Aqueduct: Srumdiddlyumptious, Singlet clash again in Ruby Rubles

Srumdiddlyumptious and Singlet, who finished a half-length apart when one-two in Penn National’s Femme Fatale Stakes last summer, knock heads again as they head a field of five fillies and mares in Friday’s $75,000 Ruby Rubles Stakes at Aqueduct.

Srumdiddlyumptious makes her first start since the Mandy’s Gold Stakes at Saratoga last Aug. 8, when she set the early pace and faded to fourth behind returning champion My Miss Aurelia at 6 1/2 furlongs.

On dirt at Friday’s six-furlong distance, Srumdiddlyumptious has never been beaten, beginning with a maiden win on the inner track when also brought back from a layoff last February by trainer Kelly Breen.

Srumdiddlyumptious then won her first-level allowance condition on the main track at Aqueduct’s spring meet, and captured the Just Smashing at Monmouth Park before edging Singlet in the Femme Fatale. Her only defeat at six furlongs was a fourth in the Inaugural Stakes over the Tapeta surface at Presque Isle Downs.

“It was her first start on the [synthetic surface] and she did no good,” said Breen, who recently sent out 2011 Belmont Stakes winner Ruler On Ice to win off a four-month absence.

Singlet is the field’s leading earner on the strength of three stakes victories, the first two of which were delivered here last winter in the Xtra Heat and Dearly Precious.

Singlet closed out her 3-year-old season by taking the Garland of Roses late at Aqueduct’s fall meet for trainer Tony Dutrow, and she emerges from a pair of third-place finishes in the Interborough and the Correction.

“She has always been a dependable filly,” said Dutrow. “She did very well on the inner track last year, so we’ve kept her in New York for a winter campaign.”

Clawback preps for Gotham

Clawback, the promising 3-year-old who has won both of his races at the meet by a combined eight lengths, breezed one mile in 1:46.75 on a fast inner track Wednesday morning in preparation for a start in next Saturday’s $400,000 Gotham Stakes at 1 1/16 miles.

It was the third, and longest, workout for Clawback since he captured the Jimmy Winkfield Stakes by five lengths on Jan. 21, earning a Beyer Figure of 96. The Gotham will mark the first route attempt for Clawback.