Friday TimeformUS Highlight Horse: Dame Cinco capable of better from outside draw

Aqueduct | Race 7 | Post Time 3:47 p.m. (ET)

Security Code (#6) probably deserves to go favored here given her overall consistency. She’s hit the board in all three starts since moving up to this level following a statebred allowance win at Saratoga last summer. Those performances are even better than they appear since she was compromised by slow paces and/or speed-favoring tracks in all of those recent losses. She still stayed on gamely in those races, earning a couple of speed figures that would make her tough in this field. She also possesses a versatile running style and figures to get a fair race flow this time with a bit more speed signed on.

Security Code has traded decisions with I’mhavingamoment (#1) on a few occasions, and the Bill Mott trainee has come out on the losing end in the last couple of matchups. At her best she would merit favoritism against this group, but it’s unclear if she can get back to her better races after a pair of lackluster efforts. I can make an excuse for her two back when she was against a slow pace and a speed-favoring sloppy track, but she was supposed to do better last time. I’m a little concerned that she’ll lose position early as she draws another inside post.

Icy Reply (#9) merits some consideration given her strong recent form. She’s really turned a corner in recent months for James Ferraro, seeming to thrive on her busy schedule. However, she’s coming off a win against weaker company and now gets a class test as she moves up to an unfamiliar level.

My top pick is Dame Cinco (#10). I want to give this mare one more chance as she turns around on short rest. The connections seem pretty adamant about keeping her in protected spots after the claim despite a few lackluster efforts since returning from the layoff. She took a ton of money when stretched out to a mile two back but wasn’t competitive with that field. She fared marginally better here last Sunday, but was no match for her winning stablemate. She’s now finally drawn better outside after getting stuck on the rail twice in a row. That should give Dylan Davis more options, as she doesn’t need the lead to be successful. It’s fair to wonder if her best effort is good enough, but it’s unwise to count out any Richard Dutrow trainee and this one finally seems to be in an appropriate spot.