Aqueduct: Jacobson sends pair of old pros in Crown the Chief and He's So Chic

Headed by the newly claimed entry of Crown the Chief and He’s So Chic, eight older sprinters who have combined for 60 wins and more than $2.1 million in earnings will clash in Thursday’s six-furlong feature at Aqueduct.

With the exception of Sinai – who figures to be no worse than second choice as he turns back in distance for trainer Rudy Rodriguez – every horse is entered for the optional claiming price of $35,000.

Sinai notched both of his victories on Hollywood Park’s Cushion Track for former trainer Bob Baffert. With just 16 starts under his belt, the 5-year-old is the most lightly raced member of the group. He has run well in three starts since relocating to New York, although he was compromised by an outside post going long most recently.

He’s So Chic, who began and ended 2012 by winning on the inner track, and Crown the Chief, who had been blanked until winning his final start of the year, are durable campaigners with 82 starts between them. Nevertheless, He’s So Chic, who is 9, and Crown the Chief, now 7, were each claimed five times last year, most recently by David Jacobson.

“They’re old, classy, hard-hitting horses, and those are the kind I can usually get the best out of,” said Jacobson, the co-leading trainer on the circuit last year with 110 wins. “I had looked at both of them before, but I kept missing them.”

Their running styles are complementary, as Crown the Chief’s calling card is speed and He’s So Chic will begin his rally from somewhere in the vicinity of Rockaway Boulevard as the field turns for home.

“Right now, I plan to run them both,” Jacobson said Tuesday.

The highly competitive field also includes the familiar winter warriors Dr Disco, whose five wins on the inner track include an overnight stakes last winter, and Itsagoodtendollars, who has won or placed in seven of eight starts on this surface over the past three years.

The 9-year-old Yield Bogey, a grass specialist who was second in the Jaipur Stakes in 2010 and 2011 for Pat Kelly, returns to the inner track for the first time in nearly four years.

Straight Fax, a 4-year-old who beat $20,000 claiming sprinters last Friday, wheels back quickly off a claim by Pat Quick.

Rich Hero, a 14-time winner, rounds out the lineup.