Doyouknowsomething finds good spot in Jazil

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Doyouknowsomething has tried and failed 10 times to win a stakes race. He may have finally found the right spot to end that drought in Saturday’s $100,000 Jazil Stakes at Aqueduct.

Doyouknowsomething finished third behind Sunny Ridge in last year’s Jazil as the 5-1 fourth choice in a field of six. Trained by A.C. Avila then, Doyouknowsomething was claimed for $80,000 in November by Robertino Diodoro for an ownership group that includes M and M Racing, Ernie Dahlman, and Robert Caron.

“We’ve been watching the horse, always liked him, thought there were a couple of things maybe we could improve on the horse,” Diodoro said when asked about the decision to claim the gelding. “He’s got some wear and tear on him; he’s just a horse that you work on.”

In the $125,000 Queens County here last month, his first start for his new connections, Doyouknowsomething pressed the pace-setting Alex the Terror and fought on through the lane, finishing fourth, beaten just a half-length by longshot winner Zanotti. Diodoro called it a “gutsy” performance.

“We’ve got to know this horse a little bit more, I think he’s definitely trained better going into this race,” Diodoro said. “These horses can make liars out of people, but I think that’s a positive thing after already running a pretty good race for us.”

Doyouknowsomething will break from the rail under Angel Arroyo.

Trainer David Jacobson claimed Harlan Punch for $40,000 last August at Saratoga. In five starts since then, Harlan Punch has three wins, a second, and a third. This will be the gelding’s first start at 1 1/8 miles and first in a stakes race.

Completing the field are Clowney and Unbridled Daddy, the first- and third-place finishers from a 1 1/4-mile starter allowance here on Dec. 15; Backsideofthemoon; and the 9-year-old stakes-winning gelding Turco Bravo.

KEY CONTENDERS

Doyouknowsomething, by Awesome Again
Last 3 Beyers: 96-96-101

◗ Though he went just 1 for 14 in 2017, he finished in the money nine times, including runner-up finishes in the Stymie and Flat Out stakes in New York.

◗ Versatile enough to be successful from on or just off the pace and is likely to stalk Unbridled Daddy or Harlan Punch in this spot.

Harlan Punch, by Harlan’s Holiday
Last 3 Beyers: 99-92-95

◗ He is 3 for 3 in one-turn mile races and has two losses going shorter since being claimed by Jacobson, and now tries 1 1/8 miles for the first time.

◗ Beat a solid field in a second-level allowance here on Dec. 23. The third-place finisher, Pioneer Spirit, came back to win a second-level allowance here on Jan. 13 by 6 1/4 lengths, earning a 101 Beyer Speed Figure.

Backsideofthemoon, by Malibu Moon
Last 3 Beyers: 93-90-95

◗ Last time he raced this far on dirt, he finished 3 3/4 lengths ahead of Doyouknowsomething when the two finished second and third in the Seattle Slew Stakes at Belmont.