Aqueduct Stakes Recaps
Jody’s Pride shows Oaks potential in $200K Busher score
By Keith McCalmont
OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Jody’s Pride, last seen finishing a close second to Champion 2-Year-Old Filly Just F Y I in the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies, made her seasonal debut a winning one with a game score in Saturday’s Listed $200,000 Busher, a one-turn mile for sophomore fillies, at Aqueduct Racetrack.
Trained by Jorge Abreu for owners Parkland Thoroughbreds and Sportsmen Stable, the American Pharoah dark bay secured the maximum allotment of the 50-25-15-10-5 Grade 1 Kentucky Oaks qualifying points on offer to the top-five finishers.
Jody’s Pride picked up 15 Oaks qualifying points when she finished just a neck back of Just F Y I in the Juvenile Fillies in November at Santa Anita Park and the two were initially slated to square off today at Gulfstream Park in the Grade 2 Davona Dale before the team called an audible and shipped to New York last week. Just F Y I scratched out of the Davona Dale earlier this afternoon after spiking a temperature as longshot Fiona’s Magic upset that event.
“We gave her 30 days [after the Breeders’ Cup] and then we brought her back to Palm Meadows and she was doing everything great,” Abreu said. “She was working pretty good and we had her pointed for the Davona Dale, and at the last minute, Mr. Weston decided to run her over here. So I said, ‘OK, let’s go.’”
Abreu and Steve Weston’s Parkland Thoroughbreds teamed up to win this event in 2019 with Espresso Shot and her half-sister Venti Valentine in 2022. The latter went on to finish second in the Gazelle here and 14th in the Kentucky Oaks.
“We made it [to the Kentucky Oaks] once before with Venti Valentine and we actually won this race for the third time today,” Weston said. “I’m not saying we have the best horse for the Oaks of the 14, but at least we have a chance.”
Carmelina broke alertly from the outside post under Mychel Sanchez and set the tempo through splits of 23.62 seconds and 46.81 over the sloppy and sealed main track with Jody’s Pride tracking in second to the outside of Princess Mayfair and Regulatory Risk.
Jody’s Pride ranged into contention in second position into the turn and loomed large as Carmelina clung to a narrow lead. Gin Gin, who was sixth in the early running, was hard ridden through the turn by Trevor McCarthy to make up ground into third position as Carmelina prepared to deal with Jody’s Pride. Lezcano shook the reins at Jody’s Pride at the top of the lane and the filly responded to his right-handed encouragement to take command inside the three-sixteenths en route to a 2 1/4-length score in a final time of 1:38.49.
Carmelina completed the exacta by 2 1/2-lengths over last-out Busanda winner Gin Gin with the previously undefeated Aoife’s Magic in fourth. Regulatory Risk, Sicilian Princess and Princess Mayfair rounded out the order of finish.
“She is a very nice filly,” Lezcano said. “When I asked her at the quarter pole, she took off like she was breaking out of the gate. She galloped out and did everything right.”
Weston credited Lezcano with an astute ride from post 6-of-7, a vantage point that was ideal to assess the early pace threat of Carmelina and gate-to-wire maiden winner Regulatory Risk for trainer Chad Brown.
“There was a lot of speed in the race, we thought Chad’s horse had a lot of speed and the seven [Carmelina] as well,” Weston said. “We knew there was a lot of speed so we wanted to sit off somewhat, but we didn’t know who it was going to be. As Jorge said, she probably would like to go longer. Being off since November, it was a great trip.”
Sanchez said the Butch Reid, Jr.-trained Carmelina, a three-time stakes winner, performed admirably through solid fractions after exiting the outermost post.
“I think the post position helped us. It was good to get by and get to the inside,” Sanchez said. “We put up a good pace even though she made it look easy, we were definitely running all the way around. It was her first time going long in the dirt, I think she ran huge and definitely think she will get better in her next start, hopefully on the Oaks trail.”
Jody’s Pride kicked off her career with a pair of off-the-turf scores, taking a 5 1/2-furlong sprint by 10 1/2-lengths in her August debut at Saratoga Race Course ahead of a 3 1/4-length score in the six-furlong Matron at Belmont at the Big A ahead of her Breeders’ Cup effort.
Abreu said he will see how his filly exits this event before considering the nine-furlong Grade 3, $200,000 Gazelle, a 100-50-25-15-10 qualifier for the Kentucky Oaks, on April 6 here.
“I’m going to see how she comes out of it and probably [come back] here in the Gazelle, and then the Kentucky Oaks,” Abreu said. “She ran two turns already and my concern was if she was going to perform as well as she did as a 2-year-old. She did, and I think she wants to go longer than that even.”
Jody’s Pride is out of the undefeated Parkland Thoroughbreds’ campaigned Scat Daddy mare Jody’s Song – a half-sister to multiple graded stakes-placed Make Mischief. Bred in Kentucky by Steve Weston, Jody’s Pride banked $110,000 in victory while improving her record to 4-3-1-0. Sent to post as the 4-5 mutuel favorite, she returned $3.90 for a $2 win bet.
Live racing resumes Sunday at Aqueduct with an eight-race card. First post is 1:20 p.m. Eastern.
America’s Day at the Races will present daily coverage and analysis of the winter 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 winter meet. Available to horseplayers nationwide, the NYRA Bets app is available for download today on iOS and Android at www.NYRABets.com.
Kinetic Sky victorious in rain-soaked Stymie
By Lynne Snierson
OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Under a heady ride from Jose Lezcano, Kinetic Sky proved best in a field of eight hard-knocking older horses to take Saturday’s Listed $150,000 Stymie on a sloppy and sealed racing strip, at Aqueduct Racetrack.
Trained by Rick Dutrow, Jr. and owned by the partnership of Sandy Goldfarb, Alan Kahn, David Tanzman, and Steven Speranza, the 6-year-old son of Runhappy took over in a final stages of the one-turn mile to prevail in a four-horse battle to the wire in the final time of 1:37.08. Dispatched at 9-2, Kinetic Sky finished a nose in front of pacesetter Quality Chic while his Dutrow-trained stablemate and 9-5 favorite Petulante was another half-length back in third. Coastal Mission, Double Crown, Castle Chaos, Iron Works and Laughing Boy completed the order of finish.
Breaking from the inside post, Lezcano guided Kinetic Sky off the rail and to the outside where he found more comfortable going. Racing four-wide down the backstretch and through the bend, the rider asked his charge near the three-eighths pole and then placed him 10-wide at the head of the stretch. Kinetic Sky took up the challenge and then dug down deep through the lane and got his nose down at the wire.
“He gave me a very good race. Rick had him ready and the horse was there for me the whole way. I got kind of a tough [post] position inside today and when I asked him to go and get position outside, he was there for me and went on to finish up,” said Lezcano, who won the Busher earlier on the card with Jody’s Pride. “My horse was always there. He broke good and we were sitting well where we sat.”
Quality Chic, trained by David Jacobson and ridden by Ramon Vazquez, led the field through splits of 23.86 seconds, 46.64, 1:11.50, and 1:24.17 before giving way late.
“I got a very good trip. I knew where to put my horse. My horse ran really, really good. They just beat me there at the last jump. I don’t really have any excuses for my horse. My horse got on the lead and got it very easy, and when I asked him, he responded very well. The other horse that beat me [Kinetic Sky] just was a little bit better,” said Vazquez.
Kinetic Sky was haltered for $62,500 in April and has now won three times for his current connections, including a pair of optional-claiming scores here last year. He entered the Stymie from a third place finish in the Grade 3 Toboggan to Super Chow, who came back to capture Saturday’s Grade 3 Tom Fool Handicap here.
Kinetic Sky, who is out of the Sky Mesa mare Sky America and became a first-time stakes winner in 27 lifetime starts, returned $11.80 for a $2 wager. The $450,000 purchase at the 2019 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Select Yearling Sale was bred in Kentucky by Elm Tree Farm, Curt Leake, Time Will Tell, and Warren Harang.
Live racing resumes Sunday at Aqueduct with an eight-race card. First post is 1:20 p.m. Eastern.
America’s Day at the Races will present daily coverage and analysis of the winter 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 winter meet. Available to horseplayers nationwide, the NYRA Bets app is available for download today on iOS and Android at www.NYRABets.com.
Super Chow splashes to victory in G3 Tom Fool Handicap
By Keith McCalmont
OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Lea Farms’ Super Chow and jockey Madison Olver doubled up on graded stakes wins with a prominent score in Saturday’s Grade 3, $175,000 Tom Fool Handicap, a six-furlong sprint for older horses, at Aqueduct Racetrack.
Trained by Jorge Delgado, the 4-year-old Lord Nelson colt, who captured the Grade 3 Toboggan here last out, won an early pace battle with 7-5 mutuel favorite Rotknee and continued to find more from the top of the lane, staving off the late run of graded stakes-winner Manny Wah to notch the 1 1/4-length win.
Delgado was full of praise for Olver, who was aboard Super Chow for a trio of stakes placings last year in the My Frenchman [2nd] and Jersey Shore [2nd] at Monmouth Park and in the Carle Place [3rd] at Belmont at the Big A.
“It was a really good performance. I give all the credit to the jockey Madison Olver. She rode the horse the way that she wanted, I think in the end that was the best decision,” Delgado said. “I was a little scared when I saw him go 22 on this kind of racetrack, but she figured it out I guess, and she felt comfortable doing that and won. I give all of the praise to her, she’s been galloping the horse every day since he got to New York. She got really close to the horse and they’re doing pretty well.”
Downtownchalybrown broke alertly from the inside post but it was Super Chow that surged to the front and marked the opening quarter-mile in 22.74 seconds over the sloppy and sealed main track with the Jose Lezcano-piloted Rotknee pressing the issue.
Super Chow and Rotknee battled to the turn with the latter marking the half-mile in 46.06, but Super Chow regained command and opened up by one length at the stretch call with the veteran Manny Wah looming the main threat under Ramon Vazquez. Manny Wah dug in gamely down the lane but there was no denying the resurgent Super Chow, who despite demonstrating his tendency to drift late, stopped the clock in a final time of 1:10.86
Manny Wah finished second by 2 1/4-lengths over the late-running Stage Left with Twenty Four Mamba, who hopped at the start and trailed in last-of-7, completing the superfecta. Downtownchalybrown, Rotknee and Listentoyourheart rounded out the order of finish. Durante was scratched.
The Toboggan score marked the first graded win for both Super Chow and Olver, who will ride as an apprentice through March 8. The 24-year-old jockey, who grew up riding and breaking mustangs in Fort Collins, Colorado, was full of praise for the ultra-consistent Super Chow.
“What a horse he is,” Olver said. “I had to work for the lead. He’s won on a sealed track before, but I don’t know if it’s his preferred surface. I think he prefers a fast track. Horses weren’t really winning on the lead today, but I really wanted it [the lead] and I didn’t see Rotknee right away, so we had a little bit of a duel. In the stretch when he switches to his right lead – even though he drifts – he takes another big step forward and accelerates.
“It’s such a feeling of how bad he wants it and how hard he will try for you,” added Olver. “It’s an incredible feeling and there’s no way to put it into words. I’ve been confident and I’ve been getting on him every day since his last win. I’ve loved how he’s been training and he’s really tough in the morning. He’s been feeling good and is happy as can be. I was very confident and was wondering how it would play out with the other speed in the race, but he was sharp today.”
Vazquez said the William Walden-trained Manny Wah, who took his total purse earnings to $990,196, was not hampered by Super Chow’s drifting in the late stages.
“My horse tried hard, and I’m so happy with the race,” Vazquez said. “He [Super Chow] came out but it never bothered me. He got a length and a half in front of me so that is not an excuse.”
Super Chow previously finished third in the 2022 Grade 2 Saratoga Special and second in last year’s Grade 3 Swale at Gulfstream Park. He was a four-time stakes winner prior to making the grade, capturing the Bowman Mill at Keeneland and Inaugural at Tampa Bay Downs in 2022 along with last year’s Limehouse and Hutcheson at Gulfstream.
The $75,000 purchase at the 2022 OBS Spring Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training, out of the Warrior’s Reward mare Bonita Mia, is a full brother to stakes winner Princess Indy.
Bred in Kentucky by Spendthrift Farm, Super Chow banked $96,250 in victory while improving his record to 17-8-4-4. He returned $7.60 for a $2 win bet.
Live racing resumes Sunday at Aqueduct with an eight-race card. First post is 1:20 p.m. Eastern.
America’s Day at the Races will present daily coverage and analysis of the winter 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 winter meet. Available to horseplayers nationwide, the NYRA Bets app is available for download today on iOS and Android at www.NYRABets.com.
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