Despite week delay, Rice still double tough in Interborough

Hot Fudge and Ain’t Broke give trainer Linda Rice a potent one-two punch in Saturday’s $150,000 Interborough Stakes at Aqueduct, rescheduled from a week ago when the Jan. 20 card was canceled due to extreme cold.

All seven of the original entrants for the seven-furlong race for females returned when the race was redrawn Wednesday. White Chocolate was added to the field, but she also was entered in Friday’s $100,000 What a Summer Stakes at Laurel Park and trainer Chad Summers indicated that six-furlong race is his preference, pending track condition.

Rice sent Hot Fudge to the sidelines for the summer after she was bearing out in the stretch of an allowance win at Belmont Park in June. Hot Fudge returned with two victories in nine days, an allowance race on Dec. 1 followed by a neck victory in the Garland of Roses on Dec. 9.

“I wheeled her back on short rest because it was lying right in front of us,” Rice said. “It obviously worked out nice. She’s had time now and she’s trained very well. It’s just a matter of whether she’s the best horse in the race.”

On the re-draw, Hot Fudge went from post 6 to post 2.

Ain’t Broke, who was a $75,000 claim last September, won two straight allowance races for Rice. In her most recent win, she made an eye-catching last-to-first move around the turn, beating next-out winner Starship Defiant by five lengths.

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“I knew she’d come running but I didn’t expect her to go from last to first around the turn, so that was pretty impressive,” Rice said.

As this will be her stakes debut, Ain’t Broke will race without the anti-bleeding medication Lasix for just the third time in her career. Ain’t Broke finished fifth in the first two starts of her career, both at age 2 and both without Lasix.

Ain’t Broke drew post 7, the same post she had last week.

If the track is still wet Saturday from Thursday and forecasted Friday morning rain, that would certainly benefit Dr B, who won the Grade 3 Go for Wand Stakes at Aqueduct in 2022 and 2023 over wet tracks. This is to be Dr B’s last career start before she is bred to Flightline in the coming months.

Throughout her career, Dr B has competed well against the top female sprinters in the country, including Goodnight Olive and Echo Zulu, one of whom figured to be named champion female sprinter Thursday night.

“She’s been consistent. She’s a hard-trying filly. We took big shots with her, and she never let us down,” trainer Butch Reid said. “She’s all you can ask for, a very sound, very consistent filly.”

Dr B, who drew post 4, will have Parx Racing-based Mychel Sanchez in to ride. Jose Lezcano, named to ride last week, is riding at Gulfstream Park on Saturday.

Mosienko, a 7-year-old mare coming off an allowance win last out, Rosebug, Self Isolation, and Secret Love complete the field.

The Interborough goes as race 9 on a 10-race card that begins at 11:45 a.m.

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