Friday TimeformUS Highlight Horse: Outside post should benefit Reddington
Aqueduct | Race 4 | Post Time 1:40 p.m. (ET)
The expected heavy favorite El Grande O (No. 5) returned to action following a 236-day layoff in late October. He had gone to the sidelines in the best form of his career, hitting the board in a series of Derby preps, including the Withers and Gotham. Despite missing all of that time, he came back from the layoff looking better than ever last time. Turning back to a sprint distance, he comfortably rated off the pace before ranging up inside at the quarter pole. He had to angle off the inside to challenge leader Toxic Grey in deep stretch and forged past that rival, earning a career-best 113 TimeformUS Speed Figure. That number was validated when Toxic Grey returned to win, earning a 115 TimeformUS Speed Figure.
Those looking to take a shot against the favorite may consider Victory Way (No. 4), who returns from a lengthy layoff, having not raced since August 2023. He had trouble at the start of that last race when attempting two turns for the first time in the Smarty Jones at Parx Racing and was basically eased late. He had run well off a much shorter freshening prior to that when earning a career-best 110 TimeformUS Speed Figure for an allowance victory, but that was going a mile. Now he turns back to 6 1/2 furlongs, and I wonder if this is just a stepping-stone to a longer target.
My top pick is Reddington (No. 6). This gelding improved significantly this summer when turned back in distance to one-turn races. He put in a performance that was much stronger than the result suggested June 27, where he was steadied early and got a wide trip against a minor rail bias. He then delivered going seven furlongs against starter-allowance company at Saratoga before stepping up to defeat a much tougher field at the N1X allowance level in September. The fact that he got dismissed at 36-1 that day speaks to the quality of horses that finished behind him. Given that strong form, some might be disappointed in his last effort. However, six furlongs is probably a tad short for him, and he also looked uncomfortable racing inside of horses on the turn. He seemed to get discouraged mid-race, but was finishing well across the wire and galloped out strongly. Now he’s drawn in a much more favorable outside post, and he should get the right kind of stalking trip going a half-furlong farther.