Aqueduct Racetrack Notes

NYRA PRESS OFFICE —-


Aqueduct Racetrack Notes

G1 Jenny Wiley-winner Choisya points to G1 Just a Game
2025 could be a big year for McIlroy golfer and horse alike
Shisospicy could defend D’Angelo’s Coronation Cup title down the line
Dual stakes-winner Sunday Girl possible for turf debut in $125K John Hettinger
Bank Frenzy matches career-best 97 BSF for Haynesfield win
NYRA to host 17 Breeders’ Cup “Win and You’re In” qualifiers in 2025

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Rabbah Bloodstock’s British homebred Choisya made her U.S. and top-flight debut a winning one with a stalking half-length score over Excellent Truth in Saturday’s Grade 1 Jenny Wiley, at Keeneland.

Trained by Simon and Ed Crisford, the 5-year-old Night of Thunder mare was in command through the stretch of the 1 1/16-mile jaunt over good footing but drifted out late in the lane to the path of a rallying Excellent Truth. Choisya persevered under jockey Luis Saez in the final strides and crossed the wire in a final time of 1:42.01 to register a 100 Beyer Speed Figure. She survived a subsequent objection from Flavien Prat, jockey of Excellent Truth, to claim the victory.

Choisya entered from a pair of Group 2 wins traveling left-handed at Meydan Racecourse in Dubai, including a five-length score in the one-mile Cape Verdi in January and a head victory over the Charlie Appleby-trained Godolphin homebred Cinderella’s Dream in the nine-furlong Balanchine on February 21.

Cinderella’s Dream was a force in the U.S. last year, capturing both the Grade 1 Fasig-Tipton Belmont Oaks Invitational and Grade 2 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Oaks Invitational on the NYRA circuit ahead of a close second to Canadian-bred heroine Moira in the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf at Del Mar.

Ed Crisford said Choisya will point to the one-mile Grade 1, $500,000 Just a Game on Friday, June 6 during the Belmont Stakes Racing Festival at Saratoga Race Course. The Jenny Wiley offered a fees-waived berth into the Just a Game.

“We’re delighted with Choisya’s win yesterday. She’s been improving all winter long in Dubai and obviously put up a career-best effort yesterday in such a great race like the Jenny Wiley at Keeneland,” Crisford said. “The plan is to bring her back home to the U.K. and give her a couple of weeks and then prepare her for the Just a Game at Saratoga. We’re really, really pleased with her. She’s improving and a tough filly. Hopefully, she has a very fun year ahead of her.”

Choisya will follow a similar path of the Appleby/Godolphin campaigned Althiqa, who, in 2021, won the Cape Verdi and finished third in the Balanchine en route to Grade 1 wins in New York in the Just a Game and Diana.

The cleverly named Choisya, out of Singspiel mare Fragrancy, is named for a kind of evergreen bush with shiny leaves and white flowers that smell very sweet. She has banked $709,462 via a 20-8-5-0 ledger that includes a win last summer in the Listed Dick Hern at Haydock Park.

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2025 could be a big year for McIlroy golfer and horse alike

Rory McIlroy holds a two-stroke advantage going into Sunday’s final round at the Masters as he makes his 17th attempt at a green jacket. On the race track, CHC, Inc. and WinStar Farm’s sophomore colt McIlroy is just getting started for trainer Rodolphe Brisset.

“You could really see him over the summer coming to New York,” said Brisset. “If he ends up being a horse with the quality we see, if he ends up having the talent, he could end up running in New York over the summer.”

McIlroy graduated in his second start going one-mile on March 22 over the Turfway Park synthetic. There, he was away slow from the gate to travel well off the pace in 10th-of-11 early, before launching a strong kick to a 2 1/4-length victory, despite having shied from the whip and veered out under Luan Machado.

“That was a really good race. We were confident coming in. We ended up on the rail with a scratch, he broke OK and is a big two-turn horse, didn’t have the speed but the race set up for him a bit,” said Brisset. “He did a big sweeping move and took the lead very easily. He could’ve won with a bigger margin if he ran straight.”

The Hard Spun dark bay is nominated to the $125,000 Woodhaven, a one-mile turf test for sophomores, on Saturday, April 26 at Aqueduct Racetrack.

“Our first plan is to run in a 1-X at Keeneland. We are not going to jump up yet, as of now, the Woodhaven is a Plan B, we are looking at running him at Keeneland first,” said Brisset.

In his February debut sprinting six furlongs at Turfway, McIlroy lunged at the start and closed for third, within 1 1/4 lengths of next-out winners Big Vince and Masayoshi. He will look to get out as smoothly as Rory did on Saturday at Augusta National when he became the first player in Masters history to start with six consecutive threes.

“He is named after one of the best in the game. I think of the new generation, Rory McIlroy is in the top five, top three,” said Brisset. “It is always tough when you name a horse after somebody, so hopefully the horse turns out to be a good one for carrying that name.”

Brisset also provided an update on Mullikin, the Grade 1 Forego-winner who last ran second in the Grade 2 Cigar Mile Handicap presented by TwinSpires in December here.

The 5-year-old Violence horse, who was also third in the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Sprint, breezed a bullet half-mile in 59.40 seconds on Wednesday.

“Our plan is to look at the [Grade 1] Churchill Downs for now. Bring him back in that spot, then maybe over the summer looking at some of the New York races,” Brisset said. “The Met Mile could be a possibility, obviously the Forego, anything from six furlongs to one-mile, but we aren’t going to look too far ahead now. The first spot is more than likely the Churchill Downs.”

Brisset also confirmed Breffni Farm’s Royal Spa exited her pacesetting one-mile Heavenly Cause victory on Saturday at Laurel Park in good order. The 5-year-old Violence dark bay was previously 0-for-11 in stakes company.

“It was a very rewarding win for me and her. She is a favorite in the barn for everybody. She‘s been knocking on the door and we finally got the win,” said Brisset. “I haven’t looked at any next spots yet, but my guess would be anything from six furlongs to a one-turn mile, maybe with a possibility we try two turns.”

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Shisospicy could defend D’Angelo’s Coronation Cup title down the line

Morplay Racing’s sophomore filly Shisospicy improved to 2-for-2 in turf sprints with a half-length score in Friday’s 5 1/2-furlong Listed Limestone at Keeneland. Trainer Jose D’Angelo is excited to have another strong turf sprinter in the barn, one who could possibly defend his title in the Grade 3, $175,000 Coronation Cup in July, at Saratoga Race Course, which he won last year with Twirling Queen.

“Probably for the Coronation Cup at Saratoga,” D’Angelo said of Shisospicy’s future targets. “Maybe [she runs] before around Belmont Stakes day or something like that. We are working for that. She is doing pretty well. I think part of the plan is going there [New York].”

The Grade 3, $175,000 Soaring Softly, a 5 1/2-furlong turf sprint for sophomore fillies, is on June 8 during the Belmont Stakes Racing Festival at Saratoga. D’Angelo still has some mapping out to do, but he said the sophomore Mitole gray filly will certainly stay on the grass – she previously made three dirt starts including two stakes placings.

“She is a super talented horse. We changed her to the grass, and she is undefeated now, 2-for-2. We are going to keep her there,” said D’Angelo.

D’Angelo said Shisospicy’s pacesetting score over good turf in the Limestone received positive feedback from jockey Irad Ortiz, Jr.

“He told me that she broke alert and good. He just waited as much as he could to make her run because he knew that the turf was soft, and we opened pretty fast. That was his comment after the race,” said D’Angelo.

D’Angelo updated on Abraham Gold’s Grade 1-winning turf sprinter Howard Wolowitz, who is getting a freshening after finishing off-the-board in the Group 2 1351 Turf Sprint in February at King Abdulaziz Racecourse.

“He’s resting for 60 days at the farm in Kentucky. We gave him some time off because we ran literally all of last year,” said D’Angelo. “We gave him some time off to have him ready for the second semester of this year. Nothing targeted for the moment. We are for sure thinking of Kentucky Downs for him, but he will have one or two races before, let’s see how he comes back and everything.”

D’Angelo also has stakes-placed Enterdadragon nominated to the $125,000 Woodhaven, a one-mile turf test for sophomores, on Saturday, April 26 at Aqueduct Racetrack. The Outwork gelding finished off the board in the nine-furlong Grade 1 Florida Derby last out on March 29, and will likely need more time than trying Aqueduct spring’s first turf stakes.

“We are waiting to give him a little more time. We have the option there, so we are going to see, and it all depends on him. He is a turf horse 100 percent,” D’Angelo said.

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Dual stakes-winner Sunday Girl possible for turf debut in $125K John Hettinger

Mitre Box Stable, Clear Stars Stable and Eighth Note Stable’s dual stakes-winner Sunday Girl, who received a brief freshening through the month of March and recently returned to the barn of trainer David Duggan, could set her sights on the $125,000 John Hettinger on June 29 at Aqueduct Racetrack.

The 4-year-old New York-bred daughter of Central Banker, would be making her turf debut in the six-furlong sprint for older state-bred fillies and mares after eight dirt starts that yielded six wins, including the open-company Correction last out on March 2 here.

Duggan said the Hettinger is the next logical local option, but did not rule out a trip to Delaware Park for the $100,000 Rehoboth for fillies and mares 3-years-old and up sprinting six furlongs on the dirt on May 31.

“She’s come back this week and had a bit of a breather,” Duggan said. “We may try the Hettinger on the turf, or we may run in Delaware. We’ll see how she trains. We will have to try turf at some point, and I don’t think we’ll be out of place there.”

Sunday Girl’s Correction win came by a nose over the multiple stakes-placed St. Benedicts Prep and marked her third consecutive victory at the Big A, all against open company. Her sparkling resume also includes a win in the $200,000 NYSSS Park Avenue as a sophomore last year, and a runner-up effort in the NYSSS Staten Island in November. She boasts $394,988 in earnings from her near-perfect 7-for-8 in-the-money record.

Duggan said he believes his stable star has the raw ability to be effective on turf.

“I think her talent will transfer over,” Duggan said. “If she does well, you might even think about running her at Saratoga, too, but we’ll pick our battles. During the summer, it’s going to be deeper waters, but this is a good complaint to have.”

Bred by McMahon of Saratoga Thoroughbreds and Spruce Lane Farm, Sunday Girl was a $100,000 purchase at the 2023 Fasig-Tipton Midlantic 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale and is out of the winning Harlan’s Holiday mare Lady Daphne, a half-sister to Grade 3-placed Amendment Nineteen. She hails from the family of multiple graded stakes-winners Too Much Bling and El Kabeir.

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Bank Frenzy matches career-best 97 BSF for Haynesfield win

LSU Stables’ Bank Frenzy earned his fourth straight victory going a one-turn mile around Aqueduct Racetrack in last Sunday’s New York-bred $125,000 Haynesfield, improving his wet track record to 5-for-5.

The 5-year-old son of Central Banker is an impressive 7-5-2-0 for trainer Rudy Rodriguez, who said the gelding is feeling fresh after his latest victory.

“He seems like he’s very good out of the race,” Rodriguez said. “The past few days, the weather has been very bad, so we’ve just been babying him. I’m very happy with the way he’s come out. Everything is good, thank God.”

Bank Frenzy, in his prominent 2 1/4-length score in the Haynesfield, earned a 97 Beyer Speed Figure through a 1:35.83 final time. That figure tied his career best, which he has earned on two separate occasions for a runner-up effort in the nine-furlong Empire Classic in October and for a 3 3/4-length optional claiming coup in November against open company.

Aqueduct offers the one-mile Grade 3, $175,000 Westchester for older horses on Saturday, May 4. Bank Frenzy beat open company before the Haynesfield in the Listed Stymie on March 1, and Rodriguez said the Westchester is in the conversation of his next possible start.

“I’m going to breeze him and then plan something with the owner,” Rodriguez said. “I know they mentioned the Westchester, but we’ll see how it comes up. It’s not out of the question. We’ll just see who’s playing and who’s not.”

Bred in New York by Chester and Mary Broman, Bank Frenzy was privately purchased last summer and moved to Rodriguez from the barn of Lisa Lewis.

Rodriguez recently welcomed back the multiple stakes-placed Kuchar for the same owners after the now 6-year-old Uncle Mo bay enjoyed a winter freshening.

Kuchar, who made his first start for Rodriguez last February, was last seen finishing off-the-board in the Grade 1 Jockey Club Gold Cup on September 1 at Saratoga Race Course. He began his tenure with Rodriguez when going 2-for-4 last spring, including a third-place finish in the local Listed Excelsior, ahead of a trio of off-the-board efforts in graded stakes.

Kuchar has worked four times over the Belmont Park dirt training track since early March, and most recently covered a half-mile in 48.33 seconds on March 31.

Rodriguez said the winter respite was by design after a robust 2024 campaign.

“He’s coming along very nice and has breezed a few times for us. We don’t have anything planned, maybe something in the next book,” Rodriguez said. “We kind of ran him too much last year, and when I told his owners that he should go to the farm, they said, ‘definitely.’”

Kuchar placed in two stakes as a sophomore for trainer Rodolphe Brisset before selling at the 2022 Fasig-Tipton July Horses of Racing Age Sale for $500,000. Bred by WinStar Farm, he is out of the multiple graded stakes-placed Street Hero mare Street Girl.

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NYRA to host 17 Breeders’ Cup “Win and You’re In” qualifiers in 2025

The New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) will host a total of 17 stakes as part of the 2025 “Win and You’re In” Challenge Series, awarding the winner a berth into the corresponding divisional event at the Breeders’ Cup World Championships, slated for October 31 and November 1 at Del Mar.

The first offerings will be a trio of Grade 1 races during the Belmont Stakes Racing Festival at Saratoga Race Course, beginning on Friday, June 6, with the nine-furlong $500,000 Ogden Phipps presented by Ford for older fillies and mares [Longines Distaff]. Belmont Stakes Day on Saturday, June 7, will feature the $1 million Hill ‘n’ Dale Metropolitan Handicap for 3-year-olds and up [Dirt Mile] and the 5 1/2-furlong $500,000 Jaipur for turf sprinters 3-years-old and up [Prevagen Turf Sprint].

The summer meeting at Saratoga offers nine additional “Win and You’re In” qualifiers, beginning with a pair of Grade 1 events on Saturday, August 2 in the $750,000 FanDuel Fourstardave for older turf milers [FanDuel Mile] and the nine-furlong $1 million Whitney for older horses [Longines Classic].

Turf marathoners have their chance to secure a Longines Turf invitation in the Grade 1, $750,000 Sword Dancer traveling 12 furlongs on Saturday, August 9.

Another lucrative day of racing at the Spa features on the Saturday, August 23 Travers Day card, and includes three more $500,000 Grade 1s with “Win and You’re In” status: the seven-furlong Forego for older horses [Dirt Mile]; the seven-furlong Resorts World Casino Ballerina for fillies and mares 3-years-old and up [PNC Bank Filly and Mare Sprint]; and the nine-furlong Personal Ensign for older fillies and mares [Longines Distaff].

Saturday, August 30 offers two “Win and You’re In” graded events, with the seven-furlong Grade 1, $300,000 Spinaway offering a berth for the NetJets Juvenile Fillies, a change from its previous designation in recent years when it was part of the Breeders’ Cup “Dirt Dozen” series. Also featured on the day is the 1 3/8-mile Grade 2, $500,000 Flower Bowl on turf for older fillies and mares [Maker’s Mark Filly and Mare Turf].

Saratoga will offer its final “Win and You’re In” qualifier on Sunday, August 31 in the 10-furlong Grade 1, $1 million Jockey Club Gold Cup for 3-year-olds and up as they vie for entry into the Longines Classic.

This fall, the Belmont at the Big A fall meeting will also host five “Win and You’re In” events, with four graded stakes for juveniles and one for dirt sprinters.

With future race dates to be announced, the fall meet will offer the Grade 1 Champagne for juveniles [FanDuel Juvenile], the Grade 2 Pilgrim on turf for juveniles [Juvenile Turf], the Grade 2 Miss Grillo on turf for juvenile fillies [John Deere Juvenile Fillies Turf], the Grade 3 Vosburgh for dirt sprinters 3-years-old and up [Cygames Sprint] and the Grade 3 Futurity for juvenile turf sprinters [Juvenile Turf Sprint].

For the complete schedule of the Breeders’ Cup “Win and You’re In” Challenge Series and more information about the 2025 Breeders’ Cup, visit www.BreedersCup.com/races/challenge-series.

The Belmont at the Big A fall meet will also host a pair of Breeders’ Cup Dirt Dozen events – the Grade 1 Frizette [NetJets Juvenile Fillies] and the Grade 2 Beldame [Longines Distaff] – where the top-three finishers will earn a tiered bonus bankroll which can be utilized towards pre-entry and entry fees at the World Championships.

For the complete schedule of the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Dozen series, visit https://members.breederscup.com/DirtDozen.

For the complete Saratoga Race Course schedule and for more information about the New York Racing Association, Inc.’s 2025 stakes schedule, visit https://www.nyra.com/saratoga/racing/stakes-schedule/.

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