Class testers could provide value in Franklin Square

My Mane Squeeze could be favored to beat seven other New York-bred 3-year-old fillies Sunday at Aqueduct in the $100,000 Franklin Square Stakes.

Four other horses, including one-two finishers Tricky Temper and Cara’s Time, exit the $100,000 Key Cents, a race in this division run Nov. 18.

Two other entrants won’t attract as much attention and ought to offer value in the Franklin Square, which is contested at 6 1/2 furlongs and open to be won by a relative longshot.

Flight Control debuted at 37-1 in a Dec. 1 New York-bred maiden sprint and won like a hot favorite, showing good speed and a fair degree of professionalism.

Even more attractive is Sweet Brown Sugar, who will be administered a class test in the Franklin Square that she might be prepared to pass.

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Sweet Brown Sugar runs at Aqueduct after proving far too much horse for the competition at Finger Lakes, where she jogged to a pair of victories to start her career. Make no mistake: While Sweet Brown Sugar defeated open competition in an Oct. 18 maiden race and in the $40,000 Shesastonecoldfox Stakes on Nov. 6, she faced opposition far softer than she meets Sunday. Still, Sweet Brown Sugar made a strongly favorable visual impression and won so easily while earning competitive Beyer Speed Figures of 69 and 68 that it’s tempting to project a serious forward move Sunday.

Trainer Paul Barrow sent Sweet Brown Sugar from Finger Lakes to Belmont Park to prepare for the Franklin Square, and the filly turned in three works there over the training track. She has shown kindly rate-able speed in her two starts and an encouraging burst at the head of the homestretch when asked for run. By Collected, Sweet Brown Sugar appears to be a robust specimen with a smooth, efficient action, and the way she galloped out in her 5 1/2-furlong debut suggests a longer sprint like the Franklin Square will suit her. Jorge Vargas Jr. rides for the first time, and after racing in the clear at Finger Lakes, Sweet Brown Sugar might be forced to sit behind horses and take dirt breaking from post 1.

Flight Control, an Air Force Blue filly trained by Bob Klesaris, escaped bettors’ attention in her first start, going off as the second-longest price in a nine-runner field. Flight Control went straight to the front and deftly changed leads at the head of the homestretch while throwing down a good 12.22-second fifth furlong to maintain a big lead. Flight Control ran her final furlong in a solid 12.43 and, judging by her energetic gallop-out, was not tiring.

My Mane Squeeze hasn’t started since winning the one-mile Maid of the Mist on Oct. 29. She showed speed capturing a Saratoga maiden race at six furlongs but rallied from midpack going a quarter-mile farther in the Maid of the Mist, where she sat a perfect ground-saving trip and ran down Cara’s Time, who has a habit of waiting for horses in midstretch. My Mane Squeeze has the field’s two highest Beyers, though trainer Mike Maker is just 3 for 67 over the last three weeks.

It was Tricky Temper who passed Cara’s Time in the Key Cents, which did not appear to be an especially strong race. Unicorn Cake, Bernietakescharge, and Soloshot have lesser chances. Take a shot with Sweet Brown Sugar or Flight Control.

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