Aqueduct: Busher, Tom Fool Stakes Previews

Posted On 02 Mar 2023

By Ryan Martin

Ziaerati seeks breakthrough victory in $200K Busher

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Highly impressive first-out maiden winner Ziaerati will attempt to carry her momentum onto the Road to the Kentucky Oaks when taking on five other sophomore fillies for Saturday’s $200,000 Busher going a one-turn mile, at Aqueduct Racetrack.

The Busher is the penultimate local prep for the Grade 1 Kentucky Oaks on May 5 at Churchill Downs, offering the top-five finishers points according to a 50-20-15-10-5 scale. The Busher is one of three stakes carded for Saturday’s action-packed program, which also includes the Grade 3, $300,000 Gotham – a 50-20-15-10-5 Kentucky Derby qualifier – as well as the Grade 3, $150,000 Tom Fool for older horses sprinting six furlongs.

Owned by John Grossi’s Racing Corp. in partnership with trainer Robert Falcone, Jr., Ziaerati was an 8 1/4-length debut winner going seven furlongs on January 15 at the Big A where she defeated next-out winner Promiseher America. The daughter of Into Mischief was in command throughout and extended her advantage through each point of call to complete the journey in a time of 1:26.72. The win garnered a field-best 83 Beyer Speed Figure.

“We always had a feeling she could run. She always breezed like she could, but you never know until you send them over there,” Falcone, Jr. said. “For her to take how she was working in the morning and transfer it to the afternoon is a good feeling. Having a horse like her in the barn definitely makes the job a lot easier. It’s nice having one like her.”

Ziaerati was purchased for $145,000 at the 2022 OBS March Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training, where she worked an eighth of a mile in 10.2 seconds under tack. From the same sale, Falcone, Jr. also acquired Wasabi Boy – who finished second to subsequent Champion 2-Year-Old Male Forte on debut – as well as Lady Shylock, who broke her maiden at first asking in November.

Bred in Kentucky by Whitehorse Stable, Ziaerati is out of the stakes-placed Munnings mare Zia.

Trevor McCarthy, who returns to action on Friday following a 3 1/2-month absence due to injury, will ride Ziaerati from post 3.

Four-time Eclipse Award winning trainer Chad Brown will be in pursuit of his second Busher conquest when sending out a pair of contenders in Shidabhuti [post 5, Dylan Davis] and Asset Purchase [post 6, Manny Franco].

Shidabhuti and Asset Purchase worked in company on February 24 over a Belmont training track rated “good,” logging their respective half-mile breezes in 48.95 seconds.

“They both have always trained well, they just took a little while to come around,” said Brown, who sent out eventual Kentucky Oaks runner-up Search Results to a Busher win in 2021. “I’m looking forward to trying them in a stakes race for the first time. They worked in company and it was excellent. It was executed perfect and they’re ready to go.”

Peter Brant’s Shidabhuti, undefeated in two starts, debuted in September at Monmouth Park with an off-the-pace 6 1/2-length score going six furlongs. The Practical Joke bay did not return to action until January 22, defeating fellow Busher aspirant La Vita Sofia by two lengths in an optional-claiming mile. Both victories registered a 62 Beyer.

“She [looked impressive] and I expect her to take another step forward,” Brown said of her last effort.

Asset Purchase, a Dialed In dark bay owned by Klaravich Stables, romped to an eight-length victory in her January 29 debut at the Big A. She stalked the pace from third down the backstretch and took control around the far turn under no urging from Franco to earn a 76 Beyer.

“She certainly did [have something left]. Shidabhuti has a little more experience, but she’s improving and maturing, so I’m excited about that,” Brown said.

Shidabhuti was a $310,000 acquisition from the 2021 Keeneland September Yearling Sale and is out of the Candy Ride mare A.P. Candy. Shidabhuti’s second dam is multiple Grade 1-winning millionaire Dream Supreme, who is the dam of Grade 1-winner and producer Majestic Warrior.

Asset Purchase is out of the New York-bred Dublin mare Quick Hit Fever, whose dam Hello Lucky was Grade 1-placed. She was bought for $75,000 at the 2021 Fasig-Tipton Kentucky Fall Yearling Sale.

Juddmonte’s Capella will put an unscathed record on the line following two wins in as many starts for trainer Brad Cox. The Kentucky homebred has won both of her efforts going a two-turn mile over the all-weather surface at Turfway Park. Following a frontrunning 3 1/4-length win on December 29, she defeated winners on February 3, staving off challenges from several foes to win by a neck.

Capella is out of the Tapit mare Touch the Star, which makes her a half-sister to multiple graded stakes winning millionaire Bonny South. Her third dam, Nijinsky Star, is the granddam of multiple Grade 1-winning multimillionaire Sightseek.

Florent Geroux will ship in to pilot Capella from post 2.

Trainer Rudy Rodriguez will vie for his third Busher victory when sending out La Vita Sofia. The Cross Traffic gray is the most seasoned entrant with five starts under her belt, including local efforts in the Tempted on November 6 and the Grade 2 Demoiselle in December, finishing a respective fourth and fifth. Her lone victory was a three-length win at second asking over a sloppy and sealed main track in October at Belmont at the Big A.

La Vita Sofia is owned by Sofia Soares, Matthew Mercurio, Michael Imperio, Douglas Allocco, Gary Cioffi and Vincent Valente.

Jose Gomez will ride from post 4.

Completing the field is Gold Square’s Check Engine Light, who enters as the lone maiden in the field. Although winless in a trio of starts, the daughter of Uncle Mo has shown improvement through each race and arrives off a narrow loss going the Busher distance in a local maiden special weight on February 5.

Check Engine Light is trained by Jorge Abreu, who captured the Busher with New York-breds Espresso Shot [2019] and Venti Valentine [2022]. She will be ridden by Kendrick Carmouche from post 1.

The Busher honors the 1945 Horse of the Year and Hall of Fame inductee. Busher, a daughter of Triple Crown winner War Admiral, won 15-of-21 starts, which included triumphs against both males and females. She captured the 1944 Adirondack, Matron and Selima during her juvenile season before capturing elusive victories in the following year’s Hollywood Derby, San Vicente, Arlington Handicap and Washington Park Handicap, the latter of which saw her defeat eventual Hall of Famer Armed and champion Durazna. Busher is the maternal granddaughter of influential matriarch La Troienne.

The Busher is carded as Race 4 on Saturday’s 10-race program. First post is 12:50 p.m. Eastern.

America’s Day at the Races will present live coverage and analysis of the Aqueduct winter 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 winter meet. Available to horse players nationwide, the NYRA Bets app is available for download today on iOS and Android at www.NYRABets.com.

Drafted cuts back in G3 Tom Fool Handicap

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Dublin Fjord Stables, Racepoint Stables, Kevin D. Hilbert and Thomas O’Keefe’s multiple graded-stakes winning millionaire Drafted brings his trademark closing kick to Saturday’s Grade 3, $150,000 Tom Fool Handicap, a six-furlong sprint for older horses, at Aqueduct Racetrack.

The Tom Fool, slated as Race 8, is part of a stacked Saturday card headlined by the one-turn mile Grade 3, $300,000 Gotham in Race 9, which offers 50-20-15-10-5 Kentucky Derby qualifying points to the top-five finishers; and the $200,000 Busher [Race 4] at one-mile for sophomore fillies, which offers 50-20-15-10-5 Kentucky Oaks qualifying points. First post on the 10-race card is 12:50 p.m. Eastern.

Trained by David Duggan, Drafted enjoyed a solid 2022 season, posting a record of 9-4-1-1 led by NYRA circuit wins in the seven-furlong Grade 3 Toboggan and six-furlong Gravesend at the Big A, and the six-furlong Grade 3 Runhappy at Belmont Park. He also notched a rallying score in the six-furlong Mr. Prospector at Monmouth Park.

Despite a rallying style that would suggest the further the better, Drafted has earned three of his last five victories traveling six furlongs.

“We were debating the other day what the best distance is for him,” Duggan said. “He always looks like he’s running out of ground going six furlongs and when you get to seven-eighths, he hits a bit of a flat spot.”

The 9-year-old Field Commission gelding finished a distant third last out in the seven-furlong Grade 3 Toboggan won by a runaway Repo Rocks, who notched an impressive score in Saturday’s Stymie here. The Toboggan runner-up, Little Vic, who finished 1 1/4-lengths ahead of Drafted that day, returns here.

“The last time we ran into a horse that’s turned into a monster,” said Duggan of Repo Rocks. “We have to make up a length or so on Little Vic and hopefully we can do that cutting back. We’re up for the challenge.

“He’s pretty exposed at this age and we have no secrets to hide. We’ll have our patented run,” continued Duggan. “Hopefully, they go fast enough and we can run them down late.”

Drafted breezed a sharp half-mile in 48.42 seconds Sunday over the Belmont dirt training track.

“It was a decent breeze and I was very happy with it,” Duggan said. “He’s not the easiest to train, but he’s a cool, older horse and we’ve found a pattern of training that seems to work for him right now. He’s thriving on it and is in good order. He’s been flying our flag the last year and a half. You need those types of horses to keep your name in lights. if your light goes dim in New York, you’re out the back door before you know it.”

Drafted, assigned 122 pounds, will exit post 4 under returning rider Luis Rodriguez Castro.

Karen A. Zimmerman’s graded-stakes winner Runninsonofagun [post 3, Kendrick Carmouche, 122 pounds] will make his seasonal debut. Trained by John Toscano, Jr., the Gun Runner gelding grew from claim to fame in a productive sophomore season last year, posting a record of 10-3-2-4 led by a nose score in the six-furlong Grade 3 Bold Ruler in October at Belmont at the Big A.

Runninsonofagun was claimed in each of his first two outings as a juvenile with his current connections haltering the improving bay for $40,000 out of a six-furlong maiden score in December 2021 at the Big A.

“It’s like catching lightning in a jar,” said Toscano, Jr. of the claim. “It’s not an easy thing to do, but it happens every once in a while and we were fortunate to be in the right spot at the right time.”

He made seven starts in graded company last year, finishing second in the one-mile Grade 3 Dwyer in July at Belmont ahead of a trio of third-place finishes in the 6 1/2-furlong Grade 2 Amsterdam and seven-furlong Grade 1 H. Allen Jerkens Memorial at Saratoga Race Course along with the six-furlong Grade 2 Gallant Bob at Parx.

Runninsonofagun rallied from sixth position to best returning rival Eastern Bay by a nose in the Bold Ruler. He completed his campaign with a runner-up effort in the six-furlong Grade 3 Fall Highweight Handicap in November at the Big A when a neck back of Greeley and Ben in a frenetic affair that saw only a half-length separate the top-four finishers.

In that event, Runninsonofagun, who has raced with blinkers on since the H. Allen Jerkens, appeared to re-rally once he sighted the closing run of third-place finisher Factor It In to his outside.

Toscano, Jr. credited jockey Kendrick Carmouche for the initial addition of blinkers and a slight modification that will be made to the equipment for his seasonal debut.

“He said he looks around a lot at other horses, so let’s get him focused. So, I put a set of full cup blinkers on him,” Toscano, Jr. said. “He didn’t see that horse next to him [in the Fall Highweight]. Carmouche said to add some slits in the cups so he can peek out and see someone alongside him, so that’s what we’re going to do now. Hopefully, that will help him focus and see the horse next to him.”

Runninsonofagun has breezed extensively for his return over the Belmont dirt training track, posting a number of sharp works, including a bullet half-mile in 49 flat on February 2 and a five-eighths bullet in 1:00.60 on February 16.

“He’s been working very good. Hopefully, he comes back the horse he left off as,” Toscano, Jr. said. “He got a little feisty and when I first claimed him, he wasn’t like that. Sometimes they develop like that when they’re good racehorses.”

Trainer Norman Cash will saddle a pair of contenders for his Built Wright Stables in graded-stakes winner Eastern Bay [post 1, William Humphrey, 123 pounds] and the speedy six-time winner Pirate Rick [post 5, Jose Gomez, 118 pounds].

Eastern Bay, a 9-year-old E Dubai gelding, was claimed for $35,000 in April 2022 and has since posted a record of 10-5-3-0 for current connections, including runner-up efforts in the seven-furlong Grade 2 Vosburgh and Grade 3 Bold Ruler in October at Belmont at the Big A.

He enters from a stalking 1 1/2-length score in the seven-furlong Grade 3 General George on February 18 at Laurel Park.

Pirate Rick, a 6-year-old Liam’s Map gelding, boasts a record of 22-6-3-1 for purse earnings of $259,254. He earned a career-best 104 Beyer Speed Figure for a seven-length score in a six-furlong optional claimer here on January 22. He returned on six day’s rest to set the pace en route to a fourth-place effort in the Grade 3 Toboggan and enters from a sixth-place effort in the General George.

Bottle Rocket Racing, Qatar Racing Limited and Marc Detampel’s graded-stakes placed Nakatomi [post 6, Dylan Davis, 120 pounds] will make his seasonal debut for trainer Wesley Ward.

The 4-year-old Firing Line chestnut won the six-furlong Bowman Mill in October 2021 over a sloppy and sealed Keeneland main track ahead of an eight-month respite. He returned with an optional-claiming score in June at Churchill Downs and was fourth in the aforementioned Gallant Bob before besting eventual graded-stakes winner Endorsed in an optional-claimer at Keeneland in November. He completed his campaign with a closing fourth in the seven-furlong Grade 1 Malibu in December at Santa Anita.

Bred in Kentucky by Arnold Zetcher and Crestwood Farm, the $25,000 Fasig-Tipton Kentucky Fall Yearling Sale purchase has trained into this event at Turfway Park where he recently breezed five furlongs in 1:03.40 on February 23.

Little Vic [post 7, Carlos Olivero, 121 pounds] enters from a runner-up effort to Repo Rocks in the aforementioned Grade 3 Toboggan for trainer Juan Carlos Avila and owner Victoria’s Ranch.

The 4-year-old Practical Joke colt entered the Toboggan from a narrow nose defeat to Drafted in the Gravesend in his Big A debut. A veteran of 12 starts with a record of 4-3-1 for purse earnings of $236,230, the prominent bay captured the seven-furlong City of Laurel in November at Laurel Park.

Rounding out the field are graded-stakes placed Wendell Fong [post 8, Jorge Vargas, Jr., 117 pounds] for trainer Natalia Lynch; and Chateau [post 2, Jose Lecano, 118 pounds], who makes his third appearance in this event after winning the 2021 edition and finishing second a year ago. Chateau enters first off the claim for owner/trainer David Jacobson.

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Contact: Keith McCalmont