Aqueduct's outside post should help Saginaw

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – An outside post going two turns on Aqueduct’s inner track may not be ideal for most horses, but it may prove to be just what Saginaw needs when he runs in Wednesday’s first-level allowance feature going a mile.

When he ran third in the Mr. International Stakes for New York-breds on Jan. 26, Saginaw found himself vying between horses down the backstretch then seemed to be intimidated racing along the rail in upper stretch. He eventually finished third, beaten 7 1/2 lengths by the in-form Inherit the Gold, who will likely be favored to win Saturday’s King’s Point Handicap.

“He was running in spots,” trainer Chad Brown said of Saginaw’s last performance. “The way the race unfolded he just seemed like at different times he was in the bridle and then wasn’t. I’m not sure he likes dirt in his face. It would probably suit him better if he was in the clear.”

Saginaw may also prefer to be on the lead. In the Mr. International he dueled early with the hard-knocking stakes winner Driven by Success and may have gotten discouraged when he couldn’t clear him. There are no horses the caliber of Driven by Success in this open-company allowance feature.

If he is able to make the lead under Cornelio Velasquez, Saginaw may have to outfoot Chairman Now to get it. Chairman Now, trained by Rick Violette, has finished second at this level in each of his last two starts. He does get a jockey switch to leading rider Ramon Dominguez from Junior Alvarado.

“He’s kind of very gradually gotten better,” Violette said of Chairman Now. “It used to be he wouldn’t run inside – when he got surrounded he got very small. A couple of races back he had no option and he ended up second. His last race is hard to knock. He’s becoming more consistent, and one of these days he’ll knock this race out.”

Chariman Now will break from post 6.

Two interesting horses are The Brush and No Mine. The Brush, a son of Mr. Greeley trained by Nick Zito, showed some late run when third at this level – a half-length behind Chairman Now. His lone career victory came going a mile over the inner track.

No Mine is 7 for 14 in his career and was second to Remand on Jan. 22 before finishing a well-beaten fifth behind Icabad Crane in the G’Day Mate Stakes on Feb. 17.

Ryan’s Gift, Raphael Alexandro, and Joe Corrigan complete the field.