Aqueduct: Agave Kiss remains unbeaten by dominating Ruthless

OZONE PARK, N.Y. - Agave Kiss made short work of Saturday’s $75,000 Ruthless Stakes, taking control soon after the start under jockey Ryan Curatolo and cruising to an easy 3 1/4-length victory over Well Kept. It was 1 3/4 lengths back to Corderosa in third.

The win was the third in as many starts for Agave Kiss, a New York-bred daughter of Lion Heart owned by Flying Zee Stables, which is now headed by Viane Lizza.

In a race that appeared to be loaded with speed, Agave Kiss was the fastest of them all, opening up a two-length advantage through an opening quarter in 22.62 seconds and keeping clear through a half-mile in 45.68 and five furlongs in 57.57 before covering six furlongs in 1:10.28. She returned $3.70 as the 4-5 favorite.

“She was so relaxed and I take a hold because I don’t want to go too fast,’’ said Curatolo, a finalist for the Eclipse Award as North America’s leading apprentice jockey in 2011. “I said I just want to sit a little bit because I know what she can do.’’

Curatolo said Agave Kiss was “still a little bit green; next time she’s going to be better.’’

Rudy Rodriguez, who trains Agave Kiss, said he saw basically the same thing from his filly Saturday that he saw in her first two races - both blow-out victories against New York-bred company.

“The only thing [different] is she broke a little more alertly today,’’ Rodriguez said. “As soon as she broke, I said, `Oh, we’re in very good shape.’ The last time she kind of broke a little slow, but today she broke very sharp and the good part about her is she’s not rank.’’

Rodriguez’s long-term goal for Agave Kiss is the Grade 1 Prioress at Belmont in July. How he gets the filly there remains to be seen. The next two sprint stakes for 3-year-old fillies in New York are the $75,000 Dearly Precious on Feb. 11 and the Grade 3, $100,000 Cicada on March 10.