Aqueduct: Cease back at winning level for one-mile feature

Optional claiming clauses have become a fixture in New York’s allowance races in recent years, but are going the way of the dodo on Jan. 1 when the first condition book written by Martin Panza takes effect.

Fittingly enough, Aqueduct’s last three races of 2013 on a special New Year’s Eve program are optional claimers, topped by race 8, a one-mile race worth $79,000 that attracted a diverse field of 12.

Three of the four entered to be claimed for $62,500 – Cease, Spa City Fever, and Writingonthewall – are trained by David Jacobson, who on Friday established a single-season record for wins at New York Racing Association tracks when Tiz Gianni became his 160th winner of the year.

The Grade 2-placed Cease won in this same second-level optional $62,500 condition at Belmont two starts after being claimed for $100,000. He has been idle since the Breeders’ Cup Marathon, in which he finished next to last after racing in contention for a mile.

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Spa City Fever and Writingonthewall are coupled for Drawing Away Stable, the leading owner in New York this year with 88 wins through Dec. 27, all trained by part-owner Jacobson

Spa City Fever has won three times since haltered for $62,500 in April, while Writingonthewall has posted three consecutive front-running wins against softer foes since claimed in July. Writingonthewall is on the also-eligible list along with Park City, but both will likely draw into the race, as two in the main body – Comandante and Zetterholm – ran in Saturday’s Alex M. Robb Stakes.

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By the numbers, the one to beat is Fortify, who will turn 4 at the stroke of midnight.

After winning his debut at Saratoga for Kiaran McLaughlin, Fortify spent the rest of 2012 chasing eventual Eclipse Award winner Shanghai Bobby in the Hopeful, Champagne, and Breeders’ Cup Juvenile.

Fortify ran once at Meydan last winter, finishing off the board in the UAE 2000 Guineas, and returned for two starts at the Big A’s fall meet.

Running with Lasix on dirt for the first time Dec. 6, Fortify romped to a lengthy score in a muddy off-the-turf allowance, earning a 97 Beyer that is two points above par for this level.

Readthebyline was entered for the $62,500 tag by Richard Schosberg. He may appreciate the return to the inner track, where he won two New York-bred allowance routes last winter.

Hackleton, Snake Pit, Speightscity, and This Hard Land complete the field.