Headline Numbers earns first stakes score in Listed Top Flight

By Christian Abdo —-

Headline Numbers earns first stakes score in Listed Top Flight

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Klaravich Stables’ Headline Numbers took early command and remained strong on the front end to wire Saturday’s Listed $150,000 Top Flight, a nine-furlong test for older fillies and mares, at Aqueduct Racetrack.

Trained by five-time Eclipse Award-winner Chad Brown, the 4-year-old Gun Runner chestnut earned her first stakes score in her third attempt, avenging a last-out second to Sea Dancer in the 1 1/16-mile Nellie Morse on February 15 at Laurel Park.

Jockey Dylan Davis, who navigated the Brown-trained Ballerina d’Oro to victory in the Grade 3 Gazelle last Saturday here, engineered the winning trip. He also captured the Grade 1 Ashland aboard La Cara on Monday at Keeneland for Hall of Famer Mark Casse.

Headline Numbers broke alertly from post 3 and was hustled to the front by Davis, with Miss Spitfire stalking to her outside and the heavily favored Alpine Princess saving ground in third position through an opening quarter-mile in 23.19 seconds on the sloppy and sealed going.

“She broke well, a couple nudges out of there and she took right to it and jumped to the front and took dominance early,” said Davis. “The instructions were to go to the lead and that’s what we did.”

Headline Numbers rattled off splits of 47.75 and 1:12.31, with Alpine Princess ranging up to her outside in the second turn as Miss Spitfire dropped back and Elliptic spun her wheels with plenty of work to do.

Jockey Florent Geroux asked Alpine Princess for more coming to the top of the lane as he looked to engineer another stakes win for trainer Brad Cox following the Group 1 Dubai World Cup with Hit Show last Saturday at Meydan Racecourse. But Davis and Headline Numbers repelled their foe with ease.

Headline Numbers, kept to task by Davis, powered home to a 4 1/2-length victory over Alpine Princess in a final time of 1:51.20.

Elliptic and Miss Spitfire rounded out the order of finish. Fade to Grey and Catherine Wheel, a Brown trainee who finished third in Laurel Park’s $100,000 Heavenly Cause earlier in the day, were scratched.

Davis said he believed Headline Numbers would improve when carving out the fractions. In her last-out Nellie Morse, she stalked the pace before taking over coming to the top of the lane under Angel Cruz, eventually relinquishing the lead after a stretch duel to finish a 3 3/4-length second.

“I worked her in the morning, and getting to know her and especially when I watched her last replay, her last race [she] kind of allowed the horses to get closer to her and she stayed even until that point” said Davis. “Today, just from learning from that, just not to let the competition get too close to her early and maybe cause a battle down the lane. She was able to jump away and keep running on her own.”

Geroux said Alpine Princess couldn’t make up for Headline Numbers having it her own way, adding that his filly may not have relished the off going.

“The winner had a little more natural speed than my filly. From there, I was just tracking her and tried to make a race out of it at the half-a-mile, but I was just trying to catch the winner and in the end, it wasn’t close,” said Geroux. “She ran two times in the slop and they weren’t her best starts, so I’m thinking maybe the ground could have something to do with it. She was no match for the winner.”

Bred in Kentucky by Alter’s Racing Stables, Headline Numbers, a $325,000 purchase at the 2022 Keeneland September Yearling Sale, is out of the Curlin mare Curlin’s Mistress, a full-sister to multiple graded stakes-winner Curlin’s Approval.

She banked $82,500 in victory while improving her record to 6-3-1-0 and returning $4.90 for a $2 win bet.

Live racing resumes Sunday at Aqueduct Racetrack with an eight-race card, featuring the NYSSS Times Square [Race 2] and the NYSSS Park Avenue [Race 8]. First post is 1:10 p.m.

America’s Day at the Races will present live coverage and analysis of the Aqueduct Racetrack spring 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 official wagering platform of Aqueduct Racetrack, and the best way to bet every race of the spring meet. Available to horse players nationwide, the NYRA Bets app is available for download today on iOS and Android at www.NYRABets.com.