Friday TimeformUS Highlight Horse: Always Laughing gets back on turf

Aqueduct | Race 4 | Post Time 3:00 p.m. (ET)

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Smokin’ Hot Kitty (#4) is getting some class relief after facing a better group of New York-breds off the layoff last time. She was a little wide around the turns and just couldn’t quite compete after that. Now she’s dropping down to a more realistic level for Linda Rice. She was effective enough to be second in a similar spot last November, so she certainly makes sense.

I prefer her to the other short price on the morning-line Snow Loves a Fight (#3). I didn’t think this filly had much of an excuse to lose at a cheaper level last time out at Gulfstream. Irad Ortiz worked out a fantastic trip for her, and she just hung in the late stages against inferior rivals. I’m more interested in some bigger prices drawn outside of these fillies.

My top pick is Always Laughing (#6). She comes into this race a little light on speed figures, but I think she has upside as a 3-year-old facing older horses. She only has one prior start on turf, and it came last year at 2. She did well to battle to a narrow loss at the maiden special weight level. That may not have been the strongest field, but I thought this filly showed affinity for grass after a wide trip. She’s since achieved mixed results on synthetic at Turfway, but I thought she put forth one of her best performances first off the claim for William Morey last time. She catches a vulnerable field and may be getting back on the right surface.

I would also use Anileate (#5) and Rosemary Potatoes (#7). The former has run competitively on the turf only once, but she was overmatched in the two poor efforts. She got in a prep on dirt last time and may be set for better as she switches surfaces. Rosemary Potatoes has had more chances on this surface, but she’s run well on a few occasions and typically goes off at generous prices. She’s good enough to be effective at this level if she can work out a trip.