Enola Gay tries stakes company in Stewart Manor following impressive debut

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Enola Gay may be light on experience, but if her first race was any indication she appears to be long on talent. Exiting a key maiden race victory at Kentucky Downs, Enola Gay will take on winners for the first time in Sunday’s $100,000 Stewart Manor Stakes at Aqueduct.

The Stewart Manor, scheduled for six furlongs on the outer turf course, drew a field of 12 2-year-old fillies – plus one main-track-only entrant – and includes stakes winners Miss J McKay and Karak.

Enola Gay, a daughter of Uncle Mo, rallied from mid-pack to win a $135,520 maiden race at Kentucky Downs over 11 rivals on Sept. 12. The race proved super productive with the second- and third-place finishers coming back to win maiden special weight races at Keeneland and the 11th-place finisher winning a maiden special weight race at Mountaineer.

“I thought she ran great,” said Shug McGaughey, who trains Enola Gay for owner Joseph Allen “It looked like around the turn she was going to get nothing, but when she kicked, she kicked.”

McGaughey entered Enola Gay in the Chelsey Flower going a mile at Belmont on Oct. 27, but that race was postponed when that card was canceled due to inclement weather after the first race. Rather than enter her back in the Chelsey Flower, McGaughey opted to keep Enola Gay short in the Stewart Manor.

Miss J McKay, a Maryland-bred daughter of Hangover Kid, has crossed the finish line first in all three of her starts. She was disqualified to third in the Colleen Stakes at Monmouth when she drifted in and bothered both the second- and third-place finishers.

Miss J McKay was more professional and more dominant winning the Anne Arundel County Stakes at Laurel on Sept. 28. Trevor McCarthy, aboard for Miss J McKay’s two wins that counted, is back aboard on Sunday.

“At Monmouth, Jorge Vargas rode her and didn’t know her as well as Trevor and she caught him by surprise,” trainer Cal Lynch said. “But she’s been working really well, seems to have gotten out of that [habit]. The last couple of works we had her behind other horses and she went by them and stayed straight.”

Both Enola Gay and Miss J McKay will likely benefit from what looks to be a race with plenty of pace, with Time Limit, Lucrezia, Bayerly Seen, and Mosienko in the field.

Karak, who won the Tyro Stakes going five furlongs on turf, finished fourth in the Grade 3 Matron last out. Irad Ortiz Jr. rides for Wesley Ward.

Mike Maker sends out Time Limit and he also sends out A Freud of Mama, who finished 2 1/2 lengths behind Time Limit when the two were second and third in the Matron.

Our Super Nova in top form

Sunday’s $150,000 Statue of Liberty division of the New York Stallion Stakes for fillies and mares drew a bevy of stakes winners, but it may be a filly who has yet to win a stakes who is the one to beat in the seven-furlong race restricted to progeny of New York-based stallions.

Following a summer freshening, Our Super Nova won an allowance race going 6 1/2 furlongs at Belmont on Sept. 28, then came back and ran within a head of Ratajkowski when second at 20-1 in the Empire Distaff Handicap going a mile on Oct. 19.

Our Super Nova, trained by Charlton Baker, is likely to stalk the speed of Carrera Cat in this race. Junior Alvarado rides from post 10.

Carrera Cat, who won the Union Avenue at Saratoga, is looking to bounce back from a 10-length defeat to Pauseforthecause in the $150,000 Iroquois Stakes at Belmont last month. Prior to that, she was beaten 10 lengths by Come Dancing in the Grade 2 Gallant Bloom.

Before those two losses, Carrera Cat had won four of five starts. It’s possible having had six races since May 15 could be catching up to Carrera Cat, who is 2 for 2 at Aqueduct.

“She hasn’t really missed a race in six months so, yeah, that’s a concern. We’re just going to see how things unfold on Sunday,” trainer John Morrison said.

Newly Minted is 4 for 6 with two of those wins coming at Aqueduct. She finished fourth in the Empire Distaff Handicap and fell past the wire. Trainer Linda Rice said Newly Minted may have simply fallen due to exhaustion. She has come back with a bullet five-furlong work at Belmont. Rice, just back from a sale at Keeneland, said Friday that Newly Minted is not definite to run.

“She breezed very well, just wanted to keep the option open,” Rice said.

Rice does plan to run My Roxy Girl, who came out of a runner-up finish to Our Super Nova to win a starter allowance for Rice a week later at Belmont.

Espresso Shot, who won the East View and the Busher stakes here last winter, returns from a 4 1/2-month layoff in this spot. She hasn’t started since finishing second to Wait a Minute in the New York Oaks.

Completing the field are Fair Regis, second in the Iroquois, Purrageous Dyna, Filibustin, Kids Is Frosty, Bluegrass Jamboree, and Cathy Naz.