Dubini the Comeback Kid of Aqueduct Turf Sprint field

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – For simply having Dubini still in the barn, Kathleen DeMasi is thankful.

In May, Dubini suffered from a severe bout of colic that required the 6-year-old gelding to undergo surgery. Not only has Dubini been able to make it back to the races, he appears to be as good, if not better than, ever.

Dubini will bring his stakes-winning form to the $125,000 Aqueduct Turf Sprint Championship for the third straight year on Saturday. In 2017, he nearly pulled off a 59-1 shocker in the Aqueduct Turf Sprint, finishing three-quarters of a length behind winner Rainbow Heir. Last year, Dubini, who does his best running from off the pace, was on the lead early and faded to sixth, three lengths behind winner White Flag.

Since coming back from colic surgery, Dubini has run four times, winning the Laurel Dash on Sept. 21 when he passed seven horses in the final furlong. It was his first stakes victory. He has two seconds and a third in allowance company as well.

“It’s like he’s got a new lease on life,” DeMasi said Thursday. “I was really excited we could get him back and I’ve been tickled that he’s run like he has. That’s been fun. I was so glad he could get that win at Laurel. He’s a cool little horse.”

Dubini has a running style that would seem to fit this year’s Aqueduct Turf Sprint, run at six furlongs. With Gidu, Fully Vested, and Vici in the field, there figures to be a legitimate pace for Dubini to close into under Kendrick Carmouche.

“His style is to sit and make one run,” DeMasi said. “In that race at Laurel, he was so far back, it was like ‘Is he really going to get up? Seriously?’ ”

Fully Vested comes off a third-place finish behind stablemate Final Frontier in the Belmont Turf Sprint Championship on Oct. 5. That day, Fully Vested was used as a rabbit for his stablemate, pressing pacesetter Shekky Shebaz early.

While Fully Vested isn’t a need-the-lead type, “he doesn’t like to be grabbed on,” trainer Tom Albertrani said.

“You just got to let him free-rein a little bit,” he said.

Fully Vested has run well in his three starts on turf. He was a front-running winner of a 5 1/2-furlong race at Saratoga over even-money shot Fig Jelly. He closed well to finish second behind Justaholic in an allowance at Monmouth in June.

Jose Lezcano, aboard for two of Fully Vested’s three wins, is back aboard Saturday.

Vici is winless in his last 11 starts, but has three seconds and a third since being claimed by David Donk for $62,500 in April. In June, he was beaten a neck by the mare Oleksandra in an allowance race. Oleksandra has since come back to win two stakes. Vici figures to be part of the pace under Jose Ortiz.

Completing the field are Gidu, another potential speed; Lonhtwist, an off-the-pace winner of two straight allowance races; Nice Tune; and Jammer.