick of close-up stalking wins for the 4-year-old Pennsylvania-bred daughter of Peace and Justice, who captured the Listed License Fee here in May and the state-bred Power By Far in June at Parx.

Dontlookbackatall exited the Caress to post a runner-up effort in the 6 1/2-furlong Grade 2 Ladies Turf Sprint on August 31 at Kentucky Downs when 5 1/4-lengths back of Ag Bullet, who finished third in Saturday’s Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint at Del Mar.

Last out, Dontlookbackatall, who sports a 15-6-6-0 record, was an uncharacteristic 12th in the Grade 2 Franklin on October 13 at Keeneland when traveling in ninth-of-12 early under Tyler Gaffalione before landing 5 3/4-lengths back of the victorious multiple graded stakes-winner Future Is Now.

“I don't know what happened last time at Keeneland. I don't know if she was flat, or if the jockey didn't put enough in the race. She's the kind of filly you don't want to be too far out,” said Clement’s Belmont Park-based assistant Christophe Lorieul. “She ran very well at Kentucky Downs and then a clunker the other day, so we are a bit puzzled. She came back good and had a very good work here last week.”

Dontlookbackatall, a $150,000 purchase at the 2022 OBS March Sale of 2-Year-Olds in training, has banked $658,440.

Moyglare Stud Farm’s Kentucky homebred Love Appeals [post 10, Dylan Davis, 122 pounds] boasts a 12-4-1-4 ledger for purse earnings of $261,520.

The 4-year-old Speightstown bay posted consecutive wins this summer sprinting five furlongs at Monmouth Park, taking an optional-claimer by 1 1/2-lengths in July and a one-length score in the Incredible Revenge in August.

Love Appeals traveled to Laurel Park on September 14 and finished a closing third in the six-furlong Sensible Lady Turf Dash won by stablemate Loon Cry before running second by a head here last out on October 12 in the six-furlong Floral Park.

“She likes it at Aqueduct and was second last time here,” Lorieul said. “She has some tactical speed. She's not one for the lead, but close and then makes one run. She's nice.”

Love Appeals is out of the Medaglia d’Oro mare Gioia Stella, who is a half-sister to Grade 1-winner Nereid and the Grade 1-placed Sea Queen.

Waterville Lake Stables’ New York homebred Loon Cry [post 5, Joel Rosario, 122 pounds] will look to improve upon a fifth-place finish in this event last year as she makes her ninth straight start in open company.

The 4-year-old More Than Ready bay has rallied to victories in three of her last four outings, beginning at Woodbine Racetrack where she captured an optional-claimer in June ahead of a one-length score over next-out winner Blind Spot in the Listed Sweet Briar Too in August. She added the aforementioned Sensible Lady Turf Dash to her ledger in September before landing a close fifth last out in the Floral Park when 2 1/4-lengths back of Secret Money.

Loon Cry is out of the multiple stakes-placed Bernardini mare Final Escrow, who is a half-sister to dual Grade 1-winner Vicar.

NBS Stable’s Mohawk Trail [post 9, John Velazquez, 120 pounds] won three races last year, including a pair of impressive wins over the Woodbine turf in the Listed 6 1/2-furlong Alywow and the one-turn mile Grade 3 Ontario Colleen.

Trained by Kelsey Danner, the 4-year-old Pioneerof the Nile dark bay has made four starts since and will look to return to winning form as she cuts back in distance from an uncharacteristic 10th-of-12 effort last out in a 1 1/16-mile Keeneland allowance.

The Florida-bred Mohawk Trail, who closed to finish second in the 1 1/16-mile state-bred Distaff Turf in March at Tampa Bay Downs, is out of the stakes-placed Indian Charlie mare Iroquois Girl – a half-sister to dual graded stakes-winner Salty Strike.

Wertheimer and Frere’s Kentucky homebred Toupie [post 4, Flavien Prat, 120 pounds] boasts a 9-4-2-1 record for purse earnings of $302,775 topped by stakes scores in last year’s local Stewart Manor to go along with victories in this year’s Stormy Blues at Laurel Park and the Listed Unzip Me last out on September 28 at Santa Anita Park.

Trained by Graham Motion, the Uncle Mo sophomore used stalking tactics in her first two stakes wins but showed a new dimension last out with a frontrunning down-the-hill score in the Unzip Me – a race she re-routed to after not drawing into the Grade 2 Music City on September 7 at Kentucky Downs.

The well-traveled Toupie was a troubled fourth in the Listed Coronation Cup in July at Saratoga where she exited the inside post and attended the pace before being taken back and coming with a run to finish 1 3/4-lengths back of the victorious Twirling Queen, who captured Friday’s Listed Senator Ken Maddy at Del Mar.

Toupie is out of the Tapit mare Amertume, who was graded stakes-placed on turf. Her third dam is Grade 1-winner and black type producer Honest Lady, whose dam Toussaud also produced Grade 1-winner and influential sire Empire Maker as well as Grade 1-winners Chester House and Chiselling.

Motion will also send out Cayton Park Stud’s Golden Hostess [post 6, Manny Franco, 120 pounds], who was a Group 3-winner in her native South Africa when taking the Diana last October at Durbanville for her former trainer Candice Leigh Bass-Robinson.

The 5-year-old Gold Standard bay debuted for Motion on October 18 at Keeneland, closing furiously from last-of-10 with a nine-wide move to finish a neck third. The impressive effort registered an 84 Beyer.

Golden Hostess, a half-sister to Group 3-winner Dynamic Host, is out of the French Deputy mare Hosta, who is a half-sister to multiple graded stakes-winning millionaire Colstar - winner of the Grade 1 Flower Bowl Invitational in 2000 over the Belmont Park inner turf.

Rounding out a strong field are graded stakes-placed Yesternight [post 8, Luis Rivera, Jr., 120 pounds] for conditioner Lindsay Schultz; stakes-winner Mz Big Bucks [post 7, Kendrick Carmouche, 120 pounds] for trainer Michelle Nevin; the Kathleen Demasi-trained stakes winner All That Magic [post 3, Eliseo Ruiz, 120 pounds]; and multiple stakes-placed Hollywood Walk [post 1, Javier Castellano, 120 pounds] for trainer Michael Trombetta. Listed as also-eligible are four-time winner Union Dolly [post 11, Romero Maragh, 120 pounds, blinkers ON] for trainer Ray Handal and the Chad Brown-trained Risk Threshold [post 12, Junior Alvarado, 120 pounds]. Security Code is entered for the main-track only.

The Autumn Days is slated as Race 9 on Friday’s nine-race card which also features the Grade 3, $175,000 Pebbles in Race 8. First post is 12:10 pm. Eastern.

America’s Day at the Races will present live coverage and analysis of the Aqueduct Racetrack fall meet on the networks of FOX Sports. For the broadcast schedule and channel finder, visit https://www.nyra.com/aqueduct/racing/tv-schedule/.

NYRA Bets is the official wagering platform of Aqueduct Racetrack, and the best way to bet every race of the fall meet. Available to horse players nationwide, the NYRA Bets app is available for download today on iOS and Android at www.NYRABets.com.