Fornatale: How I'll play Aqueduct for Sunday, Dec. 10

I’ll focus today on the late double at Aqueduct, which will provide a nice respite from the parade of holiday shopping and parties that distract us horseplayers this time of year.

Race 8:

There does appear to be plenty of pace here and the fastest of them all early should be #3 VERDANT PASTURES. She exits a stakes win and could just be the speed of the speed against these, though it won’t be easy with Felini and Divine Miss Grey signed on. The other I’ll use is #1 CRIMSON FROST, just on the thought that she could be the best of these late if the race falls apart. She should be a square price.

Race 9:

The payoff leg is a race condition that can often lead to chaos: 3-year-old maiden statebred fillies. The morning-line favs just look OK here, so I’ll look to #10 BURKEY’S BABE. The turf experiment last time didn’t work out, but two back she ran better than it looked, setting the pace through fast enough fractions against straight maidens on what probably wasn’t the best part of the track. She could be tough on the drop and a decent price because of the buried form.

THE BETS:

$25 double: 3-10

$5 double: 1-10