Aqueduct: Miss Narcissist gets two-turn test in East View

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – One of trainer Linda Rice’s concerns with running Miss Narcissist in the East View Stakes at Aqueduct was having to run her back three weeks after a hard-fought neck victory in a division of the New York Stallion Stakes.

Well, Mother Nature – and the racing office – took care of that as the East View, originally scheduled for Dec. 15, was postponed due to weather. The racing office originally intended to bring back it Saturday, but then pushed it back to Sunday to have a stakes on the final card before Christmas.

While timing may no longer be a concern, there is the issue of trying two turns for the first time, which Miss Narcissist will do in the East View, run at a mile and 70 yards over the inner track. Miss Narcissist brings a three-race winning streak into the East View, including a 5 1/4- length victory in the Joseph A. Gimma Stakes going seven furlongs at Belmont in October.

“I thought her win in the Gimma at seven-eighths was a better effort than the Stallion Stakes,” Rice said. “With that in mind, I think there’s a pretty good chance that she’ll stretch out. I thought at this time while she’s fit and seasoned we wanted to see if she could get the distance before we put her away for the winter.”

Junior Alvarado rides Miss Narcissist, the 122-pound highweight, from post 2.

Rice also sends out Champagne Ruby, who won a New York-bred stakes sprinting at Finger Lakes before twice finishing behind Miss Narcissist. Cornelio Velasquez rides Champagne Ruby from post 5

Flipcup also should appreciate the one-week delay. She last raced Nov. 23 at Woodbine, finishing third in the South Ocean Stakes restricted to progeny of Ontario-based sires. Flipcup won her first two races sprinting before getting beat four lengths by Lexie Lou and next-out winner Paladin Bay in the South Ocean.

The East View represents Flipcup’s first race on dirt. She has breezed twice over Belmont Park’s training track, the first time with Rajiv Maragh up.

“I think she’ll translate her form fine to the dirt,” said George Weaver, who will be running Flipcup for the first time after the filly made her first three starts for Brian Lynch. “Rajiv seems pretty confident off her workout that she’d handle the dirt. He said she wasn’t struggling at all.”

The one-week delay prompted the connections of Skye Saratoga and G Note to enter. Skye Saratoga finished fourth behind Miss Narcissist in the Stallion Stakes. Trainer Tom Albertrani said he believes he may have run his filly back too quickly after she won her maiden race by nine lengths 22 days earlier.

G Note is running back two weeks after winning a one-turn, one-mile maiden race over Aqueduct’s main track by seven lengths.

Daddy’s Lil Saint, Underthemoonlight, and Mlle. Minuit complete the field.

Following Sunday’s card, Aqueduct is dark until Thursday.