OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Bold Journey won’t be confused with trainer Bill Mott’s champion sprinter Elite Power, but when he runs six furlongs on a fast track at Aqueduct, the 4-year-old New York-bred son of Hard Spun is tough to beat. Under such circumstances, Bold Journey is 3 for 4 with a second, albeit in maiden or allowance company. Friday, on what figures to be a dry Aqueduct main track, Bold Journey will seek his first stakes victory in the Grade 3, $200,000 Fall Highweight Handicap at six furlongs. Bold Journey represents Mott’s first starter in the Fall Highweight since Western Fame finished fourth in 1997. Bold Journey is coming off a nose victory in a second-level allowance going six furlongs here on Oct. 12. His previous six-furlong race at Aqueduct resulted in a six-length win against New York-bred allowance rivals in February. Bold Journey earned a 96 Beyer Speed Figure in both efforts. :: DRF's Black Friday Sale: Get 20% off (almost) everything in the DRF Shop. Code: BF2023 “He’s done pretty well if we keep him at six furlongs,” Mott said. “If you go by the numbers, he’s had some pretty good victories.” Bold Journey, who gets in with 128 pounds and breaks from the rail under Jose Ortiz, is a closer in a short field that appears to be have ample speed. Of course, there is the potential that Durante may have more speed than any of the six horses in this field. Durante, since coming east from California, has won four of five starts including the Grade 3 Bold Ruler here on Oct. 27, beating the Mott-trained High Oak. “He was just another horse when we got him, a nice horse that we were buying,” David Jacobson, trainer and part-owner of Durante, said. “It wasn’t until we ran a couple of times that we had any hopes of him coming to this [high] level, which I don’t think he’s there yet.” Jacobson said the Fall Highweight will tell if Durante could be considered for more lucrative sprint stakes in Saudi Arabia and/or Dubai over the winter. Durante, the 134-pound starting highweight, will break from post 4 under Manny Franco. Cowan, the only horse to defeat Durante on the East Coast, will run here though he was cross-entered in the Thanksgiving Day Handicap at Fair Grounds on Thursday, owner Lynn Cash said. Cowan beat Durante in an allowance race but then finished fifth behind Durante in the Bold Ruler. Cash said Cowan was too close to a fast pace in the Bold Ruler. “Cowan is a closing sprinter,” Cash said. “We were three wide on the lead, that’s not him.” Cash also sends out Sir Alfred James, who he would like to see come from off the pace and not race on it as he did when he faded to fifth in the Bet On Sunshine Stakes at Churchill Downs on Nov. 4. Rotknee dueled on the lead and prevailed in the Hudson Stakes for New York-breds on Oct. 29. Win for Gold had his head turned at the start, broke horribly, and spotted the field many lengths before rallying to finish fourth in the Hudson. His previous good races were when he was on the lead. The Fall Highweight goes as race 3 on a nine-race card that begins at 12:20 p.m. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.