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Calibrachoa stays perfect at Aqueduct with Bold Ruler win Repole Stables' Calibrachoa cruised to an easy 2 3/4-length victory in the Grade 3, $100,000 Bold Ruler Stakes at Aqueduct on Sunday. The Todd Pletcher trainee went seven furlongs over the fast dirt in 1:21 1/5 with guidance from jockey Jose Lezcano. The near even-money-favorite returned $4.20, $2.30 and $2.10 with stablemate Caixa Eletronica finishing third. "I told Jose to send (Calibrachoa), and he got pretty comfortable up there sitting right off the Asmussen horse (Rule by Night), and when it came time he was full of run," said Whit Beckman, assistant to trainer Todd Pletcher. "He loves this track, and he came back to show he still loves it." Calibrachoa is now unbeaten in five starts at Aqueduct, going two-for-two on the main track and boasting three wins on the inner dirt. "With the way he ran today, he might go a mile with the way he sat off that pace," Beckman said when asked if the Grade 1 Cigar Mile in three weeks might be next for the son of Southern Image. "I don't know what Mr. (Mike) Repole's intentions will be, but the way he ran today gave no indication he wouldn't at least be competitive." Rule by Night set the early pace, recording splits of :22 3/5 and :45 1/5, but Calibrachoa took the lead midway through the stretch and crossed the finish line in a hand ride. Sangaree rallied to finish second with Caixa Electronica, the coupled entry with Calibrachoa, running third. Rule by Night was fourth while Flat Bold and Justin Phillip rounded out the order under the wire after J J's Lucky Train was scratched. "He was trapped down along the inside. Maybe he does better with a clear run," Beckman said of Caixa Eletronica's performance. "A little added distance, especially in the (Cigar) Mile, will help him a little bit. The pace was honest, but it wasn't super fast. It didn't necessarily play out to his advantage today, but he still ran well." This marked the fourth career stakes victory for Calibrachoa, who also won the Grade 3 Tom Fool Handicap and Grade 3 Toboggan Stakes at Aqueduct this year. He also placed in the Grade 2 True North Handicap at Belmont and Grade 1 Alfred G. Vanderbilt Handicap at Saratoga this season before finishing fifth in the Grade 1 Vosburgh Invitational in his last start on October 1. With earnings now of $431,040, Calibrachoa owns a 17-8-3-3 lifetime mark. Bred in Kentucky by N. B. Hunt, Calibrachoa is out of the Grade 2-placed Montbrook mare Fort Lauderdale, who is a half sister to Hurry Home Hillary, herself the dam of Grade 1-scoring sire Bellamy Road. Surrounding the Bold Ruler on Sunday were five stakes, a couple of which, like the Bold Ruler, were originally carded for Belmont Park's meet before being postponed due to weather forcing the cancellation of live racing at Big Sandy. Starting Sunday's stakes action was the $60,000 Spice Island Stakes for distaffers going a mile on the turf. Fittocks Stud's English-homebred Wallis lived up to her 2-1 favoritism with a five-length romp to get Lezcano's day started on a winning note. Trained by Christophe Clement, the four-year-old daughter of King's Best earned her first U.S. victory, and initial stakes win, when recording a final time of 1:37 4/5 on the firm grass. Wallis' career line now reads 11-4-2-1, $68,649. Next up, Chuck Russo's Il Villano captured his stakes debut with a front-running, 1 1/4-length score in the $60,000 Lord Henribee Stakes, one of those scheduled for Belmont. The Susan Crowell-trained juvenile ran six furlongs on the fast dirt in 1:09 4/5 under Jose Flores to move his record to 3-2-1-0, $81,000. The gray Pollard's Vision colt ran second in his career opener before taking a maiden last out by 11 lengths, both at Parx Racing. Fellow juvenile Summer Front pulled out a half-length victory over 6-5 favorite Liquidity Trap in the $60,000 King Cugat Stakes one race later for Waterford Stable. The Clement pupil posted a final time of 1:39 1/5 for a mile on the turf with Ramon Dominguez aboard. Summer Front, a bay son of War Front, is now two-for-two lifetime having banked $66,000. Team Valor International's three-year-old Master Shade took center stage following the Bold Ruler in the $60,000 Middle Stage Stakes, the other postponed Belmont event. With Alan Garcia in the irons, the Graham Motion chestnut was 1 1/4 lengths clear of her nearest rival on the wire while finishing 8 1/2 grassy furlongs in 1:45 4/5. The Italian-bred Masterful filly garnered her first black-type credit in this spot while boosting her bankroll to $89,068 and her mark to 7-4-0-0. Klaravich Stables Inc. and William H. Lawrence's Managed Account just got his neck down on the wire of the $75,000 Toccet Stakes to close out the stakes action at Aqueduct in exciting style. Rajiv Maragh held the reins on the Teresa Pompay-trained juvenile, who finally returned to the winner's circle when completing a mile on the main track in 1:35 3/5. The Malibu Moon colt opened his account with a 5 1/4-length maiden win at Monmouth but ran fourth in the Grade 3 Sapling and third in the N.A.T.C. Futurity in his two starts since. Managed Account's scorecard now stands at 4-2-0-1, $98,883.
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