Gravesend lacks a true standout

OZONE PARK, N.Y. - After Sunday's card, Aqueduct takes a nine-day holiday break. Handicappers may need that time to recover after trying to dope out the winner of Sunday's $75,000 Gravesend Handicap.

The feature on a 10-race card that begins at 12:10 p.m., the six-furlong Gravesend drew a field of 11, and a case can be made for about nine of the sprinters. Smokume, the winner of the Grade 2 Tom Fool Handicap, is the 119-pound highweight, but he must overcome the outside post and a lengthy layoff.

has not raced since running last in the Grade 2 Alfred G. Vanderbilt Handicap at Saratoga on Aug. 13. According to trainer Allen Jerkens, Smokume re-aggravated a knee injury in the Vanderbilt and needed ample time to recover. Smokume does have enough speed to get in position, but he's also quick enough to get involved in a pace battle that figures to be fast and furious with the likes of Introspect and Presidentialaffair in the field.

"His best races have been when he's close to the pace," Jerkens said.

If Clever Electrician can work out a stalking trip from the inside, he may be the horse to beat. A New York-bred son of Clever Trick, Clever Electrician is coming off a solid third-place finish behind I'm the Tiger and Tiger Heart in the Grade 1 De Francis Dash last time out. He has come back with a bullet work since that race.

"He ran super in the De Francis," trainer Bruce Levine said. "I thought he was going to kick and be second, but he just couldn't get by the second horse."

Saay Mi Name finished fifth in the De Francis while encountering traffic trouble from his rail post position. He breaks from post 5 on Sunday under Art Madrid Jr.

"I don't think he could have won the De Francis, the way those horses went on," trainer Wayne Bailey said. "I think we could have been third, for sure. It was just bad racing luck. That's why I hate the 1-hole."

Super Fuse doesn't like to win, but his strong closing kick usually lands him in the mix. He finished a fast-closing third, beaten a half-length, in the Fall Highweight Handicap on the main track.

Spooky Mulder is 0 for 9 in stakes, but the hard-trying gelding has won 23 races from 58 starts. Exciting Metro and Acclimate come off monster allowance wins at Churchill Downs and Laurel Park, respectively.

- additional reporting by Mike Farrell