SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – A nostril separated Felix and Works for Me when they met in a second-level allowance race at Aqueduct two months ago. While Works for Me came back to win an allowance here last month, Felix has been freshened for the rematch in Friday’s $150,000 Harvey Pack Stakes scheduled for 5 1/2 furlongs over Saratoga’s Mellon turf course. Works for Me, trained by Joe Lee, was the only 3-year-old in a field of 11 in last November’s Aqueduct Turf Sprint Championship and he dead-heated for the win with the 5-year-old Alogon. His narrow loss to Felix was Works for Me’s first start in six months, and he duplicated that solid effort when he rallied along the rail to win here June 6. “I really liked how he ran,” Lee said. “When he got through that hole and Flavien [Prat] got him in gear he was really throwing his legs out – that stride – when he did get clear.” :: Access the most trusted data and information in horse racing! DRF Past Performances and Picks are available now. Felix was off for 15 months before he ran in what turned out to be a salty second-level allowance race Feb. 7 at Fair Grounds, his first start for trainer Tom Morley. The race was won by Think Big, who came out of it to win two Grade 2 stakes before finishing seventh in the Grade 1 Jaipur. Petcoff and Ambivalent, third and fourth in that Feb. 7 race, came back to win their next starts. Felix ran second to Ambivalent in a third-level allowance before beating Works for Me when dropped back into the second-level condition. John Velazquez, who rode Felix that day, is back aboard Friday. “I thought he was impressive beating a nice horse at Aqueduct,” Morley said. “He’s not a straight-forward ride. He would appreciate firm ground . . . If you’re a [speed figure] man then he fits very nicely in this field. Johnny’s had two rides on him, knows the horse, and we’re re really looking forward to it.” Hunch players may gravitate toward Axthelm in the Harvey Pack. Axthelm is named for the deceased sports handicapper Pete Axthelm, who worked on the inaugural Breeders’ Cup simulcast show with Pack. Both men were avid horseplayers. Axthelm, the horse, is trained by Saffie Joseph Jr. and is 0 for 9 in stakes. Our Shot was beaten a neck in the 2023 Harvey Pack and a head in last year’s renewal. He came out of last year’s race to win the Grade 2 Woodford at Keeneland but has yet to reproduce those pair of 100 Beyer Speed Figures in three starts this year. The 6-year-old Witty has a 10-11-1 record from 31 starts and is coming off a solid victory in the Jim McKay Turf Sprint on Preakness Day at Pimlico. Outlaw Kid makes his 6-year-old debut, one that got delayed when he had to scratch out of an allowance due to a barn quarantine. Mattingly, cross-entered in Friday’s Karl Boyes Stakes at Presque Isle Downs, is expected to run in the Harvey Pack, per trainer Joe Orseno. Bring Theband Home, who won a second-level allowance at Saratoga last summer, is coming off a neck loss in a high-caliber allowance on May 1 at Gulfstream. American Monarch is seeking his first win on turf since his career debut victory here in August 2020. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.