All eyes on Smash Ticket in Garland of Roses after Hot Peppers scratches

OZONE PARK, N.Y. - Hot Peppers scratched from Saturday’s $120,000 Garland of Roses Stakes at Aqueduct to run in the Grade 1 La Brea Stakes at Santa Anita on Dec. 26, trainer Rudy Rodriguez said Saturday morning.

The scratch dramatically changes the complexion of the Garland of Roses as Hot Peppers was one of the primary speed horses in the field of seven entered in the six-furlong race for fillies and mares. The Mid-Atlantic shipper Dontletsweetfoolya also scratched to run in a stakes at Laurel Park, reducing the Garland of Roses field to five.

The main beneficiary of those scratches figures to be Smash Ticket, whose speed carried her to three straight wins from May through September including a 6 1/4-length victory in the Weather Vane Stakes at Pimlico on Sept. 24.

Smash Ticket was on the lead in the Grade 2 Raven Run at Keeneland when she appeared to get clipped from behind, which seemed to make her lose interest as she faded to sixth, according to her trainer Rob Atras.

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“A horse ran up on her and kind of grabbed her quarter,” said Atras, noting that jockey Kendrick Carmouche said “her hind end slid out and it threw her off a little bit and she never picked up the bridle again. I don’t like to make excuses, lots of things can happen in a race, but I don’t think that was her ‘A’ race.”

Smash Ticket will now break from post 3 under hot-riding Kendrick Carmouche, who has won five races in two days to vault to the top of the jockey standings at Aqueduct’s fall meet.

There is still some other speed in the Garland of Roses, including Snicket, drawn to Smash Ticket’s inside, and Disco Ebo to her outside, but Hot Peppers looked to be the main front-end threat.

Ned Allard, the trainer of Beguine, is hoping for a pace duel to develop.

Beguine is only 1 for 7 in her career but the 101 Beyer Speed Figure she ran last time when second in a first-level allowance race here would be good enough to win a stakes race. In that race, Beguine chased front-running winner Rossa Veloce around the track, beaten three-quarters of a length while finishing 2 1/2 lengths clear of the field.

“She had an outside post and ducked out leaving there,” Allard said. “Irad [Ortiz Jr.] said every time he went to encourage her a little bit left-handed she’d go out, right-handed she’d go in. Watching the reruns of all her races you could see a hint of that.”

Thus, Allard is adding blinkers to Beguine’s equipment and worked her in them last Saturday at Delaware.

“She breezed really well with them,” Allard said. “She doesn’t have to move up a whole lot to be competitive in there.”

Dylan Davis has the call from the outside post in this seven-horse field.

Betsy Blue, third in the Grade 3 Go for Wand last Saturday, wheels right back in one week for trainer Linda Rice, who is seeking to get the New York-bred filly an open stakes victory.

Meanwhile, Hot Peppers worked a half-mile in 48 seconds over the Belmont training track Saturday morning and galloped out a strong six furlongs, according to Rodriguez. Rodriguez said it was always Michael Dubb’s first choice to run in the La Brea, but he had Rodriguez enter Hot Peppers in the Garland of Roses to evaluate the race.

“That’s the main race we were looking at,” said Rodriguez, who added that Hot Peppers would work once more at Belmont before shipping to Calfiornia next weekend.

Hot Peppers, who won the Grade 3 Victory Ride going 6 1/2 furlongs at Belmont on July 9, finished second in the Grade 1 Test going seven furlongs at Saratoga in August.

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