Chelsea Durand Photo

Please Advise wins first stake in return to turf sprinting with Atlantic Beach effort

by Brian Bohl

R A Hill Stable’s Please Advise ran down Works for Me from the outside in the final sixteenth and held off Irish Gent to post a rallying victory by a neck in Saturday’s $120,000 Atlantic Beach for 2-year-olds going six furlongs over Aqueduct Racetrack’s outer turf course.

Please Advise, ridden by Eric Cancel, notched his first stakes win in four attempts to win his second race overall for trainer George Weaver, earning a winner’s circle trip for the first time since his debut effort in June at Belmont Park.

New York-bred Works for Me led the nine-horse field with an opening quarter-mile in 22.65 seconds with Split Strike going to the front with the half in 45.57 over firm going. Cancel kept Please Advise to the inside and, out of the turn, picked off rivals one-by-one, overtaking Woke Up Quick, Apollo Ten and Split Strike. Cancel then angled his charge slightly to the outside and pressed on despite a late challenge from a charging Irish Gent, under rider Jairo Rendon, to complete the course in a 1:09.39 final time.

Irish Gent, trained by Hall of Famer Todd Pletcher, bested Works for Me by a neck for second. Apollo Ten, the 7-5 favorite, finished fourth, with Split Strike, Get Spooled, Ruddy Buddy, Dilger and Woke Up Quick completing the order of finish. Perliano, entered the for the main track only, scratched. Jimmythetooth was a late scratch.

"I got a little bit concerned because I saw horses start to get away from me, but it just took him a little bit to turn his engine on,” Cancel said. “Once he got it going, he got the job done.”

Off at 7-1, Please Advise returned $17.80 on a $2 win bet and improved his career earnings to $191,418 after banking $66,000 in victory.

The Palace Malice colt was entered in sprints in his first four starts before being stretched out last out, running second in a 1 1/16-mile turf allowance the previous week at Keeneland.

“He’s just a game horse and he’s always had it in him,” said Blair Golen, assistant to Weaver. “The first time we ran him with blinkers and we ran him twice more with them and then ended up taking them off. I just think he’s matured and didn’t need them anymore. He’s been a nice, forward, willing horse and the team has really liked him.

"He’s staying sound and going in the right direction,” Golen added. “He’s a good solid horse and has never been a problem.”

Live racing resumes Sunday at Aqueduct with a nine-race card featuring three stakes, including the $150,000 Tempted for 2-year-old fillies going one mile; the $150,000 Nashua for juveniles competing at one mile; and the $135,000 Pumpkin Pie for fillies and mares 3-years-old and up at seven furlongs. First post is 12:20 p.m. Eastern. 

America’s Day at the Races will present daily coverage and analysis of the fall meet at Aqueduct Racetrack on the networks of FOX Sports. For the complete broadcast schedule, 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 horseplayers nationwide, the NYRA Bets app is available for download today on iOS and Android at www.NYRABets.com.