Friday TimeformUS Highlight Horse: Baby Yoda can get back on track with better start
Aqueduct | Race 7 | Post Time 3:14 p.m. (ET)
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The two horses drawn in the outside stalls of the starting gate figure to attract the most support in this high-level optional claimer. Gun It (#6) defeated main rival Nova Rags (#5) when they met in a similar race back in June at Belmont. Nova Rags chased uncharacteristically close up to the pace before Gun It overhauled him in the late stages, winning for just the fourth time in 36 lifetime starts. Neither one of these horses has been a win machine, with even Nova Rags settling for minor awards more often than not as he’s ascended the allowance ranks. They both make sense in this spot, and I do somewhat prefer Gun It’s recency. He ran well in his return from the layoff in October, closing strongly up the rail. Yet he still failed to change leads, as is often the case with him.
Some might consider Kinetic Sky (#4) to be the main rival as he attempts to get back on track for trainer Richard Dutrow. His form since the claim has been heading in the wrong direction after he ran so well in his first start for the new barn. Yet he faced a strong field in his return from a 3-month layoff two back, and then might not have appreciated a 6-day turnaround. He’s now had more time between starts, and it's a good sign that there’s no drop in for a tag.
I want to go in a different direction with Bill Mott’s other horse in the race. Baby Yoda (#3) is another horse who appears to be off form, but I can make some excuses for his recent starts. He’s had some trouble getting out of the gate recently, which caused him to race out of position while wide every step of the way in the Russell Road two back. Then last time he again broke a step slowly and got caught behind a slow pace in a race dominated up front. He actually tried to make a run before flattening out, and might have been more effective over a shorter distances. He’s concentrated on one-mile races for much of the last year, but I actually like this slight turnback for him. I expect Joel Rosario to give him a more aggressive ride if he can get him out of the gate cleanly, and I believe he still has the talent to beat a group like this.