Discovery

The $100,000 Discovery H. (G3) is the opening-day feature at Aqueduct, and

only six sophomores will contest the 1 1/8-mile event. ON BOARD AGAIN (Awesome

Again) missed by 1 1/2 lengths when making his stakes debut in the Pegasus S.

(G3) 2 1/2 weeks ago, and the Bobby Frankel-trained colt is the 8-5 favorite on

the morning line for the Discovery. The lightly raced colt gained valuable

experience last time, and his BRIS numbers -- a 105 Speed rating two starts back

and triple-digit Late Pace ratings in his last two outings -- are very

encouraging. On Board Again appears well positioned to record his first

black-type success.

CHAMP SAFI (Louis Quatorze) offers us the opportunity for a little value in

the exacta. Trained by Nick Zito, the front-running colt recorded a sharp

wire-to-wire score at this distance two starts back at Saratoga, but he had

little chance against allowance rivals last time at Keeneland when flashing

speed at the break. Keeneland's Polytrack is biased against front runners, but

Champ Safi still ran very respectably to finish second. He's got an upset chance

here with his quickness, but we'll look for him to hold for runner-up honors.

ROMAN DYNASTY (Theatrical [Ire]) has finished either first or second in all

four dirt starts and is one for one at nine furlongs. The Todd Pletcher pupil

has earned century-topping Speed ratings in his last two appearances on the main

track, and Roman Dynasty appears very capable of grabbing a minor award on

Wednesday.

VALID NOTEBOOK (Notebook) finished second behind Discreet Cat (Forestry) in

the Jerome Breeders' Cup H. (G2), but we're not enthused his chances stretching

out to 1 1/8 miles. MASTER OF DISASTER (Dance Master) captured his last start

around two turns, but he appears more comfortable at shorter distances. INDIAN

HAWKE (Indian Charlie) has been competing primarily against New York-bred rivals

and doesn't look fast enough to challenge here.