Blowing Kisses live at a price

OZONE PARK, N.Y. - Blowing Kisses probably would not have beaten the more talented Zada Belle in the Interborough Handicap here on New Year's Day. But the trip Blowing Kisses had that day certainly didn't help her cause.

Without Zada Belle in the field and with a smoother trip, Blowing Kisses could offer some value in Saturday's $65,000 Correction Stakes at Aqueduct. With only two victories, Blowing Kisses is the least accomplished of the six fillies and mares entered in the six-furlong Correction. She was sent off at 17-1 in the five-horse Interborough and rallied to be third after bobbling at the break and coming four to five wide in the stretch. The inner track appeared to be very slow that day, with the final time of 1:13.94 for six furlongs.

"She did get away from the gate a little bit bad, nothing terrible," trainer Jeff Barkley said. "The track wasn't in the best shape that day, not like you would like to run on all the time - but she handled it all right and made a run."

Blowing Kisses will break from post 6 under apprentice Sheldon Russell, who does not get the benefit of the usual five-pound weight allowance when riding in a stakes.

The horse to beat in the Correction is A Rose for You, who had a three-race winning streak snapped when she finished second in the New Year's Eve Stakes at Mountaineer Park on Dec. 30. In that race, A Rose for You was fanned four wide in the stretch while the winner, Royale Michelle, got a dream run through the inside.

"The horse that beat me got a once-in-a-lifetime trip," said Michael Trombetta, trainer of A Rose for You. "They all drifted and carried me out and left the rail open for her."

A Rose for You has been successful from on or off the pace. She is likely to be a pace factor on Saturday under Ramon Dominguez, though she will likely have to deal with Coli Bear on the front end.

Distorted Passion would benefit if A Rose for You and Coli Bear duke it out early. Distorted Passion enters the Correction off a two-race winning streak that includes a victory in the Foil Stakes here on Dec. 14, when she gamely split horses in the stretch under Rajiv Maragh.

"It was a very encouraging race, she showed a lot of grit to get up and win," said Jonathan Thomas, the New York assistant to trainer Todd Pletcher. "She's not done much wrong in her last two starts on dirt."