Aqueduct handicapping roundup: Week of Feb. 8

Five-bagger for Rudy

Rudy Rodriguez solidified his hold on second place in the trainers’ standings with a five-win weekend last week, topped by Lion D N A ($6.40) in the Correction Stakes.

Lion D N A, a $35,000 claim on behalf of Michael Dubb and Bethlehem Stable at Saratoga last August, has won or placed in all six of her starts since then and has now won three in a row, including the Interborough Stakes on New Year’s Day.

Several runners from the barn fired fresh, among them Lost in Success ($3.60), a promising maiden winner off a three-month absence Sunday, and North Ocean ($2.60), a first-level allowance winner after a 48-day break Saturday.

Rodriguez just missed a sixth weekend winner when Dads Caps set the pace to deep stretch in the Grade 3 Toboggan before being overtaken by Candyman E. Dads Caps, who was making his first start in seven weeks, recorded a lifetime-best Beyer Speed Figure of 102.

Slugfest in Withers

Samraat ($4.30), who had won his first three starts by better than 25 lengths in total, remained unbeaten after a knockdown, drag-out brawl with fellow New York-bred Uncle Sigh in the Grade 3 Withers.

Samraat had basically never been headed in three prior starts, and he showed a new dimension by rating just off Uncle Sigh, who broke from the rail and sped to the front. The two precocious colts engaged in a Jaipur and Ridan-type battle through the stretch, with Samraat edging away late by a length despite neglecting to change leads.

“They have to learn how to fight,” said trainer Rick Violette Jr., who is inclined to give Samraat just one more start leading up to the Kentucky Derby. “I really thought that happened to Easy Goer in his 3-year-old year. He had never really been in a fight until the Preakness, and he became a better horse after that. Hats off to both horses. They ran a huge, huge race, and I think they’ll show up later in the year.”

Although the time of 1:46.31 for 1 1/16 miles seemed pedestrian, the inner track, which had thawed out from a deep freeze earlier in the week, played nearly two full seconds slower than par in three races at the distance last Saturday. Samraat earned a 94 Beyer to go along with a 95 for his romp in the Damon Runyon Stakes earlier at the winter meet.

Uncle Sigh, who recorded Beyers of 95 and 93 when unveiled in December by Gary Contessa, was clear of the rest by more than 10 lengths and received a 92 for his first start against winners. He will run next March 1 in the Gotham, Contessa said.

“Maybe he got me on experience today,” Contessa said of Samraat. “I look forward to ‘Rocky II.’ That’s how I feel after a race like this; this was ‘Rocky,’ I’m ready for ‘Rocky II.’ He ran well. I think the difference was in having to set the pace from the No. 1 hole. My horse isn’t very experienced, and I think he’s really going to mature off this effort. He never stopped running. I look forward to the rematch.”

Playing favorites

Through Feb. 3, favorites were winning at a 35 percent clip (111 for 316) at the inner-track meet.

Remarkably, the chalk’s record was virtually identical in sprints (61 for 182, 34 percent) and in routes (47 for 134, 35 percent).

So far, the least-reliable favorites have been in stakes races, where the choice is just 6 for 25 (24 percent). That number figures to improve after Saturday’s Dearly Precious, in which Gracer is 2-5 on the morning line as she breaks from the outside post against four rival 3-year-old fillies.

The Fair Hill-based Gracer looks for her third straight stakes score since fitted with blinkers by Tony Dutrow. “She’s getting better with experience, but the blinkers have definitely helped,” he said.