Coming off a neck defeat to division leader Thorpedo Anna in the Grade 1 Cotillion at Parx last month, Gun Song certainly would not have been out of place in the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Distaff on Nov. 2 at Del Mar. There was a discussion about it, ever so brief, between owner Lee Lewis and trainer Mark Hennig, but in the end they opted for a more conservative route. Saturday, Gun Song, 44-1 when she faced Thorpedo Anna, will be among the betting favorites in the Grade 2, $250,000 Mother Goose Stakes for 3-year-old fillies at Aqueduct. A field of eight was entered in the Mother Goose, until last year an early summer staple at the Belmont Park spring meet. The Mother Goose tops an 11-race card that includes the Grade 3, $250,000 Forty Niner and Grade 3, $175,000 Bold Ruler. First post is 12:10 p.m. Gun Song, one of three daughters of Gun Runner in this field, won the Grade 2 Black-Eyed Susan Stakes in May and the Cathryn Sophia at Parx in August. In the Cotillion, Gun Song was pressing the pace of Mystic Lake while Thorpedo Anna was being boxed in by Tarifa in the second flight. Gun Song took over from Mystic Lake in upper stretch.Thorpedo Anna got out of her box outside the eighth pole and was able to wear down a stubborn Gun Song, who was 3 1/2 lengths clear of Tarifa. :: Get the Inside Track with the FREE DRF Morning Line Email Newsletter. Subscribe now.  Gun Song earned a career-best 93 Beyer Speed Figure for the Cotillion. Hennig is hoping Gun Song doesn’t regress in the Mother Goose. “The way she’s been training there’s no indication of that, but they don’t always show you that in the morning,” Hennig said. John Velazquez rides Gun Song from post 5. Tarifa was the darling of the 3-year-old filly division during the winter, with Grade 2 wins in the Rachel Alexandra and Fair Grounds Oaks in New Orleans. She was beaten 18 lengths by Thorpedo Anna in the Kentucky Oaks, run over a sloppy track, before getting a freshening. Tarifa has come off the layoff with a runner-up finish in the Audubon Oaks at Ellis Park and a third in the Cotillion. “I thought it was a really good run. She stayed on well to be third,” Cox said of the Cotillion. “This will be her third race off the layoff, I like how she’s doing. This will be a good opportunity to hopefully pick up another win in a graded stakes.” Flavien Prat, the leader in North America this year with 47 graded stakes wins, has the call on Tarifa. Life Talk, the 2023 Demoiselle winner, came off a five-month layoff to finish second behind her Todd Pletcher-trained stablemate Miss Justify in the Seneca Overnight Stakes at Churchill Downs on Sept. 21. Pletcher said he stopped on Life Talk following the Gazelle in April because she had lost some weight. In the Seneca, Life Talk, another Gun Runner progeny, did her best running late, galloping out past the field after the wire. “I thought it indicated that she’s come back well from the little break that we gave her. It was good to see her finish that way,” Pletcher said. “She already has a mile and an eighth win at Aqueduct so it should suit her well.” :: Bet the races with a $200 First Deposit Match + FREE All Access PPs! Join DRF Bets. Kendrick Carmouche rides Life Talk. Trainer Chad Brown sends out the uncoupled entry of Pretty Ana, a half-sister to Gun Runner, who returns to dirt after two tries on turf, and Headline Numbers, a daughter of Gun Runner, who was moved up from second to first by the stewards in a 1 1/8-mile allowance at Saratoga in August. Headline Numbers won her debut by 11 3/4 lengths going a one-turn mile at Aqueduct in July. Dorothy’s Dreams, Call Another Play, and Just Music complete the field. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.