Eyes on bigger prizes

OZONE PARK, N.Y. - There is so much depth to the field for Wednesday's $56,000 allowance feature at Aqueduct that trainer Richard Violette, who has entered graded stakes winner Free of Love, joked, "They should put up another $40,000 and call it a $100,000 overnight race."

Free of Love, making his first start since late July, is one of 10 runners entered in the classified allowance at a mile and 70 yards on the inner track. Beknown to Me is an also-eligible.

Also entered are Ground Storm, who won this year's Grade 3 Stymie over the inner track in March, and Tempest Fugit, who won the Oceanport Handicap at Monmouth Park in June. Another entrant, Acrolect, is 5 for 8 this year against allowance company.

Some of the runners are likely prepping for the Grade 3 Aqueduct Handicap on Jan. 18. But Violette has set his sights on something bigger for Florida-bred Free of Love - the $1 million Classic, one of the races that is part of the Sunshine Millions series at Gulfstream Park on Jan. 25.

Free of Love, who won the Grade 3 Westchester in May at Belmont Park, last ran on July 27 in the Grade 3 Salvator Mile at Monmouth. A 4-year-old colt, he finished third, but was placed second through a disqualification after he was soundly bumped at the three-sixteenths pole.

"He was broadsided," Violette said. "He came out of the race jammed up everywhere. He halfway wrenched a knee. It was nothing career-ending, but because he is a nice horse, we gave him six weeks off."

Violette said he likes Free of Love's post 3 draw.

"There should be speed in front of him and his best races have been when he is in the hunt and in a stalking position," he said.

Shaun Bridgmohan will ride Free of Love.

There is a plethora of speed and one of the front-runners likely will be Resolve. Claimed for $100,000 by trainer Bruce Levine and owner Roddy Valente at Santa Anita in October, Resolve was scratched from last month's Grade 1 Cigar Mile because Levine was unhappy with the gelding's post 2 draw.

"He might be better suited to one turn," Levine said. "It's hard to gauge, because I haven't run him yet."

Richard Migliore rides Resolve from post 9.

Ground Storm, trained by Bill Mott, is 3 for 4 over the inner track. In his sole loss over the track, Ground Storm finished second in this year's Aqueduct Handicap behind Evening Attire, one of the top handicap horses of 2002.

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