OZONE PARK, N.Y. – With three solid races going a mile under his belt, Emirates Road will try his luck a little farther Friday at Aqueduct when he runs 1 1/8 miles in a first-level allowance/optional $45,000 claiming race at Aqueduct. With only five horses, this $88,000 race – the richest on the card in terms of purse – goes as the first on an eight-race program that begins at 12:40 p.m. Emirates Road, a son of Quality Road, had minimal success on dirt early in his career and did not fare much better on turf or synthetic. On Aug. 30, back on dirt at Saratoga, he won a $35,000 claimer by 8 1/2 lengths and followed that with a starter-allowance win on Sept. 21 at Aqueduct. In this open allowance condition on Nov. 10, Emirates Road was beaten a half-length by Masmak, who is entered in a second-level allowance on Saturday. Brad Cox is the current trainer of Emirates Road. He was the previous trainer of Masmak before that horse was moved to Rick Dutrow. :: Bet the races with a $200 First Deposit Match + FREE All Access PPs! Join DRF Bets. “Brad liked that horse when he had him, and Dutrow was high on him too, so [Emirates Road] didn’t lose anything in defeat that day,” said Dustin Dugas, assistant to Cox. This five-horse field has two horses entered to run back on short rest. Olympic Dreams, trained by Ilkay Kantarmaci, finished last of seven in the Alex Robb on Dec. 28. He is back on Lasix and is being offered for the claiming price on Friday. Peek, trained by Linda Rice, finished ninth of 12 in this allowance condition going seven furlongs Dec. 28. Black Rain, trained by Todd Pletcher, could find himself on the lead breaking from the rail under Kendrick Carmouche. Black Rain was beaten a neck by Yo Daddy in this condition in the slop Nov. 21. He was up on the pace early and seemed to stall around the far turn before re-engaging in the last furlong and nearly cutting into all of a 3 1/2-length deficit. “If he can find a rhythm early, I think he can be there late,” said Stu Hampson, Pletcher’s New York-based assistant. Boss Logic, claimed out of winning effort for $35,000 on Dec. 22 by Jamie Ness, ships in from the Mid-Atlantic for this spot. Mansetti trying dirt in Jerome The Canadian-bred Mansetti, a winner of 2 of 3 starts over Woodbine’s synthetic surface, will give dirt a try in Saturday’s $150,000 Jerome Stakes at Aqueduct. Trainer Kevin Attard said Mansetti, a son of Collected, trained “decent enough” over the dirt training track at Woodbine to try this race before the horse is expected to get a break. Though the Jerome offers qualifying points toward the May 3 Kentucky Derby, Attard said that is not why the horse is running here. “He’s a Canadian-bred,” Attard said. “He’d have to be ultra-impressive to be considered anything beyond that.” Mansetti won his debut going six furlongs Sept. 26 and then finished last of six in the seven-furlong Display Stakes on Oct. 13. Attard said perhaps he ran Mansetti back too soon after his maiden victory, but he opted to put blinkers on the colt for the Clarendon. Mansetti showed improved speed and focus and won by 1 1/4 lengths. “I did work him in the interim with blinkers and I thought he worked really well, so we said let’s try them and obviously he won,” Attard said. “I don’t want him to show too much speed stretching him out, but he won the Clarendon with them so he’s going to run back in them.” Mansetti has been in New York for a couple of weeks and got a workout over the Belmont training track, going a half-mile in 49.03 seconds. Jockey Sahin Civaci was aboard for the work and will ride him Saturday. Studlydoright, who won the Tremont at Saratoga in June and the Nashua at Aqueduct in November, is the most accomplished horse in the field. Others in the Jerome include Enduring Spirit, Ican, Omaha Omaha, Georgia Magic, Cyclone State, and McAfee. No plan yet for Mama’s Gold Mama’s Gold, the New York-bred who has earned consecutive triple-digit Beyer Speed Figures in back-to-back victories, has just been walking the barn the last few weeks, trainer Jimmy Ferraro said. Ferraro said he does not have any immediate plans for Mama’s Gold, though he was contacted by Gulfstream Park racing officials about a potential invite for the $3 million Pegasus World Cup Invitational. Ferraro advised to put him on the alternate list. On Oct. 27, Mama’s Gold won the Empire Classic for New York-breds by 4 1/4 lengths, earning a 103 Beyer Speed Figure. On Dec. 12, Mama’s Gold won an open second-level allowance by four lengths, earning a 102 Beyer (originally listed as a 103). He was a front-running winner in each race. “We’re not even thinking about anything, he’s just hacking, walking around,” Ferraro said. “He puts out so much, we’re just letting him regroup. He’s a biter. We got a screen on his stall, he knocked it down two days ago and we had to call the carpenters.” Aside from the one-mile Stymie on March 1, there are no stakes options for older dirt males beyond seven furlongs. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.