Easter comes two days early – in Friday allowance at Aqueduct

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – There is no racing here on Easter Sunday. There could be a reason to celebrate Easter on Friday at Aqueduct.

Easter, a French-bred gelding, will make his U.S. and 4-year-old debut Friday in a first-level allowance race scheduled for 1 1/16 miles over Aqueduct’s turf course. This race was originally scheduled for last Friday, but was rained off the turf and has six of the original entrants in what would be a seven-horse field on turf.

Easter narrowly fits the conditions of this race because the money he earned from an allowance win in November 2020 was $256 below the cutoff to be eligible for this race. Easter went 0 for 5 last year, but he was racing against some of Europe’s best, including St Mark’s Basilica, a four-time Group 1 winner and Europe’s Horse of the Year; and Sealiway, who last fall won the Group 1 Champion Stakes at Ascot.

“From the company he’s been keeping, this will certainly be a better spot,” said trainer Graham Motion, who received the horse last fall.

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Motion had Easter gelded shortly after he came to his care.

“He was a little tricky when he came to us last fall,” Motion said. “I thought it would help him.”

Easter spent the winter at the Fair Hill Training Center in Maryland. He has a dozen workouts since mid-January, nine of which were five furlongs or farther. Motion said horses like Easter, Highland Chief, who was entered to run Thursday at Aqueduct, and King Vega, who was entered Wednesday at Keeneland, “have been ready to run for a while. I’ve been anxiously awaiting turf season.”

Javier Castellano rides Easter from post 5.

Trainer Chad Brown sends out the uncoupled entry of Microphone and Lonesome Fugitive in this spot. After winning his debut by four lengths on Jan. 7 at Tampa, Microphone chased loose-on-the-lead Mid Day Image around the course and had to settle for second in a first-level allowance Feb. 27 at Gulfstream Park.

“He couldn’t quite get there,” Brown said. “That turf at Gulfstream is funny. I’m not sure that it was really for him. He ran fine and has trained well.”

Lonesome Fugitive finished second to Space Launch – who was entered here Thursday – in this condition last December and then second to first-time U.S. runner Novo Sol in a race run on Tapeta on Jan. 5. This is his first start since then. He breaks from the rail this week, whereas last week he drew post 10.

“He’s been a little unlucky with some trips,” Brown said. “He’s been pretty consistent. He’ll fire. He seems to be doing really well.”

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Ghost Giant equaled his career-best Beyer Speed Figure, an 86, when beaten a neck in a second-level New York-bred allowance here Nov. 11. This will be his first start since then, and he’ll break from the outside post under Trevor McCarthy.

So High, entered in a second-level allowance Thursday, at least finds himself in the correct condition on Friday. Conquer the World and Parx Racing shipper Olympic Romp round out the field on turf. Good Culture is entered to run on the main track only.