|
|
AMERICAN GRADED STAKES PREVIEWS
Only six sophomores will line up in Saturday's $100,000 Discovery H. (G3) at Aqueduct, and the Shug McGaughey-trained GONE ASTRAY (Dixie Union) is the one to beat in the nine-furlong affair. The dark bay colt has really come to life since switching to two-turn races, racking up dominating victories in the Ohio Derby (G2) and Pennsylvania Derby (G2) in his last two. He's also been earning century-topping BRIS numbers of late, garnering a 106 Speed figure for his Penn Derby win and a 116 Late Pace rating for a close head second in the Coronado's Quest S. Gone Astray has winning experience over the track, and appears more than capable of adding this one to his resume. Eddie Castro retains the mount. BIRDRUN (Birdstone) might offer the best chance for some value in this race. The Bill Mott charge broke his maiden by 10 1/2 lengths against claiming rivals on a sloppy track at Saratoga, and has since run second twice before breaking through his first-level allowance condition on October 21. That front-running win netted the chestnut colt a 102 Speed rating and should have set him up perfectly for his stakes bow in this spot. Alan Garcia will be taking over riding duties on Birdrun, and the 5-1 morning-line shot could take this field from gate-to-wire. BAD ACTION (Brahms) has won or placed second in eight of his last nine races. That coupled with his 8-1 morning-line price makes us believe the Gary Contessa charge might help boost the exotics. The dark bay gelding has spent a good portion of the year racing on turf, but he switched over to Meadowlands' dirt to capture the Pegasus S. (G3) by a half-length last out. Though his numbers aren't quite as impressive as our top two, Bad Action has proven his ability against this caliber and should come running late under David Cohen. HAYNESFIELD (Speightstown) owns five wins from eight career starts, but most of those came on Aqueduct's inner dirt earlier this season. The Steve Asmussen-conditioned colt has tailed off quite a bit since his 6 1/4-length victory in the Whirlaway S. on February 7, finishing a well-beaten eighth in the Gotham S. (G3) next out before being put on the shelf. He returned on October 2 to just miss in the Sir Keys S. by a head, and visited the winner's circle when capturing his last one, the Empire Classic S. at Belmont Park. Though the chestnut seems to be on the improve, we'll let him beat us for the win and just tab in the bottom of the gimmicks. Ramon Dominguez has the call. PRECURSOR (A.P. Indy) posted a gate-to-wire score in the Proud Truth S. last out, repulsing a late bid from Bad Action. However, that win, along with his two other career victories, came on sloppy, sealed tracks. With sunny conditions forecast for Saturday, a fast surface seems probable, and we don't think Precursor will be able to duplicate his winning effort. REDDING COLLIERY (Mineshaft) seems to prefer less ground than what this race offers. We can't recommend.
 Send this article to a friend
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||
