Aqueduct: Long River faces fewer foes in Sunday's redrawn stakes

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – If Sunday’s Aqueduct card has a familiar look to it, well, it should. Four of the nine races on the program were brought back from Wednesday’s card that was canceled due to inclement weather, including the featured $100,000 Time for a Change Stakes for 3-year-olds at a mile.

Originally carded with eight, the redrawn Time for a Change drew six, as two of the original entrants – Irsaal and Midnight Taboo – ran in a Thursday allowance at Aqueduct. Souper Knight, based in Maryland, was cross-entered for a $45,000 allowance at Laurel Park on Saturday, but trainer Michael Trombetta said Souper Knight would run here.

Long River looked like the horse to beat Wednesday, and his prospects might have gotten even better for Sunday now that he will break from the outside post. When originally scheduled for Wednesday, Long River was in post 2.

“Good post,” said Art Magnuson, assistant to trainer Kiaran McLaughlin. “No pressure out there in a short field. He was ready a few days ago; he’s ready now.”

Long River, a royally bred son of Grade 1 winners A.P. Indy and Round Pond owned and bred by Darley Stable, is making the third start off a layoff precipitated by a chip in a knee that was removed following a last-place finish in the Grade 3 Withers in February. After getting beaten a neck in a first-level allowance race at Belmont in September, Long River came back to clear that condition by two lengths impressively Oct. 25.

“He came back super,” McLaughlin said. “That was a very good race first start to go a mile and a sixteenth and just get beat on the money. His last race was excellent.”

Trainer Todd Pletcher is expected to run the uncoupled entry of Micromanage and Battier, who finished third and fourth behind the romping winner Romansh in the Grade 3 Discovery Handicap on Nov. 2. In the spring, Micromanage appeared on the cusp of becoming a significant player in the 3-year-old division, but he did not.

“He’s been right on the verge of doing that,” Pletcher said. “He needs to step up and do it.”

Battier has not won since taking the Fit to Fight Stakes, which, like this race, was a one-turn, one-mile race run over Aqueduct’s main track in April. He ran a respectable third behind Will Take Charge and Moreno in the Pennsylvania Derby before the Discovery.

“He’s a tricky horse to ride,” Pletcher said. “He got too far back in the last race, and there’s a fine line getting him to relax and getting him too far back. Hopefully, cutting back to a one-turn mile might benefit him.”

Smooth Bert redrew the rail and could be the horse to catch under Mike Luzzi. In September, Smooth Bert used his speed to win a New York-bred second-level allowance race going a one-turn mile at Belmont.

Souper Knight will try a mile on dirt for the first time after finishing second in the seven-furlong City of Laurel Stakes last out.

“I think he’s looking for a little bit more ground to work with,” Trombetta said.

Vegas No Show, who won an overnight stakes at Belmont in October before running seventh in the Discovery, completes the field.