Aqueduct: All of the Above attempts to fire fresh in sprint feature

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – All of the Above was in terrific form when he went for a freshening in late fall 2011 following an allowance win at Aqueduct.

Though it has taken much longer than his connections anticipated, All of the Above looks to pick up right where he left off when he returns from a 13-month layoff in a $66,000 second-level allowance that serves as the Big A’s feature on Friday.

The six-furlong race also has an optional claiming tag of $50,000 for which veteran sprinters Rigby and Be Bullish are being offered.

Tony Dutrow took over All of the Above’s training early in 2011. Since then, the 4-year-old gelding by Iron Deputy has won 4 of 5 starts with a nose loss to Rattlesnake Bridge in the Long Branch Stakes, at 1 1/16 miles, at Monmouth.

On Nov. 19, 2011, All of the Above came off a three-month layoff to win a first-level allowance at 3-5 over Aqueduct’s main track, his third win going six furlongs.

Dutrow said he thought All of the Above had done enough as a 3-year-old to warrant a break. When he first attempted to bring him back, Dutrow said All of the Above suffered from bone remodeling of the hind ankles.

Following a workout in August, All of the Above sustained a hind ankle injury that forced Dutrow to stop on him. But since returning to the work tab, All of the Above has breezed five times, including a half-mile move in 47.03 seconds, the fastest of 55 moves at the distance last Saturday.

“He’s good, he’s ready,” said Dutrow, who trains All of the Above for Keith Jones, the former National Hockey League player turned analyst. “We’re excited about stretching him out again, but we decided to give him this one first and then stretch him out.”

Based on how All of the Above ran last year, Dutrow said “It’s realistic to believe he has lots of promise.”

The hot-riding apprentice Jose Ortiz has the mount on All of the Above, who breaks from the outside post.

Rigby has won 4 of 6 starts for the Steve Asmussen stable, which claimed him for $17,500 last Feb. 2. All four of Rigby’s wins have come over fast tracks while his two losses have come over wet surfaces. Conditions call for a dry track on Friday.

Be Bullish, a former stakes winner on this circuit, finished second to Rigby at this level last out. He has finished first or second in seven of his 10 lifetime starts at Aqueduct.

War Colony has won his last three starts over a dry track and finished eight lengths behind Rigby when those two were third and fourth at this level in the mud at Belmont on Oct. 8.

Strong Impact, Wee Freudian, and Metaurus complete the field.