Big fields sweeten New York Claiming Championships

The 10 starter allowance races that make up the New York Claiming Championships at Aqueduct on Saturday will result in one of the more interesting afternoons of the winter meet.

The oversized purses encourage trainers to be aggressive and produce matchups that typically don’t occur. The races include stakes winners dropping in class, such as Harlan Punch, Control Group, and Just Got Out; allowance winners taking on more experienced claiming rivals; and claims having been made with this particular set of races in mind.

The results are standouts in several events but extremely deep fields in others.

This fourth running of the Claiming Championships also will give New York horseplayers a taste of the larger fields they crave. Although field size is modest early on the card, the late pick four comprises lineups of nine, 10, 14 (Hallelujah!), and 13.

Total purses on the day are $695,000. Rudy Rodriguez has entrants in eight of the races, Linda Rice has horses in five, and John Toscano Jr. and Gary Contessa will be active in four.

The hottest horse on the card is Harlan Punch, who has scored three sharp wins in a row, all for trainer David Jacobson. He earned a 105 Beyer Speed Figure in the one-mile Stymie on March 10.

Jacobson had the option of stretching Harlan Punch out to 1 1/8 miles in the $90,000 Mr. Sinatra or shortening him up to seven furlongs in the $80,000 Caixa Eletronica. Both races are for horses who have started for a claiming price of $40,000 or less in 2017-18.

Jacobson, who claimed Harlan Punch for $40,000 at Saratoga last August, went the latter route.

“A mile is his best distance and we could have gone either way,” Jacobson said. “I chose seven furlongs because I have longer races in mind for him and this race will sharpen him up for those.”

Jacobson said the Grade 3, $150,000 Excelsior at Aqueduct next week is a possibility for Harlan Punch, as is the $1.2 million Charles Town Classic on April 21. Each will be run at 1 1/8 miles.

Harlan Punch’s chief challenge in the Caixa Eletronica could come from Eye Luv Lulu, who is coming off a good second to My Boy Tate in the New York-bred Hollie Hughes Stakes. My Boy Tate is on a five-race winning streak.

Eye Luv Lulu, a 7-year-old trained by Jason Servis, finished second in the Caixa Eletronica last year when in the barn of Rudy Rodriguez.

One of the more competitive races on the card is the More To Tell, a $16,000 starter at a mile, which is carded as race 9.

The 14-horse field is topped by Borsa Vento, who will be dropping in class for Rice, and Mister Hayes, who has won four in a row, all for Michelle Nevin. The lineup also includes Karma Delight, whom Jacobson claimed for $14,000 out of a seven-length romp March 17.

Marriage Fever will be a longshot but could come back running for Gary Sciacca, who claimed him for $10,000 on Feb. 2 and has freshened him up and pointed to this spot.

The final race of the day is the Kelly Kip, a $12,500 starter at six furlongs.

Fortuitous Patch is in top form for Rudy Rodriguez, as is Very Very Stella for Jacobson. Trainer Hugh McMahon ships Tipsy Moose in from Maryland. He ran a very good race to defeat Laki in a second-level optional claimer March 18.

The Parx shippers Here’s a Jetpack and Brother Chub also fit well here.

◗ The Xtra Heat, a $20,000 starter for fillies and mares at six furlongs, matches Ladies Handicap winner Just Got Out, who is trained by Rice, against Maryland-based Angel At War, who has won 4 of 6 since being claimed by Michael Gorham.

◗ Polar Jet, trained by Rice, comes out of three tough allowance races and is the horse to beat in the Stud Muffin, a $25,000 starter. J S Bach, comes out of a runaway victory in a $25,000 claimer for Jason Servis.

◗ In the Peeping Tom, a $20,000 starter at six furlongs, the top contenders include Morning Buzz, who is coming off a $50,000 claiming victory for Edward Barker, and Schivarelli, a $50,000 claim by Tom Morley, who is coming out of stakes at Sam Houston and Laurel Park.

◗ The Sis City, a $16,000 starter for fillies and mares at a mile, is complicated because a number of its entrants are dropping substantially in class. Spring for More and Frostie Anne will both be well backed in the betting.

◗ Control Group, winner of the statebred Alex M. Robb in January for Rodriguez, has been freshened for the Mr. Sinatra; Christmas Sky will be favored in the Karakorum Elektra for Robertino Diodoro; and Picture Day is strictly the horse to beat for Rice in the Videogenic.