Capossela winners Oliver Zip, Maleeh square off
OZONE PARK, N.Y. – The last three winners of the Fred “Cappy” Capossela Stakes are all in training, and two of them square off in Wednesday’s deep $69,000, second-level allowance feature at Aqueduct.
The 4-year-old Oliver Zip, the 2014 Capossela winner, returns to the races for the first time in almost nine months, while Maleeh, the 2013 Capossela winner, makes just his sixth career start and his second in the last 10 months in this six-furlong heat, which drew a solid field of 11.
The race goes as the eighth on the card and is the penultimate leg of a pick six that begins the day with a $29,121 carryover after the wager was not hit Sunday.
DRF FORMULATOR FACT: No. 8 Maleeh. Trainer Kiaran McLaughlin is 29-11-9-1 with a $2.26 ROI over the past five years in sprints on the Aqueduct inner dirt track following a layoff of between 45 and 60 days. Click for more details. – Mike Hogan
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After winning the Capossela and losing by a nose in the Bay Shore Stakes, Oliver Zip, trained by Kelly Breen, was given the obligatory stretch-out attempt in the Federico Tesio Stakes, where he finished a well-beaten sixth. He has not been to the races since.
Breen said the horse was sent to owners George and Lori Hall’s farm following the Tesio for a break, adding that he wasn’t expecting this race to come up so tough.
Maleeh won the 2013 Capossela in his second start and, after running sixth in the Bay Shore that year, was off due to surgery to remove a chip from a knee. He returned in March to run second in this condition before needing more time off.
On Nov. 22, Maleeh finished second to Grade 2 winner Honor Code.
Other contenders in Wednesday’s feature include Oltre’ Oro, Big Guy Ian, Scarly Charly, Manando, and Monster Mash.
DRF FORMULATOR FACT: No. 4 Manando. Trainer David Jacobson is 41-2-6-4 with a $0.23 ROI over the past five years with horses returning from a layoff of 180 days or more. Click for more details. – Mike Hogan
KEY CONTENDERS
Maleeh (Last 3 Beyers: 104-94-84)
◗ He returned from an eight-month layoff to finish second behind Honor Code in this same condition. He finished 6 1/4 lengths clear of third-place finisher Monster Mash in that race.
“The winner ran a ‘wow’ race; I thought we had him at the eighth pole,” trainer Kiaran McLaughlin said. “Irad [Ortiz Jr.] rode our horse great, but Javier [Castellano] was on cruise control looking for a spot to run.
“Hopefully, we can work out another good trip,” McLaughlin added. “We like our chances.”
Oliver Zip (Last 3 Beyers: 78-90-99)
◗ He cuts back to six furlongs, a distance at which he is 3-2-0 from five starts including a 4 1/2-length victory in the Capossela last March.
◗ This horse shows a light work tab for a return, but Breen noted that the colt’s previous rider, Rajiv Maragh, told him, “This horse doesn’t need much. Tell Paco [Lopez] to get on because he’s quick out of the gate.”
Lopez is in from Florida to ride Oliver Zip and Johnny U in the ninth race for Breen.
Oltre’ Oro (Last 3 Beyers: 87-82-59)
◗ He is 2 for 2 since returning from a layoff and being gelded.
“I thought I was running a short horse first time back,” trainer Linda Rice said. “Second time, I thought he moved forward from that first race, and he’s come back well.”
DRF FORMULATOR FACT: No. 2 Oltre' Oro. Trainer Linda Rice is 33-12-6-6 with a $2.82 ROI over the past two years in Aqueduct inner dirt sprints with last-out winners. Click for more details. – Mike Hogan
DRF FORMULATOR FACT: No. 6 Scarly Charly. Trainer Michael Hushion is 13-8-0-2 with a $3.33 ROI over the past five years adding blinkers in sprints on the Aqueduct inner dirt track. Click for more details. – Mike Hogan
