Ashley T. Cole could go a number of ways

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – In the absence of Spirit of St Louis from the field, Dakota Gold and City Man figure to take the most money in Friday’s $125,000 Ashley T. Cole Stakes at Aqueduct. Neither has to win the 1 1/8-mile turf stakes for New York-breds.

Dakota Gold is coming off a last-to-first nose victory over Spirit of St Louis in the West Point Stakes at Saratoga on Aug. 25. Dakota Gold is winless in four starts at Aqueduct, though he finished second to Spirit of St Louis in the Hudson Valley here in July.

Speaking of the West Point performance, Danny Gargan, trainer of Dakota Gold, said, “I thought he ran tremendous. He has those races in him. His kryptonite’s Aqueduct, he’s never won there. We’ll have to see how the turf comes up.”

Gargan said Dakota Gold has become more manageable this year, after he was gelded at the end of his 4-year-old season.

“He used to be mean and wild and bad at the gate,” Gargan said. “Gelding him makes him more manageable, which makes him easier to deal with. Give that more credit than anything.”

The Cole is run at 1 1/8 miles, a distance at which Dakota Gold has yet to try in 17 previous starts.

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“I think he’s a better at a mile. He needs pace,” Gargan said. “There’s plenty of pace in there. He’s going to be sitting last and make a big run. He has to get to the outside and get home.”

Dylan Davis rides Dakota Gold from post 3.

City Man, a 7-year-old son of Mucho Macho Man, is a 10-time stakes winner who won this race in 2022. City Man is winless in two starts this year but was a decent third in the West Point, one length behind Dakota Gold.

“His last race was a good race, best race of the year,” trainer Christophe Clement said. “He’s training better than he has all year long.”

Joel Rosario rides City Man from post 6.

Hush of a Storm, trained by Brad Cox, could be the right one in the Cole. Two starts back, he won a second-level allowance/optional $45,000 claiming race at Saratoga and was claimed by Cox on behalf of Sandy Goldfarb.

In the first start for his new connections, Hush of a Storm finished third in the Avery Whisman Memorial over the synthetic surface at Presque Isle. Forever Souper, the winner of that race, came back to win the Presque Isle Downs Mile on Sept. 20.

In his only New York-bred stakes try, Hush of a Storm finished fourth behind Dakota Gold in the Hudson Valley at Belmont Park in July 2023.

Saratoga Flash, trained by Saffie Joseph Jr., attempts to stretch out from a pair of one-turn races in graded stakes. He has not faced New York-bred competition since October 2022.

Jerry the Nipper, Cable Ready, and Kaz Sugar Bank complete the field on turf. Pandagate leads a trio of horses entered to run only if the race is run on the main track.

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