California shipper Amuse looks for East Coast success in Saturday’s Correction

By Brian Bohl —-

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Amuse will ship in from California looking to finally break through against stakes company after a slew of close efforts when she competes as part of a seven-horse field in Saturday’s $100,000 Correction for fillies and mares 4-years-old and up at Aqueduct Racetrack.

The 81st running of the Correction, contested at six furlongs, will see Hall of Fame trainer Richard Mandella send the 6-year-old to the East Coast for the first time in potentially her last start before retirement. The Medaglia d’Oro mare started the current campaign with a runner-up finish by one length to Qahira in the Kalookan Queen on January 10 at Santa Anita.

That marked the fourth time Amuse ran second or third in a stakes since 2020; a run that started with the Grade 2 Great Lady M [third], the Grade 3 Rancho Bernardo Handicap [second] and the Grade 3 Chillingworth [third], with all races coming in the Golden State.

A Raydelz Stable homebred, Amuse was bumped slightly leaving the gate and finished fifth after a wide trip last out in the Grade 2 Santa Monica going seven furlongs on February 13 at Santa Anita.

“She’s doing very well. We’re excited for the opportunity,” Mandella said.

Mandella said the Correction could be Amuse’s last start before starting her career as a broodmare. Through a racing career that started in 2018, she carries a 2-3-3 lifetime record in 12 starts with earnings of $161,291.

“She’s being retired to be bred this year,” Mandella said. “She’ll run and then go to Claiborne farm, and we’re just trying to win a stake on the way out. She’s been knocking on the door; hopefully that door will open.”

Amuse, ridden primarily by Drayden Van Dyke and previously by Hall of Famer Mike Smith on the West Coast, will team with meet-leading jockey Kendrick Carmouche, drawing post 3.

“She’s got a great temperament and I expect her to run as good as she can,” Mandella said. “I don’t see any reason to be concerned over the travel. She’s got a great personality.”

Dennis Narlinger’s Sadie Lady will return to stakes company after a 2 1/2-length win against optional claimers on December 18 at the Big A. The Rob Atras trainee will enter off a nearly three-month layoff looking to start her 5-year-old year with momentum after a 2020 in which she won four times in seven starts.

“She’s been doing really good and she’s had a bit of a break from her last race but hasn’t missed a beat,” said Atras, who is tied for third among trainers at the Aqueduct winter meet with 14 victories. “She’s been training really well. She got good last winter and had a couple of races at Belmont that weren’t her best. We sent her down to Florida to Rudy Delguidice and when she came back her, she was up to her old self. She’s doing really good right now and she likes Aqueduct, so we’re hoping for another big effort from her.”

Bred in New York by JMJ Racing Stables, Sadie Lady made her first stakes appearance in 13 starts when running fifth in the New York Stallion Stakes Series Staten Island in November. The daughter of Freud will be making just her fourth stakes start in 18 races and the second since 2018. Manny Franco will ride from post 2.

“It’s exciting; I think she deserves a shot and she’s in really good form right now,” Atras said. “I think she’ll do well on Saturday.”

Perrine Time Thoroughbreds’ Kansas Kis, who ran second in the 2020 Busher Invitational, will enter off respective second and third-place finishes in optional claimers to start her 4-year-old year, for trainer Ray Handal.

Dylan Davis will be in the irons from the inside post.

Down Neck Stables’ Call On Mischief, fifth in the Interborough going seven furlongs last out on January 18 at the Big A in her first start as a 4-year-old, will cut back to six furlongs for the first time since running for trainer Kelly Breen on December 18 after being claimed for $62,500. Nik Juarez will ride from post 4.

Robert Amendola’s Jump for Joy will finally get her first chance at a stakes in her 33rd career start. Trained by Mertkan Kantarmaci, Jump for Joy has finished in the money in her last eight starts against allowance and claiming company, respectively, and the 8-year-old Jump Start mare will pick up Trevor McCarthy’s services, drawing post 5.

Awesome Debate, bred, owned, and trained by Charlton Baker, enters off back-to-back wins at Aqueduct in which she posted Beyer Speed Figures of 84 and 85 and will return to a track in which she is 3-1-1 in five starts. Jorge Vargas, Jr. has the assignment from post 6 on the New York-bred daughter of Honorable Dillon.

McCourt Racing’s Prairie Fire, who ran sixth in the La Verdad in her 5-year-old bow on January 3 for trainer Linda Rice, twice was the runner-up in stakes company last year and will seek her first stakes win, breaking from the outermost post 7 in tandem with Eric Cancel.

The Correction is slated as Race 9 on Saturday’s 10-race card. First post is 12:50 p.m. Eastern.

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