Aqueduct Stakes Recaps

Another Broad soars to victory in Top Flight Invitational —-

By Keith McCalmont

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Another Broad made her Aqueduct Racetrack debut a winning one with a dramatic late rally under Manny Franco in Saturday’s $200,000 Top Flight Invitational, a nine-furlong test for older fillies and mares.

Trained by Todd Pletcher for owners Madaket Stables, Elayne Stables and Brian Martin, the 4-year-old daughter of Include settled at the back of the six-horse field, sitting just outside of mutuel favorite My Miss Lilly as Frostie Anne set the opening quarter-mile in 24.05 seconds on the muddy main track.

Frostie Anne continued to widen her advantage down the backstretch, marking the half-mile in 47.91 with Jump Ruler following five lengths back. Another Broad and My Miss Lilly, last year’s Grade 2 Gazelle winner, launched their bids approaching the final turn with the latter finding an inside path while Another Broad looped outside rivals before angling back inside.

A game and determined Frostie Anne maintained her lead at the top of the lane as Forever Liesl rallied wide and My Miss Lilly pressed forward from the inside with Another Broad picking up steam.

Another Broad continued to find more with swift strides late in the lane, finding a seam between Frostie Anne and My Miss Lilly, and powered past her rivals to secure a 1 1/4 length victory. Forever Liesl arrived in time to complete the exacta, three-quarters of a length in front of My Miss Lilly.

Frostie Anne, Midnight Disguise and Jump Ruler completed the order of finish.

Another Broad, earning her first stakes victory, covered nine furlongs in 1:52.99.
Franco said the swift tempo set by Frostie Anne made all the difference.

“The pace was hot, and I knew that, so I just tried to give my filly a chance and wait as long as I could. She was there for me when I asked her,” said Franco. “By the three-eighths pole, I kind of followed Joe Bravo [My Miss Lilly]. In the stretch, I stayed to the inside and waited for a hole to open. When it did, she was there for me.”

The Maryland-bred Another Broad was purchased privately in November out of a runner-up score in the restricted Geisha at Laurel Park and finished fourth in the Grade 3 Royal Delta on February 19 at Gulfstream Park when making her first start for new connections.

Another Broad prepared for her New York debut at Pletcher’s winter base in Florida.

“She shipped up here from Palm Beach Downs on Wednesday in good form. We galloped her at Belmont for a couple of days and she was ready to run,” said Byron Hughes, assistant to Pletcher. “We wanted her to get into a nice rhythm and Manny [Franco] was very patient with her. Coming around the second turn, he found a good spot and he was able to split horses and get up. That was nice.”

Eric Cancel, aboard runner-up Forever Liesl, praised Franco for the deft winning move.

“I had a really good trip. I was placed where I wanted to be. I didn’t really expect Franco to come in between horses. He had the hole and he went for it and he came out victorious,” said Cancel.

Another Broad, bred in Maryland by Fitzhugh LLC, banked $110,000 in victory while improving her record to four wins and two seconds from nine starts. She paid $11.40 on a $2 win wager.

Live racing returns at the Big A on Sunday with a nine-race card highlighted by the $100,000 Plenty of Grace in Race 3 and the $100,000 Mizdirection in Race 8. First post is 1:30 p.m.

Regally Irish prevails in the Bridgetown

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Isabelle de Tomaso’s homebred Regally Irish arrived in the final stride to collar pacesetting Skole in Saturday’ $100,000 Bridgetown, a six-furlong turf sprint for sophomores at Aqueduct Racetrack.

Trained by Graham Motion and patiently handled by Rajiv Maragh, Regally Irish settled along the rail in third position as Skole, under moderate pressure from Skychief, led the five-horse field through a quarter-mile in 22.39 seconds on a yielding outer turf course.

Skole maintained his narrow advantage late in the turn, marking the half-mile in 45.32, with Skychief continuing to pester and Mount Travers rallying wide into third as Maragh asked Regally Irish to find his way into the race.

The pacesetter stayed on strong through the lane as Skychief faltered but he could not hold off an enlivened late bid from Regally Irish, who angled off the rail inside of Mount Travers and found the wire a neck in front of Skole. Regally Irish notched his first stakes score in a final running time of 1:10.28.

Mount Travers, Skychief and Wonder Stone completed the order of finish. Majid was scratched.

Maragh said he impressed with the young colt’s strong stretch kick.

“He settled nice off the speed and came up with a powerful run,” he said. “I just wanted him to get comfortable early, whether it’s up close or behind. He doesn’t have a set style, so it gives you a lot of options. The way the race unfolded, I felt like we were tracking in a good spot. I was just hoping he kicked in, and he sure did.”

The victory marked Maragh’s first stakes win since capturing the Grade 3 Gotham with Kentucky Derby-bound Haikal on March 9 at the Big A. The veteran rider was pleased to see the Bridgetown stay on the grass following significant rainfall in the metropolitan New York area.

“The ground was pretty good considering how much rain we got. This is the best turf course we have around here,” said Maragh. “It’s probably one of the best turf courses in the country, so it’s always fun to ride on it. It’s nice that it can take so much water and still stay together.”

Regally Irish, a chestnut son of Regal Ransom, arrived at the Bridgetown from a frontrunning score in an optional claiming event on January 11 over the Tampa Bay Downs turf.

Adrian Rolls, assistant to Motion, said he was pleased with the effort from the young and improving colt.

“That was good. He ran well down at Tampa. We weren’t sure it would be on the grass because of the rain, so it was nice that they kept it on,” said Rolls. “When he got running, Rajiv said he really sprinted away from them. He appeared to be happy with him. We’ll have to see how he comes out of this race [before deciding a next start].”

The well-bred colt’s second dam, Irish Sovereign, produced 2017 Wood Memorial victor Irish War Cry, as well as graded stakes winner Irish Strait.

Bred in New Jersey by his owner, Regally Irish banked $55,000 in victory while improving his record to 3-1-1 from seven starts. Sent to post as the 8-5 mutuel favorite, Regally Irish returned $5.40 for a $2 win ticket.

Live racing resumes on Sunday at the Big A with a nine-race card highlighted by the $100,000 Plenty of Grace in Race 3 and the $100,000 Mizdirection in Race 8. First post is 1:30 p.m.