Aunt Babe by a neck in Franklin Square Stakes

Cut back from a mile to her preferred distance of six furlongs, Aunt Babe returned to peak form to register a neck decision over My Roxy Girl in the $100,000 Franklin Square for New York-bred 3-year-old fillies on Saturday at Aqueduct.

Well positioned in a stalking role by jockey Rafael Hernandez, Aunt Babe always appeared to be traveling smoothly, sitting a few lengths off Velvet Trinni and Pauseforthecause as those two set splits of 22.77 seconds and 46.67. Leaving the turn, Hernandez tipped her out into the 3 path, she engaged the leaders, and after taking command in the final sixteenth, she held off a late surge from My Roxy Girl.

A daughter of Desert Party owned by breeder Louis Ferrari, she raced six furlongs over a “good” strip in 1:11.79. She paid $14.

“Last time, the mile was too much for her,” said winning trainer Jimmy Ferraro. “Today, it was the type of trip we wanted to see.”

My Roxy Girl gradually cut into the winner’s lead late but was ultimately second-best, 2 1/2 lengths in front of third-place Pauseforthecause, the tepid favorite who retreated inside the final furlong.

Beautiful Buzz, one-paced after stumbling at the start, finished a nonthreatening fourth and was followed by Trinni Ninja and Velvet Trinni in the field of six.