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Good Sam proves best in $150K Tempted

by Keith McCalmont

Peter Brant’s Good Sam kept her perfect record intact with a 3 1/2-length score in Sunday’s $150,000 Tempted, a one-turn mile for juvenile fillies over the main track, at Aqueduct Racetrack.

Trained by four-time Eclipse Award-winning trainer Chad Brown and piloted by Irad Ortiz, Jr., the Good Samaritan bay entered from a gate-to-wire 4 3/4-length debut score traveling 6 1/2-furlongs over a sloppy and sealed main track on October 2 at Belmont at the Big A.

Good Sam broke alertly from post 4 and settled in third position as Foggy Night and Crypto Mama, who stumbled at the break from the inside post, dueled through an opening quarter-mile in 23.26 seconds over the fast main track.

The Paco Lopez-piloted Foggy Night led into the turn with Good Sam cruising into contention to her outside under no urging from Ortiz, Jr. to take command. Foggy Night dug in gamely for the stretch run but Good Sam continued to accelerate away from her rival, coming in slightly inside the eighth-pole, before straightening away to win in a final time of 1:38.69. Foggy Night completed the exacta by 4 1/2-lengths over Rosie’s Alibi with La Vita Sofia, Crypto Mama and Binsky completing the order of finish.

Lopez claimed foul against Ortiz, Jr. for the incident at the eighth-pole with no change made to the order of finish.

“I feel like I never bothered the other horse. She went in when she changed leads, but I corrected her and never even hit him,” Ortiz, Jr. said. “I grabbed her and got her straight, and then I hit her a couple times on the left side and she was going forward.”

Ortiz, Jr., who won a trio of Breeders’ Cup races at the recently concluded World Championships, said he felt comfortable throughout.

“This is a nice filly. She deserves all the credit,” Ortiz, Jr. said. “It was a pretty easy ride out there. She broke good and I took my time with her. Whenever I asked her, she responded.

“Last time, she was a little green in the stretch and today she was a little better,” Ortiz, Jr. added. “I think she’s learning.” 

Pine Brook Farm’s Foggy Night, trained by Butch Reid, Jr., entered from an 11 1/4-length maiden score at third asking traveling one mile and 70 yards at Parx. She shipped in from her Philadelphia base on a journey extended due to the ongoing New York City Marathon.

“I really liked the race. It was a good effort after a long ship getting up here with the traffic in New York today,” Reid, Jr. said. “That horse did come over and take her lane away, but I guess the stewards didn't feel it was enough to make a change, but the horse did come over on us a little bit. I'm sure the margin of victory had something to do with it.”

Reid Jr. said Foggy Night could return to the Big A for the nine-furlong Grade 2, $250,000 Demoiselle on December 3, offering 10-4-3-2-1 qualifying points for the Grade 1 Kentucky Oaks. 

"There's a good chance. The further the better with this filly,” Reid, Jr. said. 

Good Sam, a $310,000 purchase at the Keeneland September Yearling Sale, is out of the Twirling Candy mare Twizzler, whose dam is multiple graded stakes winner Twist Afleet.

Bred in Kentucky by Maccabee Farm, Good Sam banked $82,500 in victory while improving her record to 2-for-2. She returned $3 for a $2 win ticket.

Live racing resumes Thursday at Aqueduct with a nine-race card. First post is 12:20 p.m. Eastern.

America's Day at the Races will present live coverage and analysis of the Aqueduct 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 best way to bet every race of the Aqueduct Racetrack fall meet. Available to horse players nationwide, the NYRA Bets app is available for download today on iOS and Android at www.NYRABets.com.