Beauty on Duty in soft spot

OZONE PARK, N.Y. - It hasn't been for lack of trying that Beauty on Duty hasn't run since winning her maiden by 9 1/4 lengths on Aug. 1 at Saratoga.

"Her nickname around the barn is MTO," said trainer James Bond, meaning that he has entered Beauty on Duty in several turf races as a main-track-only runner. "We had her in a bunch of spots, but we just couldn't get her in."

Bond didn't have to enter Beauty on Duty as a main-track-only runner Thursday to find a soft spot for her. If Beauty on Duty can repeat her effort from Aug. 1, she should be the one to beat in Thursday's $48,000 entry-level allowance feature at Aqueduct going nine furlongs.

In her last start, Beauty on Duty stalked a moderate pace under Edgar Prado before slipping through an opening along the rail approaching the quarter-pole and drawing clear to a convincing score. She earned a Beyer Speed Figure of 90 for the performance.

"She was pretty impressive in the mud that day," Bond said. "The bottom line is, she's doing really, really well right now."

Beauty on Duty, a 3-year-old daughter of Dynaformer, figures to get another ground-saving trip from the rail under Prado.

Biogio's Beauty, a New York-bred daughter of Distorted Humor, stretches out to two turns after finishing second at this condition in a one-turn mile race here on Oct. 29. Three starts back, in the two-turn Finger Lakes Oaks, Biogio's Beauty finished second despite having to check hard at the five-furlong pole.

"She's definitely better at two turns,'' said trainer Robert Ribaudo, noting that around one turn Biogio's Beauty "gets a little rank coming out of the chute going down the backside."

Ribaudo makes a rider switch from the apprentice Pablo Fragoso to the journeyman Richard Migliore, who has won stakes each of the last three racing days at Aqueduct.

Dynarhythm makes her first start against winners after taking a maiden race on Oct. 16 at Belmont Park. Dynarhythm did lug in a bit after making the lead that day.

Alluring, the only 4-year-old in the field, rallied from last to be second at this condition last time out. The fourth-place finisher from that race, Captiva Cat, beat Biogio's Beauty in the aforementioned Oct. 29 race.

Magic Talk could be an interesting longshot play. Magic Talk is only 1 for 6 lifetime, but that win came in her only dirt start around two turns. John Velazquez, New York's leading rider, takes the call.

Unbridled Valor and Alleged Whisper, an entry from trainer John Kimmel, and Stake round out the field.