Aqueduct: Eminent Tale salvages the day for odds-on stakes favorites
Odds-on favorites went 1 for 2 in a pair of overnight stakes Sunday at Aqueduct, with 2-5 favorite Eminent Tale cruising to an easy-as-he-pleased 5 3/4-length victory in the Sweet Envoy Stakes while Buster’s Ready, a 1-2 fave in a field of four, could do no better than finish third to stablemate R Holiday Mood in the Out Ruled Stakes.
In the $60,000 Sweet Envoy for 3-year-old New York-bred males, Eminent Tale made the front soon after the start from the rail under Jose Valdivia, then sailed through fractions of 23.96 seconds, 48.16, 1:13.75, and 1:39.43 before completing the mile and 70 yards in 1:43.93. He returned $2.80 to win.
It was the fourth win from six starts for Eminent Tale, a 3-year-old son of Read the Footnotes, and his third stakes score. Eminent Tale is owned by Winter Park Partners, Sequel Racing and Dennis Narlinger and is trained by Richard Dutrow Jr.
In the $60,000 Out Ruled Stakes for 3-year-old fillies, R Holiday Mood got away with soft early fractions, and then held off a challenge from Portside to win by a neck. Buster’s Ready, the 1-2 favorite and a stablemate of R Holiday Mood, finished another length behind after ducking in at the break. Le Me Geaux was fourth while Vixen’s Roar scratched.
Under Cornelio Velasquez, R Holiday Mood raced uncontested through fractions of 24.53 and 49.72 before being confronted by Portside at the three-furlong pole. The two fillies ran in tandem for virtually the remainder of the race, but R Holiday Mood had enough left to prevail. R Holiday Mood, a daughter of Trippi owned by Joyce Robsham and trained by Todd Pletcher, covered the mile and 70 yards in 1:44.90 and returned $6.30 as the second choice.
It was one of three wins on the card for Velasquez.
It was the 14th stakes win of the inner track meet for the Pletcher stable and 35th overall victory for the meet. With two weeks of racing remaining over the inner track, Pletcher maintains a seven-win margin over Rudy Rodriguez.