Closely matched group makes for a betting puzzle
OZONE PARK, N.Y. – If all feature races are as contentious as Wednesday’s eighth race, a second-level optional claimer, it will be a palatable winter for horseplayers at Aqueduct.
Eleven horses were entered for the $69,000 race at six furlongs over the main track, including the top four finishers from a similar race going 6 1/2 furlongs here Nov. 8.
Nubin Ridge, Sir Bond, S’maverlous and Juba finished within a half-length of each other here that day. Nubin Ridge benefitted from having a clear three-wide run, while S’maverlous was hampered by being stuck on the inside and was blocked in upper stretch.
Add to the mix in-form runner Alex the Terror and the returning pair of Sam Sparkle and Bridget’s Big Luvy, sprinkle in the possibility of a wet track, and you have a handicapping puzzler.
“That’s a solid race,” said Jeremiah Englehart, trainer of Bridget’s Big Luvy, winner of the Private Terms earlier this year at Laurel. “Those horses can go anywhere and win small stakes, it seems.”
Rain is in the forecast beginning Tuesday night and lasting throughout the day Wednesday.
Wednesday’s card, which includes a pick six carryover of $34,204, starts the final week of racing over the main track before the inner track opens Dec. 9.
KEY CONTENDERS
S’maverlous (Last 3 Beyers: 86-95-93)
◗ Had a four-race winning streak snapped when third, a neck behind Nubin Ridge and Sir Bond, on Nov. 8. He had to wait for room from the quarter pole to inside the sixteenth pole.
◗ Breaks from post 7 on Wednesday and gets a rider switch to the nation’s leading jockey, Javier Castellano.
◗ He is 1 for 1 on an off track.
Nubin Ridge (Last 3 Beyers: 87-88-88)
◗ Benefitted from a clear trip when he outfinished Sir Bond and S’maverlous. It was his second win from four starts since being claimed by Chris Englehart, who is enjoying a terrific fall meet with seven winners.
◗ Loses Irad Ortiz Jr., who rides Notorious, and will be ridden by Angel Cruz.
◗ Has a 0-1-2 record from eight wet-track starts.
Alex the Terror (Last 3 Beyers: 90-94-88)
◗ Has two wins and a neck loss to S’maverlous in three starts since being claimed by John Toscano for $40,000 in August.
◗ Pressed the pace and hung on to beat Escape to the Moon in a first-level allowance race Nov. 7 over the main track. Escape to the Moon and that race’s third-place finisher, Between the Lines, came back to finish noses part when running one-two in a first-level allowance here Saturday.
◗ He is 0 for 2 on wet tracks. In one of those races he got away poorly in his career debut in July 2014, and the other came in a two-turn race at Tampa.
DRF FORMULATOR FACT: No. 1 Alex the Terror. Trainer John Toscano is 25-9-1-4 with a $4.96 ROI over the past two years at Aqueduct with last-out winners. Click for more details. – Mike Hogan
:: Learn more about Formulator | Buy Formulator PPs
:: Follow the @DRFFormulator Twitter feed and get free Formulator facts
Bridget’s Big Luvy (Last 3 Beyers: 54-76-74)
◗ Has made his last five starts in stakes, including the Grade 1 Arkansas Derby where he set rapid fractions before being inhaled by American Pharoah.
◗ Trainer Jeremiah Englehart, the son of Chris, said he is using this race as a prep for a Maryland-bred stakes next month at Laurel.
◗ Both of his wins have come on a wet track.
“He loves it wet; that helps him out a lot,” Englehart said.
◗ Englehart is 0 for 20 at the meet.
DRF FORMULATOR FACT: No. 5 Sam Sparkle. Trainer David Cannizzo is 18-1-0-0 with a $0.18 ROI over the past five years with horses returning from a layoff of 180 days or more. Click for more details. – Mike Hogan
DRF FORMULATOR FACT: No. 8 Takajo. Trainer John Terranova is 30-1-3-4 with a $0.80 ROI over the past 90 days with jockey Eric Cancel aboard. Click for more details. – Mike Hogan