AQUEDUCT – 3/5/23
RACE 1: 4-7-6-5
#4 SUPER QUALITY is a 9-race maiden who was a voided claim last time out when narrowly beaten at this level. He towers over his competition in terms of speed figures and looks like the one to catch. The question is whether you have any appetite to take sub-even money on him.
RACE 2: 1-6-3-4
The improvement shown last time out from #1 ROMANOATSEE was notable in that he went wide the whole way and stayed on gamely. The winner got a perfect split between horses in upper stretch and this gelding had already lost precious ground. With another step forward he can be a major player at a square price.
RACE 3: 5-6-7-4
#5 NEW YORK SUPREME never wins but is in good form and gets some needed class relief today. She rated comfortably two starts back and narrowly missed against better N2L runners, and the 1-2 finishers from her last are far better than anyone in here. If she can get involved early, she’ll be very tough to handle.
RACE 4: 8-4-3-5
#8 WISHING ON A STAR is taking a massive class drop off a trainer change to the barn of William Morey. She draws favorably outside and returns to dirt, a surface over which she has run well twice from as many tries. This is a particularly soft field, so it makes her very tough to beat on paper.
RACE 5: 6-4-3-5
Another sub-even money favorite here in #6 LIL COMMISSIONER, who was claimed for 16k back in September and has earned four straight in the money finishes. He has yet to win, so trainer Antonio Arriaga is likely trying to get a win and to lose him at the claim box. There’s plenty of early speed here, so the bug boy should be able to get him into a stalking spot.
RACE 6: 6-1A-4-3
#6 HAPPY FARM is the one to beat based on recent efforts, as he outfinished #1A AMUNDSON last time out in a heads-up match. He draws well on the outside and should be in a stalking spot from the start. Should things heat up early, as unlikely as that is, he can take back to make one run.
RACE 7: 3-5-6-2
#3 PAROS goes 3rd off a layoff today for trainer Adam Rice, who is taking over the conditioning for his sister, Linda Rice. This son of Cairo Prince won for fun last time out and the runner-up has since returned to win and improve his Beyer Speed Figure by 8 points. The likelihood of a hot pace in here helps his chances, and he should be no less than 4th choice.
RACE 8: 7-1-4-6
The good recent form of #7 MY FIRST LOVE is notable, as she scored twice for Jimmy Ferraro before checking in a good second last time out. The winner of her last start came right back to win her next outing quite comfortably and this gal now draws well on the outside. She should be tough to handle if more relaxed early like she was in December and January.
RACE 9: 5-3-8-1
#5 PRINCE OF JOY made a massive middle move while wide last time out and wound up a good third. The surface strongly favored inside runners last time out and this son of Laoban took the worst of it going wide the whole way. He has held his good form of late and is the interesting one at a fair price in here.
