Final Table has edge in Best Turn

JAMAICA, N.Y. - A contentious 18th renewal of the Best Turn Stakes will be run Saturday at Aqueduct, with six of the nine 3-year-olds coming off victories and lifetime best Beyer Speed Figures. The Best Turn is run at six furlongs over the inner track.

Final Table may go off the favorite based on his second-level allowance win at Gulfstream on Jan. 17. Trained by Mark Hennig, Final Table led every step of the way under John Velazquez, who resorted to his whip only once in the stretch of the 6 1/2-furlong race. Final Table, a son of Allen's Prospect, earned a Beyer Speed Figure of 99 for the effort.

Final Table is 3 for 6, with all three of his victories coming in front-running style. He appears to be the speed of the speed from the outside post under Richard Migliore, who becomes the seventh jockey to ride Final Table.

"I think he's had his best success when he's doing well," Hennig said. "I don't know if that coincides with him being on the lead. He's a fast horse, he's quick away from there, and I wouldn't anticipate him settling back, but I don't think he has to be in front."

Final Table could face early pressure from Cool Cash and White Ibis. Cool Cash, a son of Pentelicus, makes his 3-year-old debut after winning three consecutive starts last fall when blinkers were added. He got sick preparing for the Huntington Stakes last November and had a relapse that forced him to miss the Fred "Cappy" Capossela in January. But trainer Francis Campitelli thinks Cool Cash is ready for Saturday.

"He's extremely fast, but he's very ratable too," Campitelli said. "He's not a horse that needs to be up front and caught in a speed duel."

Dale Capuano and Anthony Dutrow each ship up two horses from their Maryland barns. President Butler, runner-up in the Fred Capossela, looks the stronger half of Capuano's uncoupled entry, though Tank's Expectation, the other half, comes in off two straight wins.

Dutrow is very high on Smooth Jazz, who won his maiden at first asking over the inner track on Jan. 13, but whose lack of experience could be his undoing. War Native, third in the Capossela Stakes, would benefit from a contested pace. The two will be coupled in the wagering.

Eye of the Comet, who won the Damon Runyon Stakes by

6 3/4 lengths last out, cuts back to six furlongs in what trainer Sal Iorio hopes is a prep for next month's Gotham Stakes.

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