Friday TimeformUS Highlight Horse: Kunshan Bridge better than recent results indicate
Aqueduct | Race 4 | Post Time 2:55 p.m. (ET)
The two horses who figure to vie for favoritism in this N1X allowance affair couldn’t look more different on paper. Magic Express (#3) is a lightly raced 4-year-old making just the third start of his career. He showed speed and faded on debut when defeated by a previously 0 for 16 maiden at Parx. Yet he seemed to take a big step forward second time out, winning convincingly at Aqueduct by nearly five lengths, earning a strong 112 TimeformUS Speed Figure. That number should make him competitive in this allowance event. However, Brittany Russell does not have particularly strong statistics with horses exiting maiden victories in dirt sprints, going 13 for 81 (16%, $0.70 ROI) with such runners over the past five years.
The other favorite Mandatory (#6) is far more experienced. He took a 1 for 20 record into his 6-year-old season when he dropped in class to face claimers two back. Yet John Kimmel changed up some equipment for that race, using glue-on shoes as reported by DRF’s David Grening, and it seemed to make all the difference. Mandatory delivered a breakout performance, earning a 114 TimeformUS Speed Figure for the runaway victory. He came back against tougher last time and repeated that number in more workmanlike fashion. He just seems to be thriving right now, but he is again moving up in class and likely to be a short price with that exposed form.
Linda Rice has entered a pair, both of which have some questions to answer. What’s Up Bro (#2) turned in an excellent effort first off the claim for this barn two back, but he wasn’t nearly as effective at this level last time in the mud. He never got to the front and just seemed to lack his typical spark. Chileno (#4) has the opposite running style as a deep closer. He hasn’t been seen since Saratoga last summer, but he was in good form at the time, and did handle this distance just prior to the layoff.
My top pick is Kunshan Bridge (#5), who might get somewhat overlooked in this spot despite possessing competitive form. He has tried this level a few times without winning, but he’s run well in most of his recent starts. He achieved his last victory when dropped in for a $32k tag, and was claimed out of that race by Mertkan Kantarmaci. He’s been in solid form since the claim, turning in his only poor effort on Feb. 9 when towards the inside on a track favoring outside paths. He rebounded nicely last time in the slop, staying on for third while again racing inside of rivals on a day when riders seemed to avoid the inner paths. He is a horse who seems to prefer racing inside of rivals so hopefully he catches a fair track on Friday. There’s some speed in this race to set up his late kick and the price should be fair.