Aqueduct: Go for Wand, Demoiselle Previews

By Najja Thompson —-

Highway Star makes return in G3 Go For Wand

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Set to make her first start since finishing 11th in the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Sprint, Chester & Mary Broman’s homebred and multiple graded stakes winner Highway Star will look to rebound in a competitive field of six in the Grade 3, $200,000 Go For Wand Handicap for fillies and mares 3-years-old at a mile on Saturday at Aqueduct Racetrack.

One of four stakes races on the day, highlighted by the Grade 1, $750,000 Cigar Mile for 3-year-olds, the 78th running of the Go For Wand will join an undercard that includes the Grade 2, $250,000 Remsen for juveniles and the Grade 2, $250,000 Demoiselle for juvenile fillies.

Coverage and analysis of the Grade 1 Cigar Mile, will be televised on Aqueduct Live nationally on Saturday from 3:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. (ET) on FOX Sports 2 (FS2) with regional coverage in the tri-state area provided by MSG+.

A 4-year-old daughter of Girolamo, the Rodrigo Ubillo trainee has three wins from seven starts this year with victories in the Grade 3 Distaff at Aqueduct on April 9, the Grade 2 Ruffian at Belmont on May 13 and the Grade 2 Gallant Bloom last September. With a perfect 3-for-3 record at the Big A and a flawless 4-for-4 at the distance, Ubillio is looking for a strong showing coming off her subpar effort in the Breeders’ Cup.

“She came out of her Breeders’ Cup race fine,” said Ubillio. “We were a little bit closer to the pace than she wanted. I don’t think that trip suited her style at all, but we’re looking to regroup and move forward. I’ve always thought a mile was her best distance. We’ll see how the trip works out, but we know she likes Aqueduct and is doing well, so we’re optimistic.”

Drawing post 2, Highway Star will carry a highweight of 123 pounds and will be ridden by Angel Arroyo.

Entering for owner Charles Fipke and trainer Barclay Tagg is Verve’s Tale. The 4-year-old Tale of Ekati-filly has one win from seven starts but most recently ran a huge effort before being caught at the wire in the Grade 3 Turnback the Alarm on October 28 at Belmont.

“She’s coming into the race in great shape,” said Tagg. “She’s a very dependable filly. Last time, I thought the jockey moved too soon around the turn and we got caught at the wire. This time we’ll have Johnny Velazquez aboard, so as long he looks at the past performances and studies up I think we’ll be in good shape.”

With Hall of Famer John Velazquez in the irons, the pair will leave from post 5.

Trainer Kiaran McLaughlin will enter Indulgent for Godolphin Racing. The 4-year-old Bernardini filly most recently finished second in the Pumpkin Pie. Stretching out to a mile for the second time in her career since running fifth in the Grade 2 Ruffian last May at Belmont.

“We always thought she wants a mile because of her pedigree,” said McLaughlin. “We tried it once and it didn’t work out, but we’re giving it another try. She’s training well and we hope she can get lucky and win one, because she’s been second in a graded stakes [Grade 3 Distaff] and now just needs to get a win. She seems to like Aqueduct, so we’ll keep our fingers crossed.”

With Luis Saez aboard, the pair will depart from post 7.

Rounding out the field are a pair for trainer Chad Brown with Jamyson ‘n Ginger for Juddmonte Farms, and Going For Broke for Waterford Stable. Flora Dora for trainer Marialice Coffey and Coffee Pot Stables drew post 6.

Field of eight ready to run in G2 Demoiselle

By Anthony Affrunti —-

Saturday’s Grade 1 Cigar Mile undercard will feature the Grade 2, $250,000 Demoiselle with eight 2-year-old fillies who all display a promising future ahead of their first few starts.

Carded as Race 8 on the 10-race program, the Demoiselle, with a scheduled post time of 3:45 p.m., will be shown as part of the Aqueduct Live program, airing nationally from 3-4:30 p.m. ET on FOX Sports 2, with regional coverage in the tri-state area on MSG+. Televised coverage will also include the Grade 2, $250,000 Remsen in Race 9 with an approximate post time of 3:45 p.m. and concludes with the Grade 1, $750,000 Cigar Mile, presented by NYRA Bets, in Race 10 at 4:16 p.m.

Fox Hill Farm’s filly Daisy is one of the Demoiselle’s strong contenders as she makes her third career start and returning to Aqueduct after besting five others in the Grade 3 Tempted at a mile on November 3. The daughter by Blame is the field’s lone filly who has run over the track, coming to the Big A after her debut at Parx on October 9 in which she broke her maiden by eight lengths at first asking for trainer John Servis.

Daisy is one of two undefeated fillies Servis will send to the gate on Saturday along with Maurer Power, who will carry the colors of Cash Is King. The daughter Violence filly was a stalking winner in her debut at Delaware Park and returned to win a 6 ½ furlong allowance at Parx.

“Everything is going real well, but I have a feeling one of them won’t be undefeated after Saturday,” Servis joked. “They’re both nice fillies. I hate racing them against each other, but there really wasn’t much of a choice. It’s brutal.

“Daisy has just matured, she’s gotten better,” he added. “She’s just training great. Maurer Power, we’ve always been kind of high on her. She didn’t show a whole lot in the morning, but she went out and broke her maiden, then we gave her a freshening. She really just figured it all out. They’re both going farther in distance now, but I think they can handle it without a problem.”

A win by Daisy would give both Fox Hill Farms and Servis their second Demoiselle after they teamed together to capture the 1999 edition with multiple graded stakes winner Jostle, an earner of $1,389,932.

Daisy drew the rail and will be piloted by Kendrick Carmouche. Maurer Power will break from post 6 and be ridden by Irad Ortiz, Jr.

Gary Barber’s Wonder Gadot will lead the field in class experience while she returns from her sixth-place finish in the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies on November 4 at Del Mar. The Medaglia d’Oro filly broke her maiden at Woodbine, then followed with a near-miss effort in which she earned third in the Grade 1 Natalma. Both races were turf starts that were followed with a front-running six-length victory in the Grade 3 Mazarine over Woodbine’s synthetic surface. A rough trip compromised her chances in the Breeders’ Cup, but after a little time in Florida, trainer Mark Casse said Wonder Gadot seems poised for better in the Demoiselle.

“She’s doing great,” Casse said. “We sent her to Ocala after the Breeders’ Cup, and got her ready for the race then we shipped her up there on Sunday to Aqueduct.”

“She should’ve been third in the Breeders’ Cup. Chad’s [Brown] filly [Separationofpowers] came out and stopped us cold, and probably cost us third place, but she ran well. She did good. We think the mile and an eighth will be good for her. It’s just her second start on dirt, but the field is coming along well, it’s a good race, so we’ll see.”

Wonder Gadot will run from post 3, and will do so in tandem with Hall of Fame jockey John Velazquez.
Chester and Mary Broman’s Held Accountable enters the Demoiselle as a strong foe to compete with after displaying a strong willingness to best her competition in her three career starts. The Exchange Rate filly won her first afternoon try by taking a field of nine others to the wire in a 5 ½-furlong dash on the turf at Saratoga.

She returned a little over a month later to win the seven-furlong, $150,000 Joseph A. Gimma on September 20 at Belmont after stumbling at the start, but closing well enough amid soft fractions to win by 2 ¼ lengths. A month and a day later, she returned to face seven others in the Maid of the Mist, but her late run fell short by 1 ½ lengths to winner Berning Rose. Now, the earner of $183,800 returns to make her debut at Aqueduct for trainer Phil Serpe.

Held Accountable will break from post 4 and will get the services of her regular rider Luis Saez.
Others entered in the Demoiselle are Francis Abbot Jr’s Vindictive Ways for trainer Francis Abbott III and jockey Forest Boyce from post 2; Robert G. Hahn’s Indy Union for trainer Jeremiah Englehart and jockey Jose Ortiz from post 5; Lael Stables Layla Noor for trainer Arnaud Delacour and jockey Manuel Franco from post 6; and Maxis Stables Stakes On a Plane for trainer Michael Catalano Jr. and jockey Joshua Navarro from the outside post.