Bust Another back in comfort zone

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – The undefeated Grade 1 Carter Handicap winner Bustin Stones did his best work over Aqueduct’s main track, and on Friday two of his progeny look to do their papa proud in a pair of restricted sprint stakes at the Big A.

Bust Another, the winner of the Mike Lee at Belmont in May, heads a field of eight set to go seven furlongs in the $125,000 Thunder Rumble division of the New York Stallion Stakes. Later on the 10-race card, Filibustin looks to improve to 3 for 3 in the $100,000 Key Cents Stakes for New York-bred juvenile fillies at six furlongs.

The Thunder Rumble and Key Cents were both rescheduled from last Sunday’s program, which was canceled due to high winds.

Bust Another is winless in four starts since his victory in the Mike Lee, but two of those races were on turf, and two were on dirt against open company at Parx. The last time he raced against New York-breds on dirt, he won the Mike Lee by 3 1/4 lengths over Mind Your Biscuits, who most recently ran third in the Breeders’ Cup Sprint.

In April, Bust Another finished fourth in a New York Stallion Stakes race here, but he was coming back on just 16 days’ rest.

Loki’s Vengeance won this race last year but is winless in four starts since. He finished second to Weekend Hideaway in the Affirmed Success, his only start against New York-breds this year.

Empire Dreams was third in this race before he finished his 2015 campaign with a victory in the Alex Robb Handicap. He has started only twice this year and shortens up following a third-place finish in the 1 1/8-mile Empire Classic.

“It seems like he’d prefer going a little bit further, but I don’t think it’s out of his reach to get the seven-eighths,” said Tom Albertrani, the trainer of Empire Dreams. “I think he’s run some pretty good races going shorter.”

Key Cents: Filibustin fitter

Filibustin shipped to New York for the Joseph A. Gimma Stakes on Oct. 2 and pulled a front-running 4 3/4-length upset at seven furlongs. Prior to that, she won a maiden $40,000 claimer at Monmouth Park.

Trainer Greg Sacco believes the postponement of the Key Cents may help Filibustin, who Sacco said missed some training time in October when stabled at Monmouth Park before moving to Parx. On Monday, she worked five furlongs in 1:03.14.

“She went in 1:03, but she was in hand,” Sacco said. “I’m glad we were able to get a work into her.”

On the redraw of the race, Filibustin went from post 4 to post 10 and will be ridden by Jose Lezcano. While Sacco said he would have preferred an inside draw, he acknowledged that breaking from the outside “will give Jose more options.”

“We’re not going to be hellbent on the lead,” he said.

The Key Cents field grew from 11 to 12 because trainer Todd Pletcher entered Overnegotiate, a four-length debut winner at Aqueduct on Nov. 5. She surprised Pletcher by coming from off the pace in that 12-horse field.

“We weren’t surprised that she ran well first time, it just didn’t unfold the way we thought it would because she had been pretty quick away from the gate in the morning,” Pletcher said.

Pletcher will also start Iron Mizz, who won the Seeking the Ante Stakes at Saratoga going 6 1/2 furlongs in August.

Kim Royale and Tainted Angel are other contenders in this large field.