Alfonsina should get right trip

OZONE PARK, N.Y. - Alfonsina has had perfect trips winning her first two starts by a combined nine lengths. Sunday's $100,000 Valley Stream at Aqueduct looks like the ideal spot for the 2-year-old filly to earn her first graded stakes victory.

With the speedy Megascape and Winsome among her four challengers in the Grade 3 race, Alfonsina should have a strong pace to stalk. Alfonsina will break from post 4 under Cornelio Velasquez.

Alfonsina, trained by Nick Zito, debuted at Saratoga, winning a 5 1/2-furlong maiden race by four lengths after stalking the speedy Cape of Good Hope. Seven weeks later, Alfonsina sat behind dueling leaders before taking over approaching the quarter pole and drawing off to win a six-furlong allowance race by five lengths under a hand ride. The Valley Stream is also run at six furlongs.

If there is any trepidation, it is that Alfonsina wheels back in 17 days.

Winsome, trained by Allen Jerkens, is the main threat to Alfonsina. Winsome rallied up the rail to win a seven-furlong maiden race at Belmont on Oct. 3 in her fifth career start. She finished fourth of five in the Grade 2 Tempted at one mile in her last start.

Winsome figures to be closer to the pace on Sunday.

"She didn't break any good; that didn't help,'' Jerkens said of Winsome's effort in the Tempted. "We're hoping [going shorter] helps. We've sharpened her up a little bit.''

Jose Santos replaces Jorge Chavez on Winsome, who breaks from post 2.

North America's winningest trainer, Steve Asmussen, sends out the uncoupled entry of Megascape and More Moonlight.

Megascape, a New York-bred daughter of Cape Canaveral, won the Joseph A. Gimma Stakes by 3 1/2 lengths on Oct. 3. She was sent off the even-money favorite in the Maid of the Mist and finished sixth.

Toby Sheets, Asmussen's New York-based assistant, said Megascape had coughed a couple of times before the Maid of the Mist, but an endoscopic examination of her throat didn't show anything.

"After the race, she scoped dirty,'' Sheets said. "She worked super two days ago,'' Sheets added, referring to a four-furlong work on Tuesday in a bullet 47.22 seconds.

More Moonlight has won two straight at The Meadowlands, including the Holly Stakes.